Building a Healthy Neighbourhood by Gabriel Pozzobom

building a healthy

INDEX Foreword section i - Reference case studies Introduction to the analysis

9 10 11

Historical survey 12 Demography 27 Housing and architecture 30 Commercial facilities and public services 34 Mobility system 41 Street profiles and urban furniture 45 Green spaces 53 Environmental solutions 63 Conclusions 67 section ii - THE PROPOSAL Introduction to the project The project area The layout and the design priciples

70 71 73 75

The geodesic dome project

The courtyard block as the heart of the community-based design

Our goals

A social neighbourhood A safe neighbourhood A neighbourhood for all A walkable and cyclable neighbourhood A green neighbourhood A sustainable neighbourhood

100 101 119 123 133 137 148

Policies 164 Reflections 174 Bibliography

176

FOREWORD

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cities are planned no longer simply by planners, but also by the people themselvesâ&#x20AC;? World Health Organisation Commission (1999)

This book is a product of mutual efforts by students from different areas with a common goal. Different backgrounds converge into a synthetic idea. The path we had to take could not be done without questions and critics related to different aspects in our everyday life. The cities we live in have become too complex in the course of time, requiring an increasing cooperation between different agents in order to understand the urban environment and the implications it causes in the population. The contemporary habits have been also an issue for urban planning. The contact the citizens have

been losing with the outdoor environment, the artificiality of our lives, the arising levels of stress, depression, obesity, anxiety and other health issues were some of our many driving values and concerns. We understand health in a broader context. A healthy life is not a longer life, but a life full of joy. We are concern about mental health issues, as well as physical health issues, but we also seek the relations established between people and the places they live. The social ties within their community, the participation of those individuals in deciding policies, their activism, their habits in sports practice, their

relation with the environment, the sense of belongingness with their neighbourhood, their freedom and possibilities to interfere in the space, their safety: those are some aspects that affects and make part of their healthy lives. But how does the urban environment can benefit these dimensions? The answer for this question requires transdisciplinarity, which was another important motor for us. Psychology, history, engineering and architecture were part of our academic backgrounds, and the challenge laid on working our skills to mutually synthesize it into a healthy neighbourhood. Guided by a professor but autonomous as a group, we started understanding what makes a city efficiently healthy into this broader context, and the differences that may increase or not healthy habits. The first meetings already

swept off our common sense ideas and endorsed our critical sense. Based on these first studies, we analysed two neighbourhoods in the city of Groningen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beijum and Oosterparkwijk â&#x20AC;&#x201C;, evaluating the plans and understanding the population that lives there and their correspondence with the urban environment. Finally, we started the designing process gathering this recently acquired knowledge and tracing the guiding principles for our project. We are proud to show the results as a step for engaging people to think about the cities we live in and the modern habits we have been used to. We hope this work motivates new academic developments and new urban ideas. By presenting it, we also aim to put forward the debate and improve discussions around the issue.

Reference case studies

An analysis of two former experiences in Groningen: the cases of Oosterparkwijk and Beijum.

Section I - Reference case studies

INTRODUCTION TO THE ANALYSIS “Go out there and see what works and what doesn’t work, and learn from reality. Look out of your windows, spend time in the streets and squares and see how people actually use spaces, learn from that, and use it.” Jane Jacobs (1961)

Jane Jacobs, a social activist, said this already in the 60’s to the architects and urban planners. As we were about to analyze two neighbourhoods around Groningen, we started our journey by following her insight. On a Monday morning we biked to the areas to get a first impression. We walked through the neighbourhood, sat down for a while, observed the community life and experienced the neighbourhoods’ atmospheres. Later on that week we met again to discuss our personal impressions of each neighbourhood. We brought our observations together to discuss about the positive and negative aspects that we experienced within each neighbourhood. Not until then we started with our research about the two places. After further discussions, observations and research we

evaluated the neighbourhoods according to the criteria of the Healthy Urban Planning Checklist, developed by the London Healthy Urban Development Unit in 2014. We analyzed why specific aspects of the neighbourhoods were working and why others did not. Of great importance in these analyses were the effects the design of each neighbourhood had on it’s inhabitants health and well being. The results of the analysis of the two neighbourhoods are presented on the next pages. We used this analysis and the experiences of the two neighbourhoods with their advantages and disadvantages as a reference point from which we tried to learn and implement strategies for our main project; the proposal of a completely new, healthy neighbourhood. 11

