Better Place Bradford

Better Place is a 3 year project being delivered in partnership between Better Start Bradford and Groundwork. This unique project is about involving local people to develop safer and healthier places for expectant parents and families with children under the age of 4, to increase their access to outdoor spaces. It’s widely accepted that a poor environment affects health and wellbeing and this applies to babies and small children too. Better Place shows how improving and investing in key features of the local environment can have a positive impact on children’s emotional health and physical fitness, setting them up for life. The project is delivered in collaboration with Bradford Council, Public Health, voluntary and community sector groups, local people and other Better Start Bradford projects.

Better Place is:

• Supporting local people, with a particular focus on families with children under 4, to get involved in developing plans for improvements to outdoor spaces
• Improving access to high quality green spaces and outdoor play facilities that are important to children’s health and wellbeing, such as parks, playgrounds and woodland
• Creating more opportunities for children to play and enjoy nature and looking to ‘reclaim’ spaces for families’ use through a variety of different activities
• Improving access to safe, high-quality routes and spaces for families to walk and exercise, so that they can get around in a healthy, safe and affordable way
• Aiming to improve air quality in the local area, especially in places where children live and play, by considering how local sources of pollution can be addressed and how we can help protect pregnant women and children from exposure to fumes

Activities have so far included: interactive plant & play sessions, street inspired activities e.g. junk modelling, cardboard box den building, co-design at a community events, awareness raising sessions around feeding birds and bulb planting. These activities are helping start conversations with families at a grassroots level. The project works closely with the Born in Bradford Innovation Hub, key partners in Better Start Bradford, to explore new ways to engage and involve communities. The Innovation Hub will be leading on project evaluation and the impact that the project will have made in the community in terms of physical environmental improvements and behavioural change of our target audience.

For more information about Better Place:

Address: The Mayfield centre, Broadway Avenue, BD5 9NP

For more information about the project please follow this link to the Better Start Bradford website

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