Active Places & Spaces

Paths for All is a Scottish charity promoting walking for everyone, everyday and everywhere. It works with local authorities and communities to develop inclusive environments for everyone to be active, including walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users. It supports projects that increase use of sustainable transport and build capacity within communities. It champions the creation of walkable environments with access to quality greenspaces, close to where people live, so being active is easy for everyone.

The Framework sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. Transport Scotland, Scottish Government 2021

The Scottish Government has published a new plan to increase everyday cycling across the country. The framework supports the 2030 Active Travel Vision – where walking, wheeling and cycling is the most popular mode of transport for shorter everyday journeys. It will shape how government, councils and active travel organisations deliver improvements. Transport Scotland, Scottish Government 2023

This learning resource aims to enable users, through the use of tools and templates, to understand and practically apply the Place Standard Tool.

This paper raises awareness of the impact that the places where people live, work and play have on their health and wellbeing. It provides practical guidance for land use planners, public health practitioners and policy makers to work together, using a whole systems approach to improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. It introduces land use planners to the public health system and public health professionals to the planning system and outlines a number of key opportunities for more integrated working to realise shared ambitions. Public Health Scotland and The Improvement Service 2021

The Place Standard Guidance will help you plan, organise and carry out an assessment using the Place Standard tool. It is for individuals who are new to the Place Standard as well as those familiar with the tool.

The Place Standard is a simple tool to structure a conversation about a place. It helps people to think about both the physical and social aspects of places, and the important relationship between them. It has 14 themes, each with a main question and further prompts to support conversations, inform the assessment and identify issues for improvement.

The Our Place Toolbox contains some key tools that can support you to learn, understand, assess and act to improve the quality of places. Includes access to a range of tools and resources: Place Standard Tool, Town Toolkit, Understanding Scottish Places, Place Value Wiki, Young Placechangers toolkit and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Our Place is a site devoted to promoting the benefits of place and place-based working, developed by the partners behind the Place Standard tool. Website with information, tools and resources to help support the development of places and services that improve our health, our prosperity, our quality of life and protect our environment.

The Local Living and 20 minute neighbourhood concepts aim to create places where people can meet the majority of their daily needs within a reasonable distance of their home, by walking, wheeling or cycling. The tools and approaches noted in this guidance are suggested as a means to gather the type and quality of information needed to inform strategies, decisions and actions that can be useful in supporting sustainable, healthy and resilient places. Scottish Government Draft April 2023

Walkipedia signposts users to the key sources of information and evidence relating to walking, pedestrians, and active travel. It provides quick access to relevant legislation, policies, strategies, guidance, research websites and statistics as well as to organisations, detailing their programmes, initiatives and toolkits that have been developed. Paths for All and Living Streets Scotland have developed this with practitioners in mind and to those developing and designing, implementing, managing, promoting and evaluating walking initiatives and infrastructure.

Paths for All have produced a Dementia and the Outdoors Guidance Note to help improve the accessibility of the outdoors. It looks at consultation, signage, wayfinding, audit tools, sensory considerations and how to consult about improvements with people living with dementia. Paths for All 2023

The guidance is designed to help make our outdoor places and spaces, routes and facilities more accessible, and outdoor experiences more inclusive, so they can be enjoyed by everyone. The Outdoor Accessibility Guidance developed by Paths for All together with the Sensory Trust. Paths for All and Sensory Trust 2023

By adopting updated planning, design and management principles, the NHS outdoors estate can support health and well-being. It will also help meet other NHS policies such as sustainability and biodiversity. Good Design of the Outdoor Estate provides guidance on how good design of NHS greenspace can contribute to health and wellbeing objectives as well as climate change and biodiversity. The Green Exercise Partnership (Scottish Forestry, NatureScot, Public Health Scotland and NHS National Services) Scotland 2021