Section I - Reference case studies

01. oosterparkwijk

Topographical map of the years 1870-1935. Souce:hisgis.nl

historical survey Formerly known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Plan Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Plan Oost), Oosterparkwijk is a typical example of the social democratic ideals of the Second World War. The neighbourhood is located East of the Binnenstad Groningen; as the maps from the 1870s shows, it stands just outside the perimeter of

the former city walls, which were demolished in 1874. In the beginning of the 20th century different plans were drew up by city planners: first Mulock Houwer (1903-1906 and 1918) and then Berlage and Schut(1928-1932) tried to organize this expansion area of the city of Groningen.

Section I - Reference case studies

Plan van Uitleg by Mulock Houwer. 1903-1906. Source: Beeldbank Groningen.

Berlage en Schut. Groningen expansion plan (detail), 19281932. Source: Beeldbank Groningen

Berlage en Schut. Groningen expansion plan, 1928-1932. Source: Beeldbank Groningen

Soisajdo iasjd

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The temporary ‘red village’ was built 1918 and demolished in 1968. Then, between 1919 and 1920 part of the plan by Mulock Houwer was realized with the construction of the ‘Blue Village’; it consists of a ring of low-rise residential units and farm-like houses. The ‘white Village’ and the ‘Orange Village’ were then added in 1926 after a design by Bouma. Different housing corporation were subsequently in charge of the implementation of the part of the masterplan in the West side of the district (Kazemier and Tonkens,

Passage in Oosterparkwijk

1930s-1950s). The general idea at the basis of the design for the district was to try and build a large amount of housing that could still have the comfortable human scale and the appearance of a village. This idea is best reflected in the Blue Village, which is indeed an urban garden village, which has been recognized since June 2007 as a municipal monument. The district also includes the neighbourhoods called Bloemenbuurt, Damster Area, Florabuurt, Gorechtbuurt and Vogelbuurt.

Housewives washing clothes together in a community room

Section I - Reference case studies Oosterparwijk evolution

Red Village (1918; demolished in 1968) Blue Village (1919-1920) White Village (1926) Orange Village (1926) Housing Corporation Groningen (1930s to 1950s)

Section I - Reference case studies

Social housing buildings in the area were designed paying particular attention to architecture quality (traditional materials, sober detailing and symmetrical dispositions of the parts), social aspects and health. Many buildings were provided with common rooms for the cleaning and washing of the clothes, and courtyards were supposed to foster the relationship among the dwellers. Later developments include the Sanitizing Plan in 1960(Sanering Plan) to improve health conditions and the quality of the public space in some areas of Oosterparkwijk (e.g. the Sanering Plan Lindenhof), and extensive plans for buildings renovation in 1961 and 1975, the renewal of the Treslinghuis(garden in 1979, corner dwellings in 1987) and the development of Pioenpark in 1982. Corporation Nijestee together with the municipality of 16

Groningen and in close consultation with current and future residents had developed a plan which sold most some of the monumental block. The residents of this ancient piece of Groningen rebelled against the demolition of the blue village. The municipality has responded in 2007 to the call to preserve the property conferring it the status of a monument and thus implementing a renovation action. In September 2009 the renovation of the Blue Village started. The newest part of the district in in the north side; it was built after World War II and comprises the Golden Oriole Flat, a municipal monument was raised in 2007 as a national monument. The south side of the Oosterparkwijk has a somewhat different character and does not belong to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Plan Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Its southern boundary is formed by the Damsterdiep; on the North

Section I - Reference case studies

Buildings renovation (areas in black) (1961)

