Student Homelessness: Sheltering Our Future: An Adaptable Approach to Underutilised City Spaces

10.26686/wgtn.17131811.v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Caryl Ramos

Keyword(s):

Urban Space ◽

Modular Design ◽

Well Being ◽

Test Site ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Homeless Population ◽

Future Application ◽

Design Development ◽

Urban Context ◽

The City

The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance. In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters. The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.

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STUDENT HOMELESSNESS : SHELTERING OUR FUTURE An Adaptable Approach to Underutilised City Spaces

10.26686/wgtn.17131811.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Caryl Ramos

Keyword(s):

Urban Space ◽

Modular Design ◽

Well Being ◽

Test Site ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Homeless Population ◽

Future Application ◽

Design Development ◽

Urban Context ◽

The City

The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance. In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters. The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.

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Urban Health and Healthy Cities Today

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.013.253 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Evelyne de Leeuw ◽

Jean Simos ◽

Julien Forbat

Keyword(s):

Urban Health ◽

Local Governments ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Local Level ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Determinants ◽

Healthy Cities ◽

Urban Context ◽

Global Networks ◽

The City

The authors of this article purport that for current understanding of Healthy Cities it is useful to appreciate other global networks of local governments and communities. In a context where the local level is increasingly acknowledged as decisive in designing and implementing policies capable of tackling global threats such as climate change and their health-related aspects, understanding how thousands of cities across the world have decided to respond to those challenges appears essential. Starting with the concept of “healthy cities” in the 1980s, the trend toward promoting better living conditions in urban settings has rapidly grown to encompass today countless “theme cities” networks. Each network tends to focus on more or less specific issues related to well-being and quality of life. These various networks are thus not limited to more or less competing labels (Healthy Cities, Smart Cities, or Inclusive Cities, for instance), but entail significant differences in their approaches to the promotion of health in the urban context. The aim of this article is to systematically typify these “theme cities.” A typology of “theme cities” networks has several objectives. First, it describes the health aspects that are considered by the networks. Are they adopting a systemic perspective on all health determinants, such as Healthy Cities, or are they focusing on “hardware” determinants like Smart Cities? Second, it highlights the key characteristics of the networks. For instance, are they pushing for technological solutions to health problems, like Smart Cities, or are they aiming at strengthening communities in order to mitigate their detrimental effects, like Creative Cities? Third, the typology has the potential to be used as an analytical tool, for example, in the comparison of the results obtained by different types of networks in urban health issues. Finally, the typology offers a tool to enhance both transparency and participation in the policymaking process taking place when selecting and engaging in a network. Indeed, by clarifying the terms of the debate, decisions can be made more explicit and achieve a greater level of congruence with the overall objectives of the city. Indeed, Healthy Cities today need to make alliances with other theme networks, and this typology gives the keys to find which networks are the “natural best allies,” avoiding mutually harmful antagonisms. In that sense, the typology developed should be of interest to any actor involved in health promotion at the city level, whether in an existing “theme cities” policy process or as willing to participate in such a program, and to scholars interested in better understanding the main drivers of “theme cities” networks, a rapidly growing field of study.

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Emerging Biophilic Urbanism: The Value of the Human–Nature Relationship in the Urban Space

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12135487 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (13) ◽

pp. 5487 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simona Totaforti

Keyword(s):

Human Nature ◽

Urban Space ◽

Urban Sociology ◽

Urban Context ◽

Natural Landscape ◽

Biophilic Design ◽

The Future ◽

And Behaviors ◽

The Relationship ◽

The City

The research presented in this article adopts an urban sociology perspective to explore the relationship between spaces designed with biophilic principles and people’s pro-environmental values and behaviors. The research hypothesized that biophilic design and planning promote connectedness with nature and are positively related to pro-environmental and more sustainable values and behaviors. The contemporary city asserts the need for new paradigms and conceptual frameworks for reconfiguring the relationship between the urban environment and the natural environment. In order to understand whether biophilic design, planning, and policies can meet the global challenges regarding the future existence on earth of humans, focus groups were conducted to investigate how people’s relationship with the built-up space and the natural landscape is perceived, and to what extent the inclusion of nature and its patterns at various levels of urban planning meets people’s expectations. The results suggest that biophilic design and planning can be considered a useful paradigm to deal with the challenges that are posed by the city of the future, also in terms of sustainability, by reinterpreting and enhancing the human–nature relation in the urban context.

