Heritage, health and social well being

Having places to exercise, socialise, communicate and share experiences helps people to have a positive approach to life and to enjoy their surroundings. There is a direct link between Heritage and your health.

Remembering that heritage is the result of interaction between people and their environment  and that heritage is as much about people as it is about places makes it easier to understand the relationship between heritage and health.

The behavioural scientist Roger Ulrich developed this diagrammatic representation of the 'determinants of health' to highlight the way in which our surroundings and lifestyles impact our health.  Heritage and the historic environment can be seen to be beneficial to our health under a number of the categories he identified - Lifestyle, Community, Local Economy, Activities, Built Environment and Natural Environment.

Ways in which Heritage directly impacts on our Health:

There is a great deal of research and helpful resources available to investigate how the historic environment and health can work in harmony. Below are a few sources of useful information:

• Historic England
• National Trust
• Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Archived Page)