Our vision is to be a go to place for research on health and environment at WUR. We believe that the physical environment can contribute in a direct and sustainable way to improving health and quality of life.

Our mission is to understand how health is best supported by and through different physical settings, for different groups, and at different stages of the life course. The challenge is to understand the intricate ways in which health interacts with places, spaces and ecologies. Part of that challenge is to explore what forms of knowledge are privileged and which forms can be produced, by whom and how. Moreover, we examine the ways in which different types of knowledge mutually inform society, policymakers and scientists in ways that can empower and be of practical use in supporting the health of different social groups.

The cluster brings together researchers with a variety of social and environmental science backgrounds with a broad range of interests, including greening and health, healthy cities, healthy architecture, place-making practices, environmental justice, climate change and health, therapeutic landscapes, green care, community gardening, soundscapes and health, and more.