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Adensamento urbano e usos sociais de áreas verdes públicas da cidade de Garanhuns-PE

Ateliê Geográfico ◽

10.5216/ag.v12i2.46171 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 114-137

Author(s):

Ana Maria Severo Chaves ◽

Rosemeri Melo e Souza

Keyword(s):

Urban Space ◽

Well Being ◽

City Environment ◽

Systemic Analysis ◽

Palabras Clave ◽

Green Areas ◽

Free Spaces ◽

Social Use ◽

The City ◽

Social Uses

Resumo As áreas verdes públicas urbanas são espaços bem arborizados e representam ícones de bem-estar e de qualidade ambiental do meio citadino, devido aos diversos benefícios gerados pela vegetação, além proporcionarem dinamicidade e beleza ao espaço urbano. As áreas verdes públicas (AVPs) também correspondem a espaços livres, de usos sociais acessíveis a toda população e lugar de lazer. Assim, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar o adensamento urbano em que áreas verdes públicas da cidade de Garanhuns-PE estão inseridas, bem como, quais são os usos sociais desenvolvidos nas áreas estudadas. Para tal, a pesquisa é baseada na análise sistêmica da paisagem com suporte de trabalho de campo e de sistemas de informações geográficas (SIG) para a confecção de mapeamentos. Como principais resultados, observou-se que o adensamento urbano se refere as áreas de caráter comercial e residencial com pouca verticalização. Já os seus usos são diversificados quando a AVP dispõem de algum tipo de equipamento de uso social, sendo os parques urbanos os espaços com melhores condições de usos. Palavras-chave: Lazer. Espaços Livres. Fitogeografia. Paisagem. Abstract Public urban green areas are well-wooded spaces and represent icons of well-being and environmental quality of the city environment, due to the diverse benefits generated by the vegetation, while also providing dynamicity and beauty to the urban space. Public green areas (PGAs) also correspond to free spaces, aimed at accessible social uses by the entire population, as well as leisure places. Thus, the present research had as aim the analysis of the urban density in which public green areas of the city of Garanhuns-PE are inserted, as well as what social uses are developed in the studied areas. To this end, this research is based on the systemic analysis of the landscape with the support of fieldwork and geographic information systems (GIS) for mapping creation. The main results indicate that the urban densification refers to areas of commercial and residential character, with little verticalization. Their uses become diversified when the PGA has some kind of equipment destined for social use, with urban parks being the spaces presenting the best conditions of use. Keywords: Recreation. Free spaces. Phytogeography. Landscape. Resumen Las áreas verdes públicas urbanas son espacios muy arbolados y representan íconos de bienestar y de calidad ambiental de la ciudad, debido a los diversos beneficios generados por la vegetación, además de proporcionar dinámica y belleza al espacio urbano. Las áreas verdes públicas (AVPs) también corresponden a espacios libres, de usos sociales accesibles a toda la población y lugar de esparcimiento. Así, la presente investigación tuvo por objetivo analizar la densificación urbana en que las áreas verdes públicas de la ciudad de Garanhuns-PE están insertadas, así como también, cuales son los usos sociales desarrollados en las áreas estudiadas. Para tal, la investigación está basada en el análisis sistémico del paisaje con soporte de trabajo de campo y de sistemas de informaciones geográficas (SIG) para la confección de mapeamientos. Como principales resultados, se observó que la densificación urbana se refiere a las áreas de carácter comercial y residencial con poca verticalización. Sus usos ya son diversificados cuando las AVP disponen de algún tipo de equipo de uso social, siendo los parques urbanos los espacios con mejores condiciones de usos. Palabras clave: Ocio. Espacios Libres. Fitogeografía. Paisaje.

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We Got Your Back! Help Care Seeking and Caregiving in Mexican Indigenous Men With Ankylosing Spondylitis

American Journal of Men s Health ◽

10.1177/1557988319872016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 155798831987201

Author(s):

Joan Francisco Matamoros-Sanin ◽

Juan Guillermo Figueroa-Perea ◽

César Pacheco-Tena ◽

Ingris Peláez-Ballestas

Keyword(s):

Ankylosing Spondylitis ◽

Well Being ◽

The Self ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Care Seeking ◽

Positive Relation ◽

Anthropological Research ◽

Ethnographic Data ◽

Access To Food ◽

The City

This article presents a study on the care provided by 11 men from different ethnic, health, and socioeconomic backgrounds to two indigenous Rarámuri males with ankylosing spondylitis. This chronic muscular and bone disease is known to evolve progressively, causing disability and immense suffering to the affected individual. Through anthropological research involving ethnographic description and interviews conducted in an urban setting of the City of Chihuahua in the state of Chihuahua, caring practices performed by men that contest prior assumptions about how men relate to each other in relation to their health and masculinity were encountered. To interpret findings, a “caring of the self” framework, along with elements of the discussion of personhood and masculinities, was used; this led to an analysis made through the elaboration of meaningful coding of patterns of caring practices. The patterns identified in the ethnographic data were organized into four groups, all of which represented caring practices performed by these men. The first three groups involve access to food, money, and infrastructure goods, which have a material nature that holds a positive relation to the well-being of the two Rarámuri males in regard to the implications of their disease. The last group is unique in that it pertains to circumstantial factors that required improvisations in the forms of favors exchanged by these males that also positively related to their well-being

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Urban Space as a Factor of Production: Accounting for the Success of Small Factories in Postwar Tokyo

Social Science Japan Journal ◽

10.1093/ssjj/jyaa013 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 281-298

Author(s):

Benjamin BANSAL

Keyword(s):

Urban Space ◽

Urban Form ◽

Manufacturing Firms ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Labor Costs ◽

Full Account ◽

Competitive Edge ◽

Mixed Use ◽

The City ◽

Spatial Stratification

Abstract This paper demonstrates that small manufacturing firms in postwar Tokyo were exceptionally successful. Not only were they more productive than their national peers, they were also remarkably competitive vis-à-vis large factories in Tokyo. The existing explanations for this double outperformance do not take full account of the urban setting in which this process took place. Small factories compensated for higher labor costs by being more efficient users of urban space. They thrived thanks to Tokyo’s particular urban form, which included a preference for mixed use and often blurred the boundaries between living and workplace. Small factories also benefited from being embedded in the relatively egalitarian structure of postwar Tokyo, as the city avoided spatial stratification despite megacity growth. Although Tokyo’s small factories remain important, their competitive edge has eroded from the 1970s onward.

