Urban Habitats is a healthy urbanism practice based in Wales and working internationally at the intersection of public health, urban design, architecture, and spatial planning to support healthier, more equitable and sustainable places. We work from Canada to Cambridge with public sector organisations, researchers, design practitioners, community groups and organisations.

If you would like to discuss a project or explore how this approach might apply in your context, please get in touch at inbox@urban-habitats.com.

Our work brings together interdisciplinary knowledge and practical experience to help organisations understand complex relationships between people, place, and the environment, and translate these into clear, usable approaches for policy and practice.

We operate across four core areas.

Strategic Health & Place Frameworks

We develop evidence-informed frameworks to guide healthier and more sustainable places from street scale to city and regional scales.

This work draws together research, policy, and local context to provide a structured approach that can inform planning, design, and decision-making. Outputs may include strategic reports, conceptual frameworks, and guidance to support integration of health, environmental, and social considerations.

This supports organisations to move from fragmented evidence to a clear and actionable approach.

Example strategic framework projects:

• Healthy Greater Cambridge: Healthy placemaking for equity, planet and people
• Verane, Canada: Planning healthy communities

Health Impact & Evidence-Based Advisory

We provide advisory support grounded in expertise in Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and wider public health approaches.

Rather than focusing solely on formal HIA processes, our work supports organisations to understand and respond to the health implications of policies, plans, and projects in a proportionate and practical way. This can include evidence reviews, case study development, and strategic input to programmes and policy development.

The focus is on strengthening decision-making, building confidence, and enabling more informed and integrated approaches.

We also offer early-stage Health Impact Assessment (HIA) screening and scoping support.

This provides a focused and proportionate approach to support organisations in considering when and how HIA may be relevant in relation to specific strategic investment, policy, and programme decisions. This is particularly relevant in the context of national HIA regulations in Wales, as well as for organisations seeking to use HIA as a means of supporting equity-focused change.

The work helps to define an appropriate scope, identify key health considerations, and clarify the level and focus of any subsequent HIA.

This can support more informed internal decision-making and, where external support is required, contributes to clearer and more effective procurement by establishing a defined scope for consultants to respond to.

Example health impact advisory work:

• Health in Climate Adaptation
• Circular Economy Health Impact Assessment

Research Translation, Knowledge Mobilisation & Evaluation

We translate complex research and interdisciplinary outputs into accessible, engaging and usable forms. We also undertake project and programme evaluations using a range of creative and rigorous methods.

This includes the development of public-facing websites, reports, and other materials that present research in a clear and structured way for a broader range of audiences, including policymakers, practitioners, and communities.

The emphasis is on clarity, accessibility, and supporting the wider use and impact of research. Our evaluation work is particularly focused on understanding what works and increasing the speed and effectiveness of getting research into practice.

Example knowledge mobilisation and evaluation work:

• Making Space for Nature industry-academic collaboration
• Healthy Happy Places programme evaluation

Community & Participatory Research Work

We support projects that involve communities in understanding and shaping the places in which they live.

This includes co-design, workshops, and participatory processes that bring together local knowledge with research and insight from a range of experts, including community expertise. This work is often undertaken as part of wider projects and contributes to a deeper understanding of local context and experience.

Example community-based projects:

• Community Voices
• Streets for Health

How We Work

Our approach is:

• Evidence informed – grounded in research and established methods
• Transdisciplinary – integrating perspectives from public health, urban design, and beyond
• Practical – focused on outputs that can inform real-world decisions
• Proportionate – tailored to the scale and scope of each project

We work with organisations of all sizes, including public sector organisations at both national and local levels, charities, architecture and urban design practitioners, researchers and universities, and others to support projects that aim to improve both population health and planetary health.

Working with Us

Our work is typically commissioned at a project level, with scope and fees agreed depending on the context, scale, and level of input required.

We are always happy to have an initial conversation to explore how we might support your project.