Creating Healthy Places
2019 Health Symposium celebrating the final products of the Creating Healthy Places project.
2019 Health Symposium: Creating Healthy Places
In May 2019, CU Denver's Health+Design Initiative partnered with the Colorado Healthy Places Collaborative to host an event to share and celebrate the final products of the Creating Healthy Places project funded by the Colorado Health Foundation. The symposium featured work by students working to integrate health into planning and designing community places.
A series of final products were showcased, including the Creating Healthy Places Guidebook, the GuideBox to Healthy Places, and a new pair of websites to support ongoing work related to health and the built environment. Keynote addresses were provided by planning and design experts from New York City and Denver.
The event brought together practitioners, educators, students, and community stakeholders to celebrate years of collaborative work that began with the Colorado Health Foundation grant in 2016 and culminated in a suite of practical tools and resources for improving community health through design.
About the Creating Healthy Places Project
The Creating Healthy Places project was a multi-year initiative funded by the Colorado Health Foundation and coordinated through the CU Denver College of Architecture and Planning. Over three years, graduate students in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and urban planning conducted studio work in Denver's Sun Valley neighborhood, exploring how the built environment shapes community health outcomes.
The project produced a range of resources including the Healthy Design Pattern Book, the Healthy Communities Playbook, and ultimately the Creating Healthy Places Guidebook — a comprehensive resource for integrating health into planning and design practice throughout Colorado.
Featured Products
Creating Healthy Places Guidebook
A comprehensive guide to integrating health into community planning and design, drawing on six years of studio research.
GuideBox to Healthy Places
A facilitation kit for community meetings and workshops, including topic booklets, a card deck, and the Health Assessment Lens.
Health Assessment Lens
A structured evaluation tool organized around eight health categories for use in planning and design projects.
Colorado Healthy Places Collaborative
The symposium also celebrated the Colorado Healthy Places Collaborative — a network of nearly two dozen statewide and regional organizations committed to creating healthier communities. The Collaborative serves as the distribution and support network for GuideBox resources throughout the state.
Partner organizations include AIA Colorado, APA Colorado, ASLA Colorado, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, the Colorado Health Foundation, ULI Colorado, and many others. Together, these organizations make the GuideBox and other HDI resources available to communities across Colorado.
Explore the Studio Research
Learn about the interdisciplinary studio series that generated the insights behind the Creating Healthy Places project outcomes.
View Studio & Research Projects