A community grounded HIA: The benefits of conducting a HIA during the Airds Bradbury Estate Redevelopment

BackgroundThis paper identifies and discusses the benefits of taking a ‘community grounded’ approach to HIA in the context of a place based urban renewal setting and reflect on whether this is a useful approach for people and organisations wishing to undertake HIA’s in similar settings. The HIA was on the redevelopment of the suburban town centre and focussed on the creation of a new multipurpose centre, improvements to a manmade pond and the relocation of sporting fields found in the area. The HIA team aimed to explore what the planned redevelopment of the local town centre area would mean for the local community and its potential health impacts upon residents. MethodsThe HIA followed the standard HIA steps. The HIA team took a community grounded approach where particular focus was give to engaging community members in the HIA process. This included community members being involved in the HIA working group, reference group and providing evidence for the HIA. ResultsThe HIA report contained a series of recommendations for the redevelopment of the Airds Bradbury estate. These recommendations were presented to the Community Reference Group and were adopted by various stakeholders. Conclusions The community grounded approach influenced both how the HIA was carried out, the decisions that were made within the HIA and ultimately the finidings and recomendations. The HIA of this latest stage of the Airds-Bradbury estate redevelopment was a useful project to encourage further collaboration, dialogue and planning between redevelopment agencies, Local Government, and residents of the Airds Bradbury social housing estate.