Prioritizing Health at the Community Scale

Lendlease piloted a new approach to health at the community scale at its Horizon Uptown master planned community in Aurora CO.  Lendlease, in partnership with the Center for Active Design,  surveyed prospective residents on local health and quality of life priorities and leveraged evidence-based health strategies to inform project design. 

Health and wellness were prioritized incorporating such strategies as walkable streetscapes, a variety of parks and community gathering spaces, trails that offer immediate connections to natural landscapes, and enhanced wayfinding.  Horizon Uptown emphasizes pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, access to quality open spaces, and an efficient parking strategy.  Results from the outreach to the target market early in the design scheme was further utilized to inform future programming offering for residents that will reinforce a sense of community identity.  

The approached used at Horizon Uptown served as the prototype for the development of the Fitwel Community standard.  The project participated in the 2019 pilot of the rating system and Lendlease insights contributed to the final version of scorecard. 

By underpinning Horizon Uptown’s design with research and community input, the project exemplifies how Lendlease creates communities that offer a dynamic sense of place, are people-oriented, and promote mental and physical well-being.  These outcomes were validated through the Fitwel Community 2 Star Rating for Design Certification earned by the project in January 2020.