Why Sheffield is a city of opportunity to champion community change in health & wellbeing

“If you want to see the future, look back at the past…” Albert Einstein.

The Great British industrial revolution, brimming with innovations, began in Northern England. Cities were epicentres of transformation via the growth of heavy industry such as weaving, steelmaking, and ship building. At the same time, poor health and living conditions, long working hours and rapid population growth from immigration, triggered positive political and social change.

Today, cities such as Sheffield - known for its proud industrial heritage and subsequent decline - are rejuvenating once again through local and national Government regeneration and investment programmes to support communities such as the Levelling Up Fund.

The UK's greenest city

Even before the Government mantra of ‘levellingup’ was heard, the ‘Steel City’ was brimming with new industry, engineering and manufacturing. It was the UK’s first ‘National City of Sport’ and boasted Sebastian Coe and Jessica Ennis as sporting alumni; it began thriving in digital-tech incubation and acceleration; it was named the UK’s greenest city with 4.5 million trees, more than any other city in Europe; it features two world leading universities and one of the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS Foundation Trusts; it is the proud location of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park - the world’s only Olympic Legacy Park outside of a host city; and it has bold ambitions to be a zero carbon city by 2030.

Health inequality

However, still lingering in the background is health inequality. Sheffield continues to lag behind the England average on most outcomes including life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, educational attainment, unemployment and housing.

Bleakest is the inequality in healthy life expectancy in Sheffield – 20 years between the most and least deprived men; 25 years for women1

Canon Medical Systems UK believes that a way to improve people’s overall wellbeing is through proactive health, sport, social engagement, and education; creating a cycle of future health prosperity that boosts a long quality of life. With long links to charitable causes and academic partnerships with health research and development organisations, the city of Sheffield was an obvious choice to build the first community catalyst, a blueprint of sport fused with wellbeing.