Healthy living environment

Where you live matters. Your physical and social environment has a significant impact on your health. A healthy living environment encourages healthy behaviour, stimulates exercise and social contact, and provides protection against health risks. In contrast, an unhealthy living environment makes it difficult or even impossible for people to stay as healthy as possible.

ZonMw finances the development of knowledge about how our living environment affects our health. Such knowledge is desperately needed because our health is under increasing pressure. And there is certainly no guarantee of a healthy living environment. Space is scarce in the Netherlands and it is by no means always utilised for a healthy (or healthier) living environment. Therefore, it is crucial to fully understand what we can all do to make our living environment healthier.

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What does research have to offer?

Many of our programmes contribute to the building up and sharing of knowledge about a healthy living environment. We facilitate the development, spread and application of knowledge in order to protect our health against threats such as infectious diseases and climate change, and also to improve our health through a better lifestyle or healthier neighbourhood.

Collaboration between different disciplines, domains and stakeholders is crucial for the realisation of a healthy living environment. Thus, the Integrated Approach to a Healthy Living Environment programme (GLIA) focuses on continuing to develop practical knowledge, an integrated approach, and 'learning together'. Local authorities and local health authorities can use this knowledge to take health into account when designing and managing the physical environment and to contribute to a healthy living environment.

This programme was part of the cross-domain ‘Healthy Living Environment’ programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW). ZonMw and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) conducted this programme with and for people, organisations and governments in the health, social and physical space domains.

Worldwide developments such as climate change, biodiversity loss and large-scale pollution threaten our health. The health care field also contributes to these changes, through waste and greenhouse gas emissions, for example. We stimulate research that acknowledges links between our health and these factors. Read about how a One Health and Planetary Health approach in research finds connections between changes in the world and the consequences of these for people, animals and the environment.

‘Health in all policies’ is growing in importance at government level. Your family situation, work, income, education, house and neighbourhood all influence your health. Therefore, it is important that there is a focus on health across all policy domains.