Local food environments: Australian stakeholder perspectives on urban planning and governance to advance health and equity within cities

Abstract

Urban planning policy has the potential to improve population health outcomes and reduce health inequities within cities. In Australia, however, the pathways for implementing policy approaches are unclear, and responsibilities are contested and dispersed across sectors, portfolios and levels of government. This study investigated government, non-government and private sector perspectives on spatial planning for local food environments and aimed to identify governance opportunities to advance healthy equitable food access. Informed by health governance frameworks, 27 key informant interviews with policymakers and practitioners from urban planning, public health, urban economic and partnership..