Lack of Pregraduate Teaching on the Associations between the Built Environment, Physical Activity and Health in Swiss Architecture and Urban Design Degree Programs

Background: Lack of physical activity (PA) is the fourth risk factor for all-cause mortality. Regular PA reduces noncommunicable disease (NCD) and mortality risk. The built environment (BE) is a determinant of spontaneous daily PA. Professionals who plan and build the BE therefore affect public health. We tested the hypothesis of a lack of formal pregraduate training about associations between the BE, PA and health in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design academic degree programs (DPs) in Switzerland. Methods: We reached out to all DPs in Switzerland to ask if and how these associations are taught. For those declaring to teach the topic, the program syllabus and course material were inspected. Results and discussion: For 30 out of 33 identified programs, information for the analysis was obtained. A total of 18 declared teaching the BE, PA and health associations, but this could be confirmed for only 5 after verifying the course content. Teaching principles of building PA-promoting BE represents an underutilized potential for public health promotion. Conclusions: There is a need to introduce formal learning objectives in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design DPs in Switzerland on the associations between BE, PA and health. It is likely that similar needs exist in other countries.