Extensive renovation plan (1975)

side of this medieval canal are mainly so-called ‘captain houses’ from around 1900 (to the East) and larger homes from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries (to the West). In what is currently the middle of Oosterparkwijk the Tresling House was built in 1913-1915 as a nursing home ‘for the antisocials’(verzorgingstehuis voor a-socialen); it has then

had several functions in the course of the century. Today it is a multi-functional building in the heart of the neighbourhood and hosts several, partly social, organizations. In the southern part of the Oosterparkwijk on the Damsterdiep are included a building from the 1960s (the Damstersingel), houses from the late nineteenth century 17

Section I - Reference case studies

and a new development from 1980, designed by architect Wim Quist. On the grounds of this project was located the traditional sawmill of Van Houten (hence the name of some streets such as Balkgat, Holtstek en Zagerij). In the case of Oosterparkwijk, the main principles underling the planning process included providing housing for low income citizens, the importance of aesthetic in the general layout and the social aim of giving the lowest classes the possibility to develop, educate and emancipate themselves. Here, the strategies chosen by town planner can be reduced to mainly two: -creating a garden village in the city – to create a sense of community, safety, morality and healthy ‘rural’ circumstances (in the Red and Blue villages) 18

-providing a large number of residential units in a dense form - tenement blocks in the later development It is possible to conclude that these strategies transformed over time , mainly to cope with the changes of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is evident the strong faith of the planners and politicians in the value of architecture and built environment to improve people’s life’s quality; nonetheless today the juxtaposition of different project layout has resulted in a visible partialization of the neighbourhood, both from the point of view of the urban scape and from that of the social cohesion. Other repercussions of specific features of the neighbourhood design on health and social aspects can be found at the end of the analysis of Oosterparkwijk.

Section I - Reference case studies

beijum

Topographical map of the years 1870-1935. Souce:hisgis.nl

Beijum is one of the first inhabited areas of the province of Groningen. In the 11th century a proper village named was created, which was given the name Beijnum around 1900. Few remains of its past are still visible in the area; among these, the old main street called Beijumersweg has been kept in the most recent planning of the neighbourhood. The settlement was formerly part of the town of Bedum and it passed under the Municipality of Groningen in 1969.

The main structural development of Beijum happened in recent times, when in 1972 the Municipality of Groningen laid out a plan for the area. At first, different spatial organization models were proposed, as it is possible to learn from the folder containing documents and discussions about the implementation of the neighbourhood in the Historical Archive of the city of Groningen. Some of the models were of a polycentric type, others were rather monocentric,

Section I - Reference case studies

but they all shared the same communication system, based on a main outer ring of roads that would have enabled an easy access to Beijum from the nearby neighbourhoods and, at the same time, a central space (almost) free of intensive car

circulation. In the end, the polycentric model based on three main poles was chosen. This final choice provided a mix of functions, with the three poles developing around structures denominated special buildings.

Dienst Stadsontwikkeling en Volkshuisvesting. Structuurplan stadsdeel Noorddijk. 1968. Bron: Beeldbank Groningen

Section I - Reference case studies

The 4 models proposed for Beijum. Source: Historical Archive Groningen

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Phased development of Beijum. Source: Historical Archive Gronigen

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How Beijum’s plan actually developed. Source: Historical Archive Groningen

A peculiarity of the 1972 plan for Beijum is the fact that it was scheduled to evolve in three progressive phases. A diagram in an illustrative and promotional booklet shows that the development was indeed implemented through these different phases, although they resulted slightly mixed up. In a rhetoric typical to the period (1970s and 1980s) the newly realized neighbourhood was promoted in a series of publications, such as a booklet in which Beijum was depicted as an ideal green neighbourhood for families, with the support of images depicting healthy spaces, food and activities.

Pictures depicting a ‘healthy life’ in a promotional booklet on Beijum. Source: Historical Archive Groningen

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A final plan of the neighbourhood from 1983 shows its entire development with a recognizable organization of the residential areas in a cauliflower model, with groups of houses encircled by secondary roads. This configuration testifies well the conflictual relationship with cars of the planning period: the main intention was to keep the traffic out of the neighbourhoods, but the vehicles were still necessary to the life of its inhabitants, hence the planning and the presence of numerous small streets and parking spaces for cars. An analysis of the Minutes of the city Council related to the planning phase of Beijum in the 10970s reveals that the main discussions focused on some specific topics; the need of houses, for example, was one of the strongest impulses that lead to the implementation of Beijum. It was related to the housing shortage of the period and to the research of new paradigms of urban 24