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Community Food Growing in Parks? Assessing the Acceptability and Feasibility in Sheffield, UK

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10082887 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 2887 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jinvo Nam ◽

Nicola Dempsey

Keyword(s):

Local Authority ◽

Urban Parks ◽

Well Being ◽

Household Composition ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Community Groups ◽

Study Results ◽

The Uk ◽

The City

Urbanisation brings with it increased pressure on land and land uses, particularly green spaces. There has been considerable interest in community food growing in green spaces as part of a wide trend for gardening in the UK, which has been found to bring social, health, and well-being benefits. Such activity tends to take place in community-managed gardens and allotments. In light of the context of austerity within which local authority parks departments currently operate, this study tested the acceptability and feasibility of parks as a potential urban setting for Community Food Growing (CFG) in Sheffield, UK. Employing a combination of resident questionnaires and interviews with community groups and professionals, the study results showed localised differences in the acceptability and feasibility of CFG. Residents’ propensity to want to get involved in CFG differed by age and household composition, which, if acted on across the city, could significantly change the demographic make-up of parks-based community groups in the city. Barriers to CFG in parks were described by community groups and park managers as security and vandalism, need for resources, and undue pressure on the local authority as land-owner. We discuss the emergent questions around who is best placed to manage urban parks, particularly when the public sector is subject to stringent austerity budget measures. The paper concludes with commentary and recommendations about the importance of governance arrangements if CFG is to be included as part of the activities supported and managed in urban parks.

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Urban Agriculture for Poverty Alleviation:A Case Study of Hyderabad, India

10.26686/wgtn.16968223.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Charles Devenish

Keyword(s):

Urban Agriculture ◽

Poverty Alleviation ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Setting ◽

The Future ◽

Agriculture And Food ◽

Extinction Of Experience ◽

The City ◽

Project Level

Conceptualising sustainable development as that which seeks to achieve holistic well-being means that as a barrier to attaining and sustaining well-being, poverty takes on a similarly more broad definition. Within this framework it is proposed that the breakdown of community; the extinction of experience; degradation of the natural environment; and food insecurity are examples of poverty in the contemporary urban setting because they obstruct access to overall well-being. Through a case study of the Resource Centres for Urban Agriculture and Food Security - Cities Farming for the Future (RUAF-CFF) project being piloted in Surabhi Colony, Hyderabad, India, urban agriculture is assessed as a means of alleviating these diverse forms of poverty. While the findings indicate some success at the project level, urban agriculture's limited ability to address Hyderabad's more widespread and pressing problems - in particular its water scarcity - coupled with the form of development the city is taking means that it is unlikely urban agriculture will gain the institutional support necessary for its further spread throughout the city. Although such findings do not inspire hope for the future use of urban agriculture as a poverty alleviation strategy within Hyderabad, a number of issues are considered which suggest that urban agriculture should rather be supported for its ability to facilitate 'good change' in our urban centres.

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CONNECTING BY DIFFERENCES: CREATING SPATIAL CONTINUITY FROM DIFFERENT LEVELS OF MEDIATIONS

The Journal of Synergy Landscape ◽

10.25105/tjsl.v1i1.9941 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 34

Author(s):

Marina Bonnici ◽

Eun Kim

Keyword(s):

Private Life ◽

Reciprocal Relationship ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Private Sphere ◽

Urban Context ◽

Spatial Continuity ◽

Individual Housing ◽

Work Spaces ◽

The Relationship ◽

The City

The area is located in Città studi, on the edge of the dense complex of Politecnico di Milano and the large green space Giuriati Sports Field: two areas have no spatial continuity. The design intention is to establish a mutual relationship between campus and the urban context. By working on the concept of the threshold space as an opportunity for mediation, we were able to envision public and open spaces that interact with the city. The design of the new complex is based on a principle of balance between horizontality (public sphere) and verticality (private sphere), taking into consideration how, according to the principle of urban mixité, the relationship between public, social, working and private life will take on a new shape. The complex will therefore represent a transition between the urban setting and the rest of the campus. Its interior is based on the use of different threshold and mediation levels: these are configured as a gradual sequence starting from the more urban context of the work space, which is connected to the residence through the underground, to the exhibition and archive centre, which embodies the reciprocal relationship between city and campus, to the more private sphere of the residential complex, envisioned as a mix of domestic and work spaces that is reflected in each individual housing unit as well as the common areas. The dissertation was built upon a research on the formation of the threshold space, paying particular attention to the spatial continuity between indoors and outdoors.

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