Goal 2: To improve access to quality shade at work, school, play and in public places as part of a healthier built environment

Overview

Quality shade is a well-designed and correctly positioned combination of natural and built shade and can reduce solar UVR exposure by up to 75%.¹² 

Shade provision across the community is critical to skin cancer prevention. Quality shade can be provided in the natural environment (e.g tree canopy and portable shade) and in the built environment (e.g covered outdoor learning areas in schools, shade structures for workplaces, playgrounds and pathways, purposeful tree planting within the built environment, and shade shelters at transport stops).¹³ Shade initiatives promote adoption of sun protection behaviours and have a co-benefit of encouraging physical activity and using active transport in outdoor spaces. The Cancer Institute will collaborate with current and new partners in this Strategy to improve access to high-quality shade where people work, learn, play and in public spaces.

Improving access to shade as part of a healthier built environment is also facilitated by public education campaigns, and implementation of evidence-based policies, that promote adoption of sun protection behaviours.

Building on our achievements

This Strategy builds on the work of the previous two NSW skin cancer prevention strategies, to continue:

• educating, motivating and enabling planning and design professionals to incorporate shade in the natural and built environment 
• measuring and monitoring the availability of shade in public places such as parks and playgrounds
• demonstrating the ways existing built environments can be made healthier by increasing access to high-quality shade.

What success looks like

Successful implementation of the key strategies for Goal 2 will mean that all people in NSW live in healthier built environments that provide high-quality shade, protecting them from the sun and encouraging them to seek shade and reduce their risk of skin cancer.

Recent achievements to improve access to quality shade 

• Inaugural ShadeSmart Awards as part of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Awards Program 2022.
• The Benchmarking Shade in NSW Playgrounds project provided new statewide data about shade and sun protection.
• Retrofitting a western Sydney playground significantly increased its safety by reducing UV exposure, surface and ambient temperatures.ⁱ