Environment
The built and natural environment can be defined as “characteristics of a physical environment in which people live, work and play, including: schools, workplaces, homes, communities, parks/recreation areas and green space”. Evidence suggests that the environment in which we live is inextricably linked to our health across the life course. For example, the design of our neighbourhoods can influence physical activity levels, travel patterns, social connectivity, and mental and physical health and wellbeing outcomes. In some cases there are more direct links between the living environment and health outcomes; for instance, cold and damp housing can be directly linked to health outcomes such as injuries from falls and exacerbation of respiratory conditions.
OHID’s profile on the Built and Natural Environment in Trafford shows that overall Trafford is predominantly better or similar to England average on most indicators. However, the density of fast food outlets in Trafford is higher than the England average, which may reflect the concentration around Trafford’s sport’s venues.
Examples where data are available at a smaller geographical level that local authority, and so where we can see differences within Trafford, include overcrowded households and fuel poverty.
Overcrowded households
Availability of suitable housing is an important social issue as living in overcrowded conditions can have impacts on both physical and mental health. Overcrowded is defined as having one or more rooms too few compared to the number of rooms ‘required’ based on the composition of the households and the relationships between the occupants.
The proportion of overcrowded households in Trafford is4.2% is lower than England’s 6.4%%. However, within Trafford this ranges from 0.7% in Timperley ward to 11.3% in Clifford ward (ONS, 2021).
Fuel poverty
Around 12,240 (12.3%) Trafford households were in fuel poverty as of 2020 (Wider Determinants of Health, 2020), lower than the England average of 13.2%. Trafford ranks around the middle of its statistical neighbours on fuel poverty.
Fuel poverty is strongly linked to cold homes. About 1 in 5 excess winter deaths are attributable to the coldest quarter of housing Trafford had 63 excess winter deaths in 2019/20 (Wider Determinants of Health, 2020).
Further reading