E28: Be More Bradford: What Happens When a City Designs for Health

85% of our health is determined by non-clinical factors. So why does the built environment remain an afterthought in most public health conversations?

 In this episode of Talking Place, recorded live at the Bradford Showcase at UKREiiF 2026, Tanisha sits down with three people who are making the evidence-based case for healthier cities - and delivering it.

• Professor Rosie McEachan (Director, Born in Bradford) shares landmark data from one of Europe's largest longitudinal health studies - including the finding that one in three children's asthma cases in Bradford are directly attributable to traffic-related air pollution. 
• Abigail Scott Paul (Global Head of Humanise Campaign, Heatherwick Studio) makes the neuroscience case for why bland buildings are a public health emergency. 
• James Almond (Managing Director, P+HS Architects) brings the delivery reality - including a £65m mental health hospital in Bradford that is already changing how an NHS trust operates. 

Together, they tackle the big structural question: where is the power sitting that is preventing the change that needs to happen?

CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction

1:10 Guest introductions

2:40 What Born in Bradford reveals about place and health

6:20 How healthcare design changes behaviour: the sexual health clinic case study

8:50 What design decisions genuinely improve health outcomes

10:40 The Humanise Campaign: buildings, neuroscience and visual stress

13:20 How Bradford's city centre transformation is already changing lives

18:10 Leadership, long-term thinking and why Bradford's pedestrianisation was worth the fight

24:15 Bradford teenagers: reaching a tipping point in civic pride

28:10 Where is the power sitting that's blocking change?

34:40 Final thoughts: one message for decision-makers

Join the Conversation

Your city is shaping your health every single day. What would it take to build somewhere that actually works for people's wellbeing?

Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or LinkedIn @TalkingPlacePodcast using #TalkingPlacePodcast

Links & Mentions

• Invest in Bradford - https://www.investinbradford.com/ 
• Born in Bradford - https://borninbradford.nhs.uk
• P+HS Architects - www.pandhs.co.uk
• Humanise Campaign - https://www.humanisecampaign.org
• Bradford Council - https://www.bradford.gov.uk
• UKREiiF 2026 - https://www.ukreiif.com
  • Linfield Mount mental health hospital, Bradford
  • Bradford City Centre pedestrianisation
  • West Yorkshire Mass Transit
  • King's Cross regeneration, London