Find out more about our four international conferences, from the themes we’ve discussed, to the speakers we have hosted.
Open Space : People Space 4 | Mobility, Mood and Place: Habitats for Happy and Healthy Ageing
Tuesday 11th October – Friday 14th October 2016
This was our fourth conference. It took place over four days in the John McIntyre Conference Centre, Pollock Halls, Edinburgh.
The main themes of the conference were:
- Healthy, happy and active ageing
- Co-designing the built environment with mobility in mind
- Experiencing mobility
- Health, mobility and place through the lifecourse
There were three keynote sessions, four plenary sessions, 47 oral presentations (organised into 14 parallel sessions), a poster display, an exhibition, and a full day of site-based workshops based around the methods used in our major cross-council-funded research project, Mobility, Mood and Place. The programme also incorporated an evening session, co-hosted with the Academy of Urbanism, on ageing-in-place.
Our speakers and opening guests included: Sarah Davidson; Billie Giles-Corti; Catharine Ward Thompson; Iain Scott; Sarah Wigglesworth; Ian Gilzean; Sara Tilley; Heidrun Mollenkopf; Gloria Gutman; Chris Neale; Richard Coyne; Jamie Pearce; Anne Jepson; and Katherine Brookfield.
> Browse the conference proceedings
Open Space : People Space 3 | an international conference on research into inclusive outdoor environments for all
Monday 27th June – Wednesday 29th June 2011
This was our third conference. It took place over three days in the John McIntyre Conference Centre, Pollock Halls, Edinburgh.
The main themes of the conference were:
- Inclusive design and sustainable community planning
- Physical environment, health and wellbeing
- Age-friendly built environments from childhood to old age
There were seven plenary sessions, 12 parallel sessions and an afternoon of workshops and site visits. There was also a poster display.
Our speakers and facilitators included: Sarah Boyack MSP; Simon Bell; Marketta Kyttä; David Rudlin; Rob Methorst; Marcus Ormerod; Catharine Ward Thompson; Penny Travlou; Lynne Mitchell; Mary Craig; Rita Newton; Keith Irving; Ian Wall; William Sullivan; Elizabeth (Libby) Burton; and Affonso Zuin.
> Browse the conference proceedings
Open Space : People Space 2 | an international conference on innovative approaches to research excellence in landscape and health
Wednesday 19th September – Friday 21st September 2007
This was our second conference. It took place over three days in Pollock Halls, Edinburgh.
The main themes of the conference were:
- Theories and methods on engagement with place
- Environmental detriments of health
- Affordances in the landscape
- Spatial structure and research methods for designers
There were 11 plenary sessions, 22 workshops and two round table discussions. There was also a poster display.
Our speakers and chairs included: Ian Sanderson; Andrew Thin; Terry Hartig; Brian Little; Catharine Ward Thompson; Fiona Bull; Sjerp de Vries; Harry Heft; Patrik Grahn; Nilda Cosco; George Morris; Julienne Hanson; Peter Aspinall; Robin Moore; Marcus Sangster; and Simon Bell.
> Browse the conference proceedings
Open Space : People Space | an international conference on inclusive environments
Wednesday 27th October – Friday 29th October 2004
This was our first conference. It took place over three days in The Hub, Edinburgh.
The main themes of the conference were:
- Children and young people
- Disability and social inclusion
- Health and restorative environments
- Tourism and leisure
There were 29 sessions in all, including five plenary sessions, 23 parallel sessions and an afternoon of field trips and workshops. There was also a poster display.
Papers by 143 authors were presented. Key and plenary speakers included: Ken Worpole; Marc Treib; Nilda Cosco; Judy Ling Wong; Jan Gehl; Catharine Ward Thompson; Sean Prendergast; Simon Bell; Anne Begg MP; Peter Aspinall; Terry Hartig; and John Zeisel.