Jonathan Fairburn

Relative importance of physical and social aspects of perceived neighbourhood environment for self-reported health

OBJECTIVE To explore the relative importance of the perceived physical and social neighbourhood environment for physical and mental health. METHODS A representative random sample of adults was recruited from 10 areas across Stoke-on-Trent, UK (June-September 2007). Interview-administered surveys were used to record data on the perceived neighbourhood environment (physical and social), self-reported health, and socio-demographics. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore independent associations between environmental factors and physical and mental health. RESULTS Independent physical and social environmental factors respectively explained 6.0% and 3.2% of variability in physical health and 2.8% and 4.4% of variability in mental health. Diversity of land use was the strongest and only physical environmental predictor of physical health (Beta=0.27, p<0.001), explaining more variability than social environmental factors combined. Conversely, social support was the most important (and only) social environmental factor for mental health (Beta=-0.20, p<0.001); again, this explained more variability in mental health than the combined effect of four physical environmental predictors. CONCLUSION Perceived physical and social environmental characteristics were important for physical and mental health, independent of socio-demographic factors. Living in neighbourhoods with greater land use diversity appears particularly important for physical health, whereas social support appears more closely linked to mental health.

Environmental justice in South Yorkshire: locating social deprivation and poor environments using multiple indicators

This paper reports on a study commissioned by the Environment Agency to determine the spatial pattern of environmental inequality in South Yorkshire. GIS was used to correlate a range of environmental variables against socio-economic data sets, to quantify multiple impacts and thus identify hot spots of poor environmental quality. A new measure known as an Impact Intensity Score was developed to quantify multiple impacts and this measure would be transferable to other studies. This study provides evidence of inequality between different social groups in South Yorkshire with regard to environmental quality. In general, deprived areas have poorer environmental quality and in particular the most deprived areas often have the poorest environments in South Yorkshire. As such, it fits in with an emerging body of environmental justice work across Europe which has found links between deprived populations and poor environmental quality.

Incorporating Environmental Justice into Second Generation Indices of Multiple Deprivation: Lessons from the UK and Progress Internationally

Second generation area-based indices of multiple deprivation have been extensively used in the UK over the last 15 years. They resulted from significant developments in political, technical, and conceptual spheres for deprivation data. We review the parallel development of environmental justice research and how and when environmental data was incorporated into these indices. We explain the transfer of these methods from the UK to Germany and assess the progress internationally in developing such indices. Finally, we illustrate how billions of pounds in the UK was allocated by using these tools to tackle neighbourhood deprivation and environmental justice to address the determinants of health.