The state of our health services is rarely out of the news. Understandably, there is a huge concern about acute provision and the treatment of ill health. Much has been written about the increased incidence of obesity, the persistence of health inequalities and the best ways to care for an ageing population. We believe that much greater priority needs to be given to prevention of ill health in public health and social care. In April 2013, responsibility for public health moved from the NHS in England to local authorities. The Landscape Institute was inspired by this change to look at the promotion of public health across the whole of the UK. Our challenge was to answer the question: can landscape help create healthy places? We believe that the evidence in this publication and especially the projects that we describe, provide a clear and positive answer. All those concerned in creating healthy places – public health professionals, planners and landscape architects – need to recognise landscape as an asset that has enormous potential to improve our health and wellbeing.