Healthy Communities

Individual houses depend on the availability and function of community infrastructure such as water, waste water disposal and power supply. If these essential services are not functioning properly, the health hardware in the house will be compromised.

The layout of the community, combined with environmental factors, can have a major impact on the overall health of the community. This section of the guide discusses the relationship between community planning, infrastructure, houses and health

When undertaking housing projects, the housing manager and other council staff, as well as consultants, builders and housing maintenance workers need to take into account what services are available; whether the services are adequate for the proposed housing; what constraints the services place on house and yard design; and how the proposed housing will affect the current and future planned capacity of community infrastructure. Works need to be planned and prioritised, in consultation with the community, to ensure a safe and healthy environment can be sustained for the entire community.

A good source of information about community services is the Environmental Health Handbook, written and published by the Menzies School of Health Research in 2000.

 

Water
C1 - Water
Energy
C2 - Energy
Waste Water
C3 - Waste Water
Household rubbish disposal
C4 - Household rubbish disposal
Community planning
C5 - Community planning
Landscaping
C6 - Landscaping
Communications
C7 - Communications