Author Archives: openspaceeditor

Prof. Catharine Ward Thompson gives talk at the FOLAR Annual Symposium 2024 on Ecological Public Health

Prof. Catharine Ward Thompson gave a speech at last years FOLAR annual symposium on Ecological Public Health – the future of salutogenic landscapes, which is now available to view online.

The direction Catharine Ward Thompson takes in her research is based on salutogenesis, an approach to human health that examines the factors contributing to the promotion and maintenance of physical and mental well-being rather than disease. Having the types of environment that support good health makes much better economic and cost effective sense for public health. Landscape architecture and management can do a lot to support people in good health through planning, designing and managing the outdoor environment.

Green space is eugenic – it is associated with reducing the difference in health and life expectancy between the most economically deprived people and those better off. There is a need to prove the link between landscape and improved health, and also to determine the mechanisms behind access to green space and health. And this is what Catharine Ward Thompson quietly shares with us here. A lifetime’s research and collaborations with others looking at different age groups, over different time periods and their interaction with a range of landscapes reveals many exciting conclusions, instinctively known and understood by Paxton and Olmsted and Geddes and many others, and here based on peer reviewed evidence. There is huge opportunity with this to fight for and protect the role of landscape anew.

Event Exploring Blue Health: Research, Practice & Partnerships

Public Health Scotland hosted the Green Health Learning Network (GHLN) event on Tuesday 16th December, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and community organisations to explore the theme of Blue Health: Research, Practice and Innovative Partnerships.

We’re pleased to share that Prof Simon Bell, Co-Director of OPENspace, spoke at the session, offering insights from ongoing research into the value and potential of blue spaces.

The online session will highlight leading academic research on the wide-ranging benefits of blue spaces, alongside real-world examples from community groups using water-based activities to support healthier lives. Strategic leaders will also share emerging opportunities for collaborative partnership working in this area.

The event was for anyone interested in health improvement, community engagement, or environmental wellbeing.

If you would like to view the event recording and presentation slides, you can request access to the GHLN MS Teams channel below:

MS Teams GHLN > 📚ℹ️Docs & information > Files > Events > 16th December ‘Blue Health – Research, Practice and Innovative Partnerships’

Peter Aspinall Memorial Lecture

Join us as OPENspace honours the remarkable legacy of Professor Peter Aspinall with the first Peter Aspinall Memorial Lecture, taking place on Wednesday 26 November at 6pm in the West Court lecture theatre, Edinburgh College of Art.

Professor Jenny Roe will deliver the lecture, exploring Peter’s pioneering impact on restorative environment research and its global legacy.

This first memorial lecture will highlight Professor Peter Aspinall’s contribution to the field of restorative environment research as viewed through the empirical research of his former PhD student, Jenny Roe, the inaugural Mary Irene DeShong Professor of Design & Health and Director of the Centre for Design & Health, School of Architecture, University of Virginia, USA.

Professor Roe, whom Peter tutored, mentored, and collaborated with from 2005 onwards, will highlight the new paradigms they developed together, in conjunction with multi-disciplinary teams at the Universities of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt and other UK research institutions. She will reflect on the global impact of this collaborative research and how it has changed the discipline of environmental psychology.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception at 7pm.

To register for your free ticket, please visit Professor Peter Aspinall Memorial Lecture Tickets, Wed, Nov 26, 2025 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite

HAPPI Hour Webinar Explores Age-Friendly Futures: From Research to Real-Life Impact

The latest HAPPI Hour webinar, Towards Age-Friendly Futures: Local Practice and Perspectives, brought together academics, practitioners, and policy experts to discuss how we can create inclusive, age-friendly communities, a key recommendation of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce.

Hosted by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (Housing LIN), the session explored what it truly means to develop age-friendly futures, bridging the gap between research, policy, and everyday experience. The discussion featured a dynamic mix of perspectives, highlighting innovative practice and the latest applied thinking on designing places that support healthy and connected ageing.

Iain Scott from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Architecture, reflected on his Housing LIN guest blog, ‘What Makes a Good Place for Healthy Ageing: Developing a Tool to Assess Ageing in Place‘, and Dr Hannah Marston of The Open University shared insights from her recent Housing LIN Viewpoint on affordability and its role in shaping age-friendly cities and communities.