NICE guideline [NG90] 2018. This guideline covers how to improve the physical environment to encourage and support physical activity. Includes recommendations on: strategies, policies and plans to increase physical activity in the local environment, active travel, public open spaces, buildings and schools. Aimed at: Local authorities and agencies contracted to deliver environmental changes; Others responsible for open spaces used by the public such as in workplaces, community-owned gardens and playing fields; Housing, local enterprise partnerships and others responsible for the built environment; Public transport planners and providers; and Organisations working to ensure people with limited mobility can be physically active. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 2018

The Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) is one of the largest environmental projects of its kind in Europe. More than just a ‘Green’ initiative, it is designed to support, link up and build on existing partnerships and programmes with the objective of improving the social, physical, cultural, and environmental wellbeing of central Scotland. The Network delivers an extensive range of programmes aimed at improving environments where people live and work, creating connections for people and wildlife and nature based solutions that enhance health and well-being and contribute to net zero and climate resilience

Scotland’s forests and woodlands play a particularly important role in enhancing the quality of life for people living and working in Scotland’s towns and cities. They provide vital greenspace for people to enjoy and use, enhancing their physical health and mental well-being. Scottish Forestry deliver a range of programmes to support people to use their local forests and woodlands for recreation, play and education; encouraging more communities to participate in their management.

NHS Greenspace Demonstration projects showcase how to work with hospital staff and local organisations to encourage more people to use NHS greenspace. Demonstration sites include a range of healthcare settings – from community healthcare centres to large campus hospital sites. NHS Greenspace projects aim to improve the quality and accessibility of greenspace and to encourage more use of greenspace by patients, staff, visitors and members of the local community. Activity programmes include health walks, community garden projects and environmental conservation work.

The Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme is a delivery partnership between the Improvement Service and Public Health Scotland (PHS). It is funded by The Health Foundation and Scottish Government with support from COSLA. The ambition of the programme is to improve Scotland’s wellbeing and reduce inequalities. The programme contributes to: the National Performance Framework outcomes and key government policy aspirations such as the 20-minute neighbourhood concept. The Programme is supporting seven local project towns: Alloa, Ayr, Clydebank, Dalkeith, Dunoon, Fraserburgh and Rutherglen.

This 3-part Series explores how integrated multisector city planning, including urban design and transport planning, can be used as an important and currently underused force for health and wellbeing within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Lancet 2016

A consistent and comprehensive set of outcomes that every place needs to enable those who live, work and relax there to stay healthy and thrive. Developed by the Place and Wellbeing Collaborative to enable all stakeholders in a place to critically question whether they are taking the most appropriate action to bring about the change people need from that place. Improvement Service 2022

This report is a summary of the high-level evidence behind the 14 themes of the Place Standard Tool, the Place and Wellbeing Outcomes and their links with health and wellbeing. It includes the key associations between each of the themes/ outcomes and health and wellbeing, as well as an overview of their collective impact on health. Public Health Scotland 2022

Collection of documents relating to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation - a tool for identifying areas with relatively high levels of deprivation. SIMD ranks nearly 7,000 small areas, or data zones, covering the whole of Scotland from the most deprived to the least deprived and reports statistics on income, employment, health, education, access to services, crime and housing. Scottish Government 2020

The National Walking Strategy outlines the vision of a Scotland where everyone benefits from walking. This Action Plan is a high level plan that has been developed to assist in the delivery of Let’s Get Scotland Walking. This Delivery Plan sets out how the actions to achieve shared outcomes align with the objectives set out in the WHO Global Action Plan for Physical Activity. Scottish Government 2019

Plan setting out actions that The Scottish Government and partners are undertaking, working together to encourage and support people in Scotland to be more active, more often. Scottish Government 2018

Brings together the key policy approaches to improving the uptake of walking and cycling in Scotland for travel. It has been produced collaboratively by Transport Scotland and key delivery partners, with input from Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) and local authorities. Transport Scotland 2020

The International Society for Physical Activity and Health provides an overview of best evidence which can be used to advocate, inform and lead physical activity policy and discussion. A call to action for everyone, everywhere, including professionals, academics, civil society and decision makers, to embed physical activity in national and subnational policies. International Society for Physical Activity and Health 2020

An evidence-based systems-wide approach to increasing levels of physical activity in Scotland for policy makers and practitioners. Includes a wide range of actions across multiple sectors and settings which will allow the necessary changes to be made to help get more people moving actively and lead to more positive health outcomes. Public Health Scotland 2022

The National Cycle Network is a UK-wide network of signed paths and routes for walking, wheeling, cycling and exploring outdoors. Download free guides to easy, traffic-free trails on the National Cycle Network.

Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, this programme aims to take action for on-street improvements to make it easier to keep active and stay connected through walking, and on projects to encourage and support everyday walking in later life.

This plan sets out the path to a low carbon economy while helping to deliver sustainable economic growth and secure the wider benefits to a greener, fairer and healthier Scotland in 2032. Scottish Government 2018

The National Transport Strategy sets out an ambitious vision for Scotland’s transport system for the next 20 years. The vision is underpinned by four priorities: Reduces Inequalities, Takes Climate Action, Helps Deliver Inclusive Economic Growth and Improves our Health and Wellbeing, each with three associated outcomes. Transport Scotland, Scottish Government 2020

This course is intended for local authority staff, transport planning consultants and contractors working in the design of highway infrastructure. This course provides delegates with the information and skills to develop designs for walking and cycling infrastructure within the UK regulatory framework. The course takes place over four days and is awarded 24 CPD hours.

This guide provides exemplar Green Infrastructure (GI) policies based on an analysis of Development Plan policies in Central Scotland and is designed to maximise the benefits of GI to contribute to a successful place. Central Scotland Green Network and GCV Green Network 2020

Cycling Scotland is Scotland’s national cycling charity. Working with others, we get more people cycling, more safely and easily in a better environment. Cycling Scotland provides funding and support for organisations working to help their staff to cycle to and at work.

The National Cycle Network is a UK-wide network of signed paths and routes for walking, wheeling, cycling and exploring outdoors. Download free guides to easy, traffic-free trails on the National Cycle Network.

Places for Everyone is an infrastructure fund for Scotland funded by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland and is administered by Sustrans. Community Groups and Development Trusts can receive funding and expertise to manage infrastructure, design and construction to help deliver walking wheeling and cycling infrastructure improvements. The aim of Places for Everyone is to create safer, more attractive, healthier, and inclusive places which are enjoyed equitably by increasing and diversifying the number of trips made by walking, wheeling or cycling for everyday journeys.

Sustrans Scotland provides advice, support and funding that makes it easier for people to walk and cycle for everyday journeys. Sustrans deliver a wide range of programmes in Scotland. From large scale infrastructure projects to working with communities, workplaces and schools, take a look at their programmes across Scotland.

Greenspace Scotland is Scotland’s parks and greenspace charity. Provides a range of services promoting good practice on greenspace delivery including: support and training; work with others to develop pioneer projects, strategies and plans; undertake consultations and evaluations; develop project plans and logic models; manage grant programmes; support community placemaking and placechanging programmes; develop national programmes and projects.

Formulated by the United Nations General Assembly. A collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future". United Nations 2015

This report summarises a rapid review of evidence on the social benefits of urban parks and green spaces. It has been conducted by researchers from Sheffield Hallam University and The University of Sheffield. It focuses on issues such as health, wellbeing and social integration rather than on the wider environmental and ecological benefits of green spaces.

The National Planning Framework (NPF) is a long term plan for Scotland that sets out where development and infrastructure is needed. A long term plan looking to 2045 that guides spatial development, sets out national planning policies, designates national developments and highlights regional spatial priorities. It is part of the development plan, and so influences planning decisions across Scotland. Scottish Government 2023

The National Performance Framework sets out a vision for national wellbeing in Scotland – it is Scotland's wellbeing framework. It sets an overall purpose and vision for Scotland. It highlights the broad National Outcomes that support the purpose and measures how well Scotland is progressing towards those outcomes. Scottish Government 2018