Functions in the neighbourhood. Source: Historical Archive Groningen

Section I - Reference case studies

A map of the neighbourhood after its implementation. Source: Historical Archive Groningen

Section I - Reference case studies

life. Monotony was another issued addressed in the discussions: as a reaction to the functionalist and rationalist residential solutions of the postwar models, the council tried to push towards the creation of a different type of settling, with a less impersonal and a more varied appearance. The price of residential units was also taken into consideration: middle class families should have been able to afford a place in the healthy, newly realized neighbourhood. One interesting feature of the implementation plan for Beijum was its ‘openness’: the general plan would have indicated the exact position of the housing lots, but the architects and planners responsible for each building would have had a certain freedom in their design. Bottom-up opportunities for the owners to contribute realizing their future houses and, in general, the citizens participation in the planning process were discussed as well. Another cultural aspect characteristic to the 26

idea of Beijum as a new neighbourhood was its possibility to become a small colony for artist and, in general, a place where families could have found their living dimension freely, provided with large open spaces, a human scale and an unconventional built environment. In conclusion, there is a main urban development strategy are discernible in the case of Beijum: the ‘cozy city’, which contemplates the concepts of the human scale for a better quality of living, the appropriation of the space by the inhabitants, the bottom-up opportunities and the importance of the private dimension of life in the neighbourhood. The outcome of the planning and the realization of Beijum has revealed, however, many discrepancies between the initial intentions and the actual effects of the built environment on the dweller’s lives and the social dimension. These will be illustrated in the conclusions resulting from the analysis of this neighbourhood.

Section I - Reference case studies

02.

demography The neighbourhoods show many differences in their demographic structures. Beijum has 13240 inhabitants, and is about five times bigger than Oosterparkwijk, with its 2480

inhabitants. According the the CBS research below, Beijum has more persons per families, which is reflected in bigger average household sizes and more households with children.

Demographics of the inhabitants Inhabitants No. Density per km2 Household size Households with children

Beijum 13240 6069 2.1 37%

Analysing the age distributions within the neighbourhoods, we can conclude that there are more young people (<15 years) in Beijum than in the Oosterparkwijk. This is in line with the assumption

Oosterparkwijk 2480 7437 1.6 20%

that, comparing the two neighbourhoods, there are more families living Beijum. On the other side, there are very few elderly people living in Beijum, which is less than the average in the Netherlands.

age distribution Age <15 years >65 years

Beijum 20% 5%

Oosterparkwijk 12% 13%

Section I - Reference case studies

This reflects an uneven distribution of the generation within the neighbourhood of Beijum, indicating that it might not be the most appealing place to live for elders. Oosterparkwijk has an elderly home, whereas Beijum does not. It might also be related with what the following table points: Beijum

is located further from the city centre and therefore is not as accessible as Oosterparkwijk. Whereas the city centre is located 6,7km from Beijum, it is only 1,1km from the Oosterparkwijk. This might be one of the reasons why the inhabitants in Beijum have (on average) more cars per household.

car use Cars No. % per household

Beijum 4130 0.7

Both neighbourhoods have relatvelly high percentages of people with low incomes. However, the percentage of people with low incomes is larger in Oosterpaarkwijk. This becomes interesting whilst noticing that the percentage of people in the age range of youngsters to students (15 to 25 years) is higher in Beijum 28

Oosterparkwijk 625 0.4

than in Oosterparkwijk. As these are examples of people who generally can be considered to have low incomes, the people with low incomes from the two neighbourhoods seem to differ. One could speculate that the people with low incomes are older in Oosterparkwijk than in Beijum.

Section I - Reference case studies Percentage of people with low incomes - Neighbourhoods (2011)

Percentage of people between 15 and 25 years old - Neighbourhoods (2013)

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03.

