Topos 106

to po s. no 106

2019

24 BIOPHILIA FOR HEALTHY CITIES – Blue-green infrastructure as DNA for healthy urban development

MIAMI RISING – The city’s conflict between its vulnerable climate and its excess capital

ISBN 978-3-7667-2437-3

60

Healing Landscapes

LANDSCAPE AS COMMON GROUND – Creating an holistic approach to healing and building in Syria 82

to po s. no 106

2019

T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E V I E W O F L A N D S CA P E A R C H I T E CT U R E A N D URB A N DE S I G N

Healing Landscapes

Contents

THE BIG PICTURE

CURATED PRODUCTS

Page 8

Page 102

OPINION

REFERENCE

Page 10

Page 106

TALE NT VS. MASTERMIND

E DITOR’S PICK

Page 12

Page 108

METROPOLIS EXPLAINED

Page 14 LIVING THE ECO-DREAM

Page 40

CONTRASTS FROM ABOVE

MIAMI RISING

How inequalities leave their mark on the landscape Page 18

The balancing act between the city's architectural extravaganza and the desire for sustainability Page 60

BACKFLIP

BGI as DNA for healthy urban development Page 24

“STREETS HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH”

ESCAPE PLAN

LANDSCAPES TO THE MAX

An interview with Lucy Saunders on the Healthy Streets approach Page 66

The park La Mexicana and the role green space can play in improving the quality of life Page 32 “A CITY IS GOOD IF IT COUNTERACTS SOCIAL STRESS”

An interview with Mazda Adli on Neuro-Urbanism Page 38 LIVING THE ECO-DREAM

GATHER TOGETHER

Tulsa's Gathering Place: How to design a park for everyone and make a city a better place?

Page 70

Naomi Sachs on human-friendly planning Page 74

“WE MUST OVERCOME THE GAP BETWEEN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND HEALTH SPECIALISTS”

Utøya: The healing effects of memorials Page 76

HEALTHCARE DISTRICTS FOR HEALTHY CITIES

How to plan the healthy places of the future Page 48

Page 113

EDUCATIONAL CATALYST

How to support development through education?

Ulyankulu in Western Tanzania Page 88 BATHING BETWEEN TREES

topos ISSUE 106

IMPRINT

LANDSCAPE AS COMMON GROUND

Kengo Kuma's new meditation house brings forest bathing to the max Page 94

006

Page 114

Creating a Healing Landscape Strategy for Syria Page 82

William Sullivan calls for nature at every doorstep Page 54

Page 58

FROM THE EDGES

THE RING OF REMEMBRANCE

“WE NEED DRAMATIC GREEN INTERVENTIONS”

HEALING LANDSCAPES FACTS AND FIGURES

Page 112

“SALUTOGENIC LANDSCAPES ARE A BLUEPRINT FOR HEALTH-PROMOTING DESIGN”

Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm: How ailing docklands can be transformed into a healthy quarter Page 40

Simon Bell on the Master’s programme in Landscape and Wellbeing of the University of Edinburgh Page 46

Page 110

CONTRIBUTORS

GAT HER TOG ETHER

Page 100

Page 70

Photos: Shane Bevel, Wilhelm Rejnus

BIOPHILIA FOR HEALTHY CITIES

OPINION

Erion Veliaj Mayor of Tirana

“CHILDREN ARE THE URBAN SUPERHEROES WHO DELIVER INCLUSIVITY IN THE CITY” In Tirana, Albania's capital, a unique alliance aims to make the city's public infrastructure inclusive and safe. Mayor Erion Veliaj employs the help of Tirana's youngest civil society actors to promote car-free activities in public space. Children have become the city's agents of change for a sustainable urban future.

010

topos ISSUE 106

Opinion

The vision of my administration is to create an inclusive city that is friendly and open to all, a city that meets the needs of future generations.

In order to guarantee the sustainable development of a capital like Tirana, drivers, bikers, pedestrians, and caretakers with strollers need to coexist peacefully. Before initiating the urban transformation of Tirana, we asked ourselves, how can we discourage the use of cars?

What physical adjustments incentivise citizens to make short trips on foot, by bike, or by public transport, and thereby reduce the number of cars on the road?

As mayor I learned that it is easier to change a city in terms of infrastructure – built kilometres of roads and bicycle lanes – than to change what is between one’s left and right ear.

Everyone wants change, but hardly anyone wants to change. This is a universal challenge that we in Tirana have addressed by building a coalition with special ‘urban superheros’: children. Although they are the most vulnerable members of society, they are by no means powerless. To design and build a child-oriented urban space means both to improve the life of all citizens and to make urban space accessible for all. Therefore, we have put children at the forefront of many of our initiatives to deliver urban inclusivity and to enhance the development of a pedestrian-friendly city.

During the lengthy communist regime in Albania, urban planners had a much easier job designing and delivering inclusivity in terms of traffic; Tirana had loads of agricultural land to expand into; they planned for a city of 200,000 inhabitants; private car ownership was banned, so there was no car traffic. During the early post-Communist transition the internal migration restrictions were removed; the number of inhabitants grew five-fold to 1,000,000 people; the number of cars exploded to 200,000 vehicles – cars became the status symbol of wealth and power. At that time Tirana was anything but a children-friendly city.

Parents spent more money on their cars than on their children, 100 per cent insured their cars but only 1 per cent insured their children; there were no public playgrounds in Tirana, forcing kids to play in busy and dirty roads,

putting them at risk from accidents and air pollution; kindergartens and nurseries were run-down, infested with mould, and the food that was served lacked any nutritional value.

