Sport, physical activity, and exercise alone do not determine a person’s health – they are part of a complex system of social and environmental factors that collectively shape healthy lifestyles.
Each component interacts with others and can influence activity levels in the communities people live in.
Prior to becoming London Sport’s Head of Data, Mike Rigby and colleagues at Impact on Urban Health developed the Urban Health Index (UHI), a Social Progress Index for the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
The UHI captures 54 indicators across 48 wards, helping to reveal the social and environmental drivers of health and wellbeing.
The indicators are grouped into three key dimensions:
- Basic human needs: such as nutrition, medical care, water
- Foundations of wellbeing: such as access to information and resources
- Opportunity: such as freedom of choice, personal rights, and social inclusion
Across the 48 wards, the top three and bottom three wards based on UHI scores are:
| Top three | Bottom three |
| Dulwich Village – 66.2 | Brixton North – 42.9 |
| Clapham Common & Abbeville – 61.2 | Brixton Windrush – 42.9 |
| Dulwich Hill – 60.8 | Myatt’s Fields – 45.0 |
The UHI can be used to:
- Explore specific social or environmental factors influencing health.
- Identify ward-level priorities for intervention.
- Design targeted, place-based initiatives.