Professor Simon Bell gave a lecture series on research methods to an audience of Master and PhD students at the School of Architecture at Harbin Institute of Technology in July 2026.
This was his 11th continuous attendance to present such a course and his hosts held a special event to mark the 10 years of this collaboration and to acknowledge Simon’s contribution to international cooperation.
This included a video of the highlights of each year, subsequently updated to include 2026.
In July 2026 Professor Simon Bell, accompanied by Dr Mo Han of BIT, visited Dalian University of Technology to initiate cooperation.
He met Professor Jin Bo and other colleagues and discussed potential project ideas with a focus on technology, big data and AI as an approach to combine and synthesise complex datasets regarding urban health.
The 25 July 2026 was World Drowning Prevention Day run by the World Health Organisation.
At this event, held in person and online, several new initiatives were presented and launched, including the document “Seven strategies to prevent drowning“.
Professor Simon Bell took part in the technical working group focusing on how to ensure physical infrastructure both encourages people to access and use water while also making it safe.
OPENspace Co-Director, Prof. Simon Bell, was invited to speak at the ‘Connecting through Nature’ interdisciplinary gardening and wellbeing workshop for postgraduate researchers (PGRs) at the University of Manchester on 11th March.
The workshop, which focused on sustainable gardening and landscape-wellbeing design, explored the relationships between landscape, health, and sustainable urban environments.
Prof. Bell’s lecture, “Connecting Through Nature: Urban Allotment Gardening and Wellbeing in Europe”, drew on insights from the edited volume Urban Allotment Gardens in Europe. The session explored the historical evolution, governance, and socio-ecological significance of urban allotment and community gardens across European cities.
Through comparative case studies, Prof. Bell highlighted how allotments contribute to food security, biodiversity, social cohesion, and cultural identity, while also revealing tensions around land tenure, planning policy, and gentrification.
Alongside the lecture, participants took part in a hands-on gardening activity, creating small plant installations using recycled materials. The workshop combined practical making with shared reflection and research-led discussion, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue across planning, geography, and architecture.
From 9-13 February, 2026 an exhibition will be held in the Matthew Gallery in Minto House, Chambers Steet, showcasing three different sets of work associated with the Joint Lab of Healthy Space established between the School of Design and Art at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) and OPENspace Research Centre and Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at ECA. This joint lab was set up in early 2023 and collaboration has included summer schools, doctoral seminars and joint publications.
This exhibition features results from the 2024 summer school in BIT, where designs were intended to improve a blue space in Beijing, outputs from the MArch programme at ESALA which feature the design of edge structures along blue spaces, results of the Landscape and Wellbeing programme course on “Landscape design for health and wellbeing” featuring the Union Canal in Edinburgh and doctoral research in landscape architecture which focuses on various types of green and blue spaces and their health and wellbeing potential.
The curators of the exhibition are Professor Simon Bell, co-director of OPENspace, Iain Scott, Senior Lecturer responsible for the MArch course which is showcased, and Dr Mo Han, Associate Professor of BIT and organiser of the summer schools.
Following the opening, Dr Han will present some of her work at an OPENspace seminar, to take place in Seminar Room 4 at Minto House.
Date and Time: Monday 9th February 2026, 12pm
Location: Matthew gallery, Minto House, Chamber Street (In-Person only)
Date and Time: Monday 9th February 2026, 1pm-2pm
Speaker: Dr Mo Han
Location: Seminar Room 4, Minto House
To Register to view the Seminar online please sign up for an online admission ticket through the exhibition event and a Seminar link will be sent to you.
Title: Integrated Strategies for Rural Landscape Planning and Sustainable Development based on Landscape Character Assessment and Cultural Ecosystem Service.
China is currently facing a comprehensive undertaking of rural revitalization. In order to continue the Chinese agricultural civilization and explore the profound rural civilization of our country, it is necessary to base on the historical heritage of rural civilization and the deep value of rural landscapes, and promote the organic unity of rural culture with agricultural economy, ecological environment, and social value. This study is based on the theory of Landscape Character Assessment, deeply analyzes the essence of rural landscape features in China and their Landscape Capacity in response to transformation, and incorporates artificial intelligence technology to carry out scientific and precise pre-planning for rural development, aiming to organically integrate the protection of rural historical value with the development of rural ecological civilization.
Speaker Bio:
Mo Han is an Associate Director of BIT-UoE Joint Laboratory of Healthy Space and Associate Professor at the School of Design and Arts at the Beijing Institute of Technology.
Professor Simon Bell visited the Beijing Institute of Technology Joint Lab of Healthy Space in early January. One of the main activities was the launch of the Chinese translation of the book Urban Blue Spaces, originally published in 2022.
An audience of professors and students attended and the book was presented by Dr Mo Han, the translation editor who not only explained the book but also illustrated how its messages could be and already are being applied in research at BIT and in China.
The launch was followed by a panel discussion and presentations of research by BIT PhD students who are working on aspects of blue spaces.
A delegation from the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) – Professor Yang Yu, Associate professor Qi Guo and two PhD students Keli Wang and Yuxin Huang – visited ECA, ESALA and OPENspace on the 26 and 27 of November. They toured the architecture and landscape architecture studios with Iain Scott and Simon Bell, met ESALA staff to discuss cooperation and joined a research seminar with landscape architecture PhD students. Simon Bell has been teaching at HIT since 2015 and has built strong connections with the staff and students.
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:
For more information on how to contribute, please visit https://www.hwipgl.com/sys-nd/185.html.
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 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.