Therefore, first and foremost, by drastically improving the situation of children, we gained the support of these (behavioural) change-agents that have no hidden agenda.

Children are the best advocates to persuade their parents to recycle, walk or bike to school. A key project that highlights the power of child-oriented urban planning is the redevelopment of Skanderbeg Square, awarded the European Prize for Urban Public Space: the biggest and most polluted roundabout in the Balkans was transformed into the biggest pedestrian area in the region. To convince residents and car owners that it should become a pedestrian area, we implemented a series of car-free days, encouraging parents to engage in outdoor activities with their children.

By turning children into ‘advocates for urban change’ we can help them build the city they want to live in – and make a more liveable city for us all. This reminds me of a quote by F.D. Roosevelt, “we cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

For us, education, creative culture and the creative economy are of utmost importance to build the future of the city. Recognising that our budget is limited, we partnered with businesses to transform kindergartens and nurseries into green and sustainable spaces; built 40 playgrounds across the city; turned schools into community centres by building sports facilities; repurposed the former mausoleum of communist dictator Enver Hoxha into a center for culture and technology through "learning by doing"; planted an Orbital Forest populated by thousands of kids’ “birthday trees”; built 40 km of bike lanes with Tirana’s Bike Mayor running bike schools for children; introduced Friendly Wi-Fi to our public squares, making Tirana the first city in the Western Balkans to protect children and teenagers navigating the internet when accessing free Wi-Fi; and created the Children’s Municipal Council to give the next generation a voice.

URBAN FU T U R E GLO B A L C O N F E RE N C E Erion Veliaj will attend this year’s URBAN FUTURE global conference that takes place in Oslo from May 22 - 24. It is Europe’s largest event for sustainable cities and the place to meet „city changers“ from all over the world. More information at: www.urban-future.org

ERION VELIAJ was elected as the 42nd Mayor of

Tirana in June 2015. Prior to his tenure, Veliaj served as a Member of Parliament of Albania and Minister of Social Welfare and Youth from 2013 through 2015. Before joining the Socialist Party in 2011, Veliaj was the leader and founder of the movement “MJAFT”, a civic organization which gained huge popularity for its novel methods of peaceful protest.

Veliaj holds a Master’s degree in European Integration from the University of Sussex and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Grand Valley State University.

topos

011

Healing Landscapes

Landscapes In 2016, as part of the global initiative “100 Resilient Cities” sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation, Mexico City’s CDMX Resilience Office released the first resilience strategy ever developed in Mexico.

Based on an holistic approach, it defines the broad lines of action that will guide the city’s long-term development plans and emphasizes the role of public space in responding to the increasingly urgent conditions related to environmental and social risks. Built in a socially stratified area, the park La Mexicana is a manifesto of this approach.

to the Max 032

topos ISSUE 106

Photo: Franco Panzini

BIANCA MARIA RINALDI

Parque La Mexicana is located in the modern district of Santa Fe on the outskirts of Mexico City on the site of a disused landfill: The park is designed as an artificial landscape of rolling hills, embracing a winding lake.

topos

033

Healing Landscapes

Living Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm is known as one of the most eco-friendly districts in the world. After more than 25 years of construction the area is now complete. Its best practices show how an urban development challenge can become an asset, and how ailing, dilapidated docklands can be transformed into a healthy and sustainable quarter. Mats Egelius, architect at White Arkitekter and responsible for the first construction phase of Hammarby Sjöstad, takes us back to Sjöstad’s genesis.

MATS EGELIUS

the Eco-dream 040

topos ISSUE 106

Photo: Wilhelm Rejnus

Stockholm´s position as "The Venice of the North" was consolidated with the recent addition of Hammarby SjÜstad.

Paths alongside the water lead to a vast nature reserve with opportunities for swimming, nature trails, and an artificial mountain built for skiing.

In the middle: a natural hill with old oak trees.

topos

041

Healing Landscapes

Healthcare Districts Healthcare in the US is in crisis. To prevent dramatic behavioral health issues, hospitals and health systems are now investing in programs, partnerships and places that can inspire healthy behavior. Health District Planning shows how knowledge-based approaches can address planning challenges related to population health. How can we plan the healthy places of the future?

for healthy Cities 048

topos ISSUE 106

Illustration: Perkins+Will

MARK KAMMERBAUER

The Baton Rouge Health District exemplifies Health District Planning by combining healthcare, health education, research, and sustainable urban development goals.

topos

049

Healing Landscapes One of Miami’s new high-end residential projects: Renzo Piano’s Eighty Seven Park, a 18-floor tower.

Miami The latest wave of real estate development in Miami has dotted the city’s archipelagic oceanfront with high-end residential towers designed by star architects. At the same time, climate change and sea-level rise have increasingly afflicted its urban environment. While each of the new buildings may incorporate environmentally sensitive design elements, it perpetuates the paradigm of archipelagic urbanism that raises the ponderous question of whether they should have been built at all.

ARIEL GENADT

Rising 060

topos ISSUE 106

topos

061

Visualization: RPBW Architects

Healing Landscapes

Bathing People live in forests because they want to be in harmony with nature. In Japan, a stay in the forest is even regarded as medicine, i.e. forest bathing for holistic health care. The world-renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma is someone who makes it possible to experience the connection between nature, materiality and humankind in his architecture. In the middle of a forest in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, he has created a filigree meditation house, where it becomes possible to deeply feel and experience the forest.

between Trees 094

topos ISSUE 106

Photos: casey horner-unsplash

UTE STRIMMER

Forests as healing landscapes: The restorative environment helps people recover from mental exhaustion and stress.

topos

095