The high life: A policy audit of apartment design guidelines and their potential to promote residents' health and wellbeing

Abstract

Globally, the rapid construction of apartments has ignited concerns about the quality and amenity of new housing, and the impact of poor design on residents. In Australia, different planning policies/guidelines for apartment development apply across states, however there has been no assessment of how these policies address health. We audited apartment design guidance for their inclusion of provisions that impact on health and wellbeing. Policies/guidelines (n = 10) were reviewed, including both current and proposed/superseded documents in states undergoing policy change to track policy progression. Requirements were extracted relating to health-promoting themes identified in the literature (..