Housing-LIN-2025-webinar-slides

Launch of the International Journal of Healthy Space

The International Journal of Healthy Space has officially launched, with its first issue now available here. Featuring editorial contributions from Professor Simon Bell, Chief Editor, and Ziwen Sun, Executive Editor, the journal marks an important step in advancing research and practice at the intersection of design and health.

The International Journal of Healthy Space aims to bridge design with the disciplines of health and wellness, fostering collaboration between researchers and practitioners across fields.

Focusing on the core theme of healthy living environments, the International Journal of Healthy Space explores the crucial role of design in promoting health, improving healthcare settings, and enhancing quality of life. The journal places particular emphasis on innovation and application of design in the health field, addressing not only human-centered healthy spaces but also the design and understanding of non-human health environments.

The journal is also inviting submissions for a special issue on the theme of ‘Healthy Urban Landscapes: Designing for Well-being through Evidence and Practice.‘
Aligned with the IFLA Urban Health and Well-being Working Programme 17, this special issue will explore topics including:

Urban environmental stressors and well-being
Lifestyle, behaviour, and urban form
Blue and green infrastructure for health and well-being
Community-based practice

For more information on how to contribute, please visit https://www.hwipgl.com/sys-nd/185.html.

Prof. Simon Bell Presents at International Conference on Integrated Forest Management

Prof. Simon Bell participated in the international conference “Integrated Forest Management for Environmental, Social, and Economic Balance,” held in Riga, Latvia, on 18–19 September 2025.

The event was organised by Rīgas Meži (Riga Forests), the organisation responsible for managing over 65,000 hectares of forest owned by the City of Riga since the Middle Ages.

Prof. Bell delivered a presentation entitled “How to Plan and Manage Forests to Maintain Aesthetic, Recreational, Health and Wellbeing Values.” His talk addressed the need to integrate cultural and social dimensions into forest planning and management, ensuring that these landscapes continue to deliver benefits for both people and the environment.

Prof. Simon Bell Contributes to WHO Working Group on Drowning Prevention

Prof Simon Bell has been invited to join a working group set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide recommendations on the prevention of drowning, one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

While there are many aspects to consider, the planning and design of water areas in landscapes to make them accessible while maintaining safety is an important task for landscape architects. Following his work on BlueHealth, Prof. Bell joins the group as an expert in designing waterfront environments.

Activities in the Joint Lab of Healthy Space

In July 2025, Prof. Simon Bell and Iain Scott visited the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), where they co-taught a summer school attended by a diverse group of students. They also participated in a research symposium on Healthy Design.

Work is underway to complete the Chinese translation of the Urban Blue Spaces book and to develop a proposal for a major international conference, OpenSpace:HealthySpace, planned for October 2026. The event will be co-organised with OPENspace to mark 25 years since OPENspace was founded.

Preparations are also progressing for the launch of the International Journal of Healthy Space, expected by the end of 2025. The inaugural issue will feature editorial contributions from Prof. Simon Bell, Chief Editor, and Ziwen Sun, Executive Editor.

Prof. Simon Bell takes on the role of Director of the IFLA Working Programme on Urban Health and Well-being

In time for the 2025 IFLA World Congress held in Nantes, France in September, 19 new Working Programmes were set up representing a wide range of the many issues landscape architects face. This ambitious initiative seeks to unite the expertise of IFLA members to confront global challenges and elevate the profession’s impact on an international scale.

Working Programme 17 covers Urban Health and Well-being. It has a director (Prof Simon Bell), a co-director (Dr Gayle Souter-Brown) and several working members from around the world, representing academia and practice. A work programme and terms of reference have been prepared for approval by the IFLA Executive Committee.

Welcome Prof. Jenny Roe to Edinburgh College of Art as the Visiting Professor

We are delighted to announce that Professor Jenny Roe has joined the Edinburgh College of Art as the Visiting Professor. Jenny was a Honorary Research Fellow in the OPENspace Research Centre previously.

“I’m thrilled that ECA has appointed me as a Visiting Professorship almost 20 years after I started my PhD in Edinburgh. Some of the most innovative research of my career to date has been with colleagues from the Universities of Edinburgh and Heriot Watt, and I’m very much looking forward to new research collaborations with old and new colleagues alike.”, Jenny shared.