Join leading experts for this webinar exploring how integrating social value principles into urban planning can proactively drive better public health outcomes. We’ll delve into practical case studies, policy insights, research, and innovative approaches to ensure developments shape not just the physical environment but also foster resilient, equitable, and healthy communities. This session is ideal for planners, policymakers, and professionals passionate about community well-being, providing valuable tools and inspiration to create positive health outcomes at the community level.
Chair: Joanna Wilson, CULS ESG/ Sustainability Committee Member, Sustainability Lead, Fletcher Priest Architects
Joanna is the Sustainability Lead at Fletcher Priest Architects. Joanna’s background in design research and as an Architect in the civic and healthcare sector inform her holistic approach to sustainability. Her role sits across the scales of Fletcher Priest’s work in urban design, architecture and interiors. Joanna uses systems thinking to inform project and practice level strategies, as well as working closely with the practice’s research team to help drive wider innovation. Joanna has a particular interest in the circular economy and recently authored the practice’s open source Material Reuse Guide and Catalogue. The guides bring together collaborative industry and project-based research into a replicable process and toolkit for developing and implementing material reuse strategies.
Panellists:
Michael Chang, NHS Property Services
Michael is a chartered town planner and honorary member of the Faculty of Public Health. His current role at NHS Property Services is developing the healthy planning workstream and creating a framework for designing healthier NHS developments. His previous roles include Planning and Health Programme Manager at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in the Department of Health and Social Care, and Public Health England. He provides health expertise and publishes guidance for local systems and contributes to research activities on health in the built environment. He is chair of the Essex Livewell Development Panel and Design South East Panel Member.
Jane Clossick, London Met
Dr. Jane Clossick (they/them) is Reader in Architecture and Urban Design at London Metropolitan University, where they are a member of the Centres for Urban and Built Ecologies and Applied Research in Empowering Society. Jane’s methodological approaches lie at the intersections of architecture, social science, critical and queer phenomenology and are action-research focused. Their research is focused on how people and places interact, exploring situated knowledge and relational ethics with a focus on high streets, healthcare, and industry. Jane is in 2025 Principal Investigator of the Spaces of Birth and Death project and leads the Healthy Hospitals Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Newham University Hospital.
Matthew Harmsworth, Co-lead of the Neurodiversity in Planning Network
Matthew is a multi-award winning, RTPI chartered Associate Town Planning consultant wide ranging local authority, developer and consultancy side experience with university degrees in Psychology, Audiology, and Town Planning. He works for David Lock Associates , focusing on major strategic sites. In his previous employment, he was Arcadis’ Global Chair for Access and Neurodiversity, providing global strategic oversight of this across the multi-national business, and for each of the regional Access & Neurodiversity Affinity groups. He is also a co-lead and co-chair of the UK’s Neurodiversity in Planning Network and provided substantial contributions and leadership for the network’s “Designing for Neurodiversity” booklet, which released at the RTPI’s National Young Planner’s Conference in September 2025. Matthew has an extensive range of town planning experience across residential, employment, health, and infrastructure development projects, in addition to experience as a Social Value Consultant.
Dr. Andrew Buroni, Savills’ Lead on Health Impact Solutions.
Andrew is a market leader for planning focused Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the UK. He has designed, delivered and presented evidence at public inquiry and issue specific hearing for some of the most complex planning focused examples of HIA, and has an unmatched catalogue of project experience ranging from local planning through to DCO and Hybrid Bill.
On strategic planning, garden village and new town developments, Andrew provides health and social care intelligence to frame current and emerging public health and social care challenges, and generates priority healthy urban design solutions to prevent, reduce and delay the need for clinical intervention and social care, while building community resilience and inclusivity, and improving the stock, quality and capability of community health promotion and care assets through more health conscientious planning and development.
