Following the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the University of Edinburgh and Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) over the summer of 2023, the two institutions have decided to set up The Joint Laboratory of Healthy Space in the related fields of urban design, landscape architecture and environmental design.

It is an international and interdisciplinary laboratory, with the aim of “creating healthier living environments for the public”. The OPENspace Research Centre in Edinburgh College of Art and the Social Space and Healthy Environment Laboratory at BIT are the two bodies within each institution who are forming research teams to further the collaboration.

To address global health threats and challenges in relation to living environments, the laboratory will join hands with interdisciplinary global experts to investigate new evidence on the impact of built environments on health and well-being, and promote the construction and renewal of healthy spaces around the globe, with a view to improving the health and well-being of all human beings. At the local level, the laboratory will focus on the national strategy of “Healthy China 2030” and the needs of the construction of a healthy China. It has the following mission:

• To promote health and well-being for the public in relation to landscape architecture and design
• To provide the highest-quality research and teaching
• To challenge the boundaries of knowledge, research and disciplines
• To enable our graduates and staff to be exceptional individuals equipped to address global challenges

Activities of the laboratory will facilitate academic exchange, student supervision, bi-lateral workshops and research projects in investigations of the many links between health and the built environment.

A survey to gauge public opinion on the potential to transform some kerbside parking spaces in Edinburgh into community spaces, also known as ‘parklets,’ has shown 58 per cent of residents are in favour of having them in their neighbourhood.

Support was greatest among under-45s and non-car owning residents.

Of the 42 per cent of respondents who did not wish to see a parklet in their neighbourhood, most were over 55 and owned a car.

Nearly 800 people took part in the University of Edinburgh study via online platforms, social media and face-to-face interviews.

Business owners and community organisations were among those engaging with academics from the University’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Next steps

Enthusiasm for parklets was greatest in Morningside, Portobello and Leith where several streets were suggested as possible locations, while areas such as Corstorphine showed less interest.

The study team is to carry out further research in districts that drew only a limited response.

Researchers are recommending that the City of Edinburgh Council explore the feasibility of implementing parklets in specific locations which have community support.

Findings will also be used to help shape emerging policies on street space allocation across the city.

A new kind of public space

The survey describes parklets as “small community gathering space for people to stop, relax, and socialise”.

Edinburgh has some commercial kerbside build-outs but has not yet introduced the parklet concept, which is based around providing a fully public and non-commercial space. Some parklets have already been introduced in cities including London and Leeds.

Parklets are usually created by converting one or two on-street parking bays into a small public space with installation of temporary structures, seating areas, plants and cycle parking.

Parklets need to be supported by the local community and so this research looked at whether residents would be interested in having one in their neighbourhood.

Lead investigator and OPENspace Co-Director, Dr Simon Bell said, “This research is a good example of how the collection of data about a topic, in this case parklets, can be used to provide better evidence for use in planning and policymaking. It shows that reliable data can support other aspects of the planning process and can balance situations where, otherwise, effective lobbying might unfairly affect a planning outcome.”

The study was supported by the University of Edinburgh’s Data-Driven Innovation programme – part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal and funded by the UK and Scottish Governments.

Building community evidence for urban parklets in Edinburgh – Final Report

Students from Central Connecticut State University’s Study Abroad program visited OPENspace earlier this month to learn more about global aging and age-friendly initiatives in Scotland.

OPENspace Research Fellow, Dr Caroline Pearce, presented initial findings from the ACRC study, ‘Environmental support for flourishing in older age: an exploration using a personal projects approach’, and Dr Scott Ogletree provided an overview of the Landscape and Wellbeing program at ECA and his work on GroundsWell.

The students, who had earlier explored urban areas within Scotland to note the accessibility of public transportation, availability of green spaces, and the cultural attitude toward older adults, had positive feedback on the impact of OPENspace research:

“It helped broaden my outlook on how the physical environment can directly impact people’s health and well being in ways that I hadn’t thought about before”

“Seeing that even the smallest activity can make older adults feel so much better just solidified the idea that the world needs to do better, not just for older adults, but for everyone.”

OPENspace research will be well represented at the 2023 International Conference on Environmental Psychology in Aarhus, Denmark. The conference, which takes place 20-23 June, focuses on the relationship between humans and their environment.

OPENspace Research Fellows Dr Caroline Pearce, Dr Charlotte Wendelboe-Nelson and Dr Scott Ogletree will have poster presentations on work from the Adavnced Care Research Centre (ACRC), GroundsWell project, and the WIAT project.

Dr Caroline Pearce will present initial findings from the ACRC study, ‘Environmental support for flourishing in older age: an exploration using a personal projects approach’, showing that easy access to places that enable people to make social connections in their local environment are significant contributors to older adults’ sense of well-being.

The World Health Organization have released a new report outlining the potential of urban green and blue spaces to generate better health and well-being.

“Assessing the value of urban green and blue spaces for health and well-being” is part of a growing body of evidence which supports more consistent decision-making from policy-makers about urban spaces, by illuminating their multi functional benefits, as well as the potential trade-offs inherent in their provision.

The report suggests a range of steps to increase the benefits of urban nature, and the application of tools with which to assess the value of their benefits and support decision-making.

Dr Simon Bell is the Principal Investigator in a project funded by the Data-Driven Initiative programme, together with City of Edinburgh Council, looking at the potential for parklets.

Parklets (typically repurposed car parking spaces into public community spaces) have the potential to provide community-led interventions in the public realm that can have a positive social and environmental impact on the local area, as demonstrated in numerous cities around the world. In cities where parklets have been delivered, they have usually been initiated by local parties interested in this model that have come together to bring forward a proposal to the local authority.

There is, however, no precedent for this in Edinburgh and there is a lack of local evidence as to whether communities have the appetite to initiate this type of public space intervention, as well as whether they have the capacity to lead the delivery and maintenance of the associated infrastructure. This project will work with local communities to build the evidence base and assess whether there is potential to create parklets in key locations within Edinburgh city.

OPENspace Director, Prof Catharine Ward Thompson, was a keynote speaker at last week’s 49^th PARJAP Congress in Madrid. The event, organised by the Spanish Association of Public Parks and Gardens (AEPJP), focused on the health benefits of public parks and gardens across four key themes:

• ‘Green city and health’
• ‘Wellbeing as an urban planning objective’
• ‘Therapeutic designs of green spaces’
• ‘Lived experiences and real solutions (case studies)’

Prof Catharine Ward Thompson shared her research on the impact of green spaces on public health, highlighting how green spaces can reduce stress, encourage physical activity, and mitigate against climate change.

OPENspace Research Associate, Dr Charlotte Wendelboe-Nelson, recently presented a poster at the Urban Transitions 2022 conference in Barcelona, Spain. Her poster, ‘Your favourite park is not my favourite park: A participatory geographic information system approach to improve urban green and blue spaces: A case study in Edinburgh, Scotland’ highlighted research work done as part of the project Edinburgh’s Thriving Green Spaces. The poster illustrated a Maptionnaire approach, which was successfully used to obtain information through a public participation process, highlighting the presence of contested spaces in Edinburgh and the need for gender-focused UGBS research to minimise gender-related barriers.

The conference aimed to promote healthy urban development by bringing together different disciplines working within cities. World leading experts on urban and transport planning, architecture, environmental exposure assessment, environmental epidemiology, physical activity, climate change, and public health and governance came together to discuss current challenges and solutions.

https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/urban-transitions