PUBLIC LECTURE: Open Public Lecture

“Building Cities to Promote Health: Evidence to action” Professor Jim Sallis (San Diego, USA) Professor Jim Sallis is Director of The Active Living Research Centre at San Diego State University, which has received over US$27 million in funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop scientifically rigorous, solution-oriented research to understand the influence of urban design on health, and specifically chronic disease. Described by Time Magazine as the “obesity warrior”, his expertise covers the promotion of physical activity through active living in a variety of settings and understanding policy and environmental influences on physical activity, nutrition, and obesity. He is one of the world’s most cited authors in the social sciences, with over 400 scientific publications, and is a frequent consultant to universities, health organizations, and corporations worldwide. Notably, he has briefed policy groups, decision makers and advocacy organisations, including Michelle Obama at The White House and California Governor Arnold Swarznenegger. Professor Sallis’ seminar will address how the built environment affects health, with a key focus on chronic disease and physical activity. He will discuss the need for evidence to understand how the built environment impacts on health, and examine the role that research plays in building an evidence base through different arms of funding. Dr Sallis will highlight that the key priority for building cities that promote health lies in the translation of current research.

“Building Cities to Promote Health: Can we do it?” Winthrop Professor Richard Weller (UWA) Professor Richard Weller is the Director of the Urban Design Centre at The University of Western Australia. With over 25 years of design practice, Professor Weller has received a numerous international design competition awards, published more than 70 papers and given hundreds of invited lectures around the world. His design work has been widely exhibited including a retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (1998) and a monograph by the University of Pennsylvania Press (2005). Professor Weller’s recent book, ‘Boomtown 2050’: Scenarios for a Rapidly Growing City (UWA Press, 2009), creatively re-organises Perth to meet the challenges of population growth in the 21st Century. Professor Weller’s seminar focuses on how to apply research evidence to tackle the issues of the built environment in order to improve our health, and asks ‘can we do this?’ In particular, Richard will pinpoint some of the current built environment issues and design agendas affecting Western Australia, including population growth predictions for WA, its urban centers, activity centers and corridor development.