Passage of one of the blocks

HOUSING AND ARCHITECTURE In Oosterparkwijk there are different typologies and a clear distinction between them, partially because each part of the neighbourhood was constructed in a different time. There are single or double houses detached one from another,

houses in a row, houses in a row with a courtyard inside the block and small apartment buildings with or without commercial facilities in the ground floor. The different types of houses and the layout of the neighbourhoodresult in a more recognizable space.

Houses in a row

Apartment building

In Beijum there are also different types of houses but although they have different architecture projects the result is monotonous and lacks wayfinding. This happens because of the lower grade of diversity in housing typologies, many of them are the same

type (ex: single houses), and due to the cauliflower layout of Beijum that compromises the orientation in the area. It is not a predictable regular layout and does not have strong landmarks for better localization. Beijum has the suburban characteristics of a car oriented space with

Section I - Reference case studies

Single houses

1. Jacobs, Jane. The death and life of great American cities. Vintage, 1961.

Car park

Elderly House

more single houses and parking spaces. In summary the main difference between the two areas is that Oosterparkwijk has more types of houses and Different types of architecture creating different, recognizable spaces, a feeling of identity and belongingness. On the other side Beijum has different architecture projects but not different typologies, and the resulting spaces are not unique, their appearance is the same everywhere. In both neighbourhoods the average height of the houses is the same, between two and three floors. Beijum and Oosterparkwijk have houses for elderly people near facilities, commercial facilities, public transportation and the main road of the neighbourhood.

Also all the houses have gardens, but the special feature in Beijum is that some houses have the living room facing the backyard and the kitchen in the front part of the house, near the street. This points to a project decision of the architects to have the people towards the green space, which is in itself a good solution, but doing this they turn the back to the street, diminishing the important connection of the house with the street. The introverted layout of Beijum does not allow the eyes to reach the street - a decisive factor in terms of security according to Jane Jacobs1. The housing typologies of both neighbourhoods can be compared by the maps in the following pages. 31

Section I - Reference case studies

In conclusion Beijum has a car oriented design, does not establish relation between the dwellers and the street and has a poor design for wayfinding orientation. Oosterparkwijk is more successful in creating a relation between the dwellers and the street, and the design allows better wayfinding. For the healthy neighbourhood project Beijum was taken as a model to not be followed under many aspects. In the other hand Oosterparkwijk design, especially the block houses with courtyards inside, the variety in the typology of the houses and the closer relation between street and houses, was taken as a reference.

Housing typologies in Oosterparkwijk

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Housing typologies in Beijum (North)

Housing typologies in Beijum (South)

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04.

commercial facilities and public services During the analysis of the commercial and public services we first examined the availability of the facilities within the neighbourhoods that are considered as important tools to improve the physical and psychological health of the dwellers (e.g. social hubs, institutions for elderly care, sport facilities, healthy food sellers, shopping facilities, and schools). Thereby we examined how often we could perceive such facilities and whether they were equally available in both neighbourhoods. Afterwards we used the Stadsgids tool (fleximap. groningen.nl/gnmaps/stadsgids/) to check how accurate our observations were and whether we overlooked some facilities during our first visit at the neighbourhoods. Both places have only a few commercial facilities. In Beijum those facilities are mainly concentrated in only one part

of the neighbourhood where the residents are provided with a supermarket and some other little shops. In Oosterparkwijk there are also just a few commercial facilities available, but here they are a bit more spread out. Regarding the social hubs, there are only a few restaurants located in Beijum. Likewise to Beijum, in Oosterparkwijk there are no pubs and also only a few restaurants available. Whereas Oosterparkwijk provides its residents with one social hub for youth, in Beijum no facilities for youth can be find. Healthy food shops were not perceived in neither neighbourhoods. However, note that the Oosterparkwijk is located at the outskirt of the inner city of Groningen, while Beijum is planned to be clearly separated from the center of Groningen (see section Mobility System). This means that the residents of the Oosterparkwijk are well

Section I - Reference case studies

connected to the wide variety of commercial facilities of the city center. With regard to the public services both neighbourhoods are provided with elderly care houses, sport facilities and schools. Considering the demography, Beijum presents a higher percentage of

children and young people per household in comparison to Oosterparkwijk (see section Demography). Consequently, the neighbourhood of Beijum is provided with plenty of schools, kindergartens and crechès. Concluding, we evaluated both neighbourhoods as “healthy” in terms of providing

Cafetaria in Oosterparkwijk

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its residents with enough public services. However the commercial facilities and the services for social interactions seem to be insufficient. For the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;healthy neighbourhood projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; we therefore decided to encourage social interactions through social hubs and community spaces.

Mall in Beijum

Furthermore we aimed to stimulate the local economy of the new neighbourhood through local food markets, commercial facilities inside the neighbourhood and local work opportunities. Thereby a less car dependent and hence a more sustainable neighbourhood will evolve.

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Centralized commercial facilities Beijum source: http:fleximap.groningen.nl/gnmap/stadsgids/

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Few Commercial Facilities Oosterparkwijk source: http:fleximap.groningen.nl/gnmap/stadsgids/

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Social Hubs in Beijum source: source: http:fleximap.groningen.nl/gnmap/stadsgids/

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Social hubs in Oosterparkwijk and the proximity to the city center source: source: http:fleximap.groningen.nl/gnmap/stadsgids/

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05.

External Mobility Structures

mobility system When it comes to mobility the two neighbourhoods have quite distinct structures. The differences are partly determined by the locations of the neighbourhoods and offer insights into different strategies in regard to the encouragement of bike

use. At first the mobility systems, connecting the two neighbourhoods to the city centre of Groningen will be discussed and then the internal mobility structures of each neighbourhood will be analysed.

When it comes to the connection to the centre of Groningen, the foremost difference between the neighbourhoods lies within the distances. Beijum is located further away from the centre, whereas the Oosterparkwijk is just located at the outskirt of the centre. This difference of location requires different forms of connecting the neighbourhoods and the centre. Beijum has for example a more extensive

bus system with more bus stops and more frequent commuting times, allowing people to reach the centre within 12 minutes. In Oosterparkwijk the bus stops are rather sparse and are only located in the surrounding streets but not within the neighbourhood itself. Thereby it takes on average longer to take a bus from the Oosterparkwijk to the centre (15 minutes) than from Beijum. 41

Section I - Reference case studies

External mobility structures of Beijum

What is interesting about both neighbourhoods is the discouragement of car use opposed by an encouragement of bike use. Hereby two main strategies are being applied, namely on the one hand an active discouragement of car use and on the other an active attempt to make bike use attractive. Both neighbourhoods clearly make use of the first strategy: Using the car as a form of transportation to reach the 42

centre is discouraged by forcing car drivers to take detours. The routes that can be taken by bike towards the centre are thereby shorter than by car i.e. the car route from Beijum to the centre is 7.1km long and the bike route only 4.8km. Interestingly in both cases the longer commuting distances by car makes the commuting times by car and bike in both neighbourhoods equally long. Therefore it takes from Beijum equally long to reach the centre by bike or by car,

External mobility structures of Oosterparkwijk

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Bicycle path in the main street to Beijum

namely 15min. The same happens in Oosterparwijk, but in a 6 min trip. Furthermore car use is discouraged by the fact that once the city centre is reached, a parking spot needs to be found and the city of Groningen put high prices on parking within the centre. Whereas the first strategy is equally applied in both neighbourhoods, the second strategy, namely to actively make cycling attractive finds more concrete examples

in the mobility system connecting Beijum to the centre. Beijum is for example connected through a wide bike path that is separated from the main road. Thereby cycling is made attractive because it becomes safe and fast. In the Oosterparkwijk this is not made to an equal extend as cyclists have to take a detour around the UMCG which is a huge hospital complex, located between the Oosterparkbuut and the centre. This could be for example improved by building a bike path through the UMCG. Overall one can conclude that both neighbourhoods encourage the use of bicycles instead of cars as a way to commute to the centre. Whereas the differences in distance makes it also convenient for people in the Oosterparkwijk to walk to the centre, Beijum offers a convenient bus system. All in all both neighbourhoods offer convenient alternatives to car use. 43

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Internal Mobility Structures

Internal mobility structure of Beijum: The green lanes depict interconnection routes for bicycles and pedestrians

When it comes to the internal mobility structures within the neighbourhoods, both are again discouraging car use. In the Oosterparkwijk this is accomplished by implementing a lot of one-way streets which makes it difficult to commute by car. Bikes are not restricted by the one-way streets and can therefore commute faster though the neighbourhood, but they share the same roads with no separated bike lanes through the

neighbourhood. When it comes to pedestrians, they are provided with wide sidewalks, which promotes walking. In Beijum on the other hand bike use is promoted with a structure that again not only discourages car use but at the same time actively makes bike use more attractive. By structuring the neighbourhood with a lot of cul-de-sacs for cars it becomes hard and confusing to commute by car within the neighbourhood. At the same time the cul-de-sacs are interconnected by small bike and walking paths, which makes these forms of transportation within Beijum very attractive. It allows the people to commute safer and faster through the neighbourhood by making use of these paths (see figure aside). Furthermore both neighbourhoods feature speed bumps to reduce the commuting speed of cars within the neighbourhoods making car use less attractive and cycling safer and thereby more attractive.

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06.

street profiles and urban furniture Street profile and urban furniture represent important aspects in urban design. They include many small and bigger elements that influence in a subtle way the experience

that people have of their environment; if well organized and implemented, they can have many positive effects on everyday activities and encourage or discourage

Secondary street in Oosterparkwijk

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specific wanted/unwanted behaviors among people. Street profiles influence all users’ behavior, but they are mainly a tool to discipline car drivers’ habits and to provide a safe environment for pedestrians and dwellers in general. Urban furniture plays an important role in determining the quality of urban environment and can also act on people’s behaviors in different ways, from inviting people to use some spaces to improving public transport

services’ attractiveness, thus pushing people to have a more active lifestyle. In the case of Oosterparkwijk, the traffic system consists basically of large external roads with double lanes, medium internal roads and narrow internal roads with single lanes. These are easily recognizable thanks to the use of different paving materials. All over the neighbourhood sidewalks are wide, providing pedestrian with safe paths where it is pleasant to walk.

Mediumsized street in Oosterparkwijk

Primary external street in Oosterparkwijk

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Car use is effectively regulated: bumpers, ramps and curbs extensions have been used to reduce vehiclesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; speed. The neighbourhood design is also clearly not car-oriented: internal

streets and alleys donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t provide parking space. Safety for both pedestrians and car drivers is enhanced by free street corners to improve visibility at crossing points.

Internal streets and alleys without parking space

Bumpers, ramps and curbs extensions for speed reduction

Free street corners to improve visibility

Chicanes for traffic calming

Bicycle furniture, mainly racks, has been placed quite diffusely throughout the neighbourhood. A thorough analysis, though, has revealed that in Oosterparkwijk many bike racks were empty the whole

day, and that the needed amount of them has probably been overestimated. Moreover, in some places bike racks had been wrongly placed, this resulting in difficulties to use them properly. 47

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Bike racks in Oosterparkwijk

Uncorrectly placed bike racks

Other kind of urban furniture seems to have been carefully arranged: playgrounds are numerous and present

in different parts of the neighbourhood; some of them have furniture (benches, tables) specifically designed for children.

Urban furniture specifically designed for children

Kindergarten in a central green area in Oosterparkwijk

Lampposts are well distributed in every part of the neighbourhood and provide sufficient lightening. A major deficiency is related to the lack of benches around

the area. They are in fact only to be found in two spots (in front of the church and at the entrance western entrance of the neighbourhood).

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The public illumination in Oosterparkwijk is well placed

The only bench in Oosterparkwijk

In Beijum it is possible to find larger roads with double car lanes and double bike lanes. The traffic network is well designed; crossroads are especially clear and safe. The inner part of the neighbourhood has

narrower streets to allow the inhabitants to get directly to their residences and parking spaces are provided close to the houses. In an opposite way compared to Oosterparkwijk, in Beijum the layout design is evidently car-oriented.

Bike paths are well-designed

Crossroads are clearly signaled

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Given the larger spaces and lower density of the neighbourhood, bike lanes in Beijum are separated from car traffic by green shields (low shrubberies); because of

this, they appