This Guide, released in September 2011 by SA Health, provides planners, public and environmental health professionals, designers and engineers with an agreed evidence base which links the quality and form of the built environment with the health and well-being of the community. It is envisaged that the Guide will be used as a resource by state and local government agencies involved in the implementation of the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide.

The Transit-oriented Development Health Lens Project was a collaborative project between the Department of Planning and Local Government (DPLG), the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI), the Land Management Corporation (LMC) and the Department of Health (DH) in South Australia. The project provided a unique opportunity for members of these agencies to work together on a multi-faceted project that would cross diverse disciplines whose activities have a considerable impact on health.
This paper is an outcome of the project and seeks to identify the potential positive and negative health impacts of transit-oriented developments (TODs). It is intended to act as a collection of evidence that has been agreed upon by members of the joint project group. It aims to build the understanding of policymakers (South Australian Government agencies and local government) around the key elements essential to the design and development of best practice healthy TODs.
A resource titled ‘Healthy Connected Communities’ has also been developed to complement the Guide. This resource explains the benefits of well-designed TODs in plain language and is intended for a broader audience, including community members. It also includes a case-study of the Bowden TOD (the first to be rolled-out as part of the 30 Year Plan) to demonstrate how the principles developed in the Guide can be applied by planners and developers.
Transit-oriented Developments Through a Health Lens | 2.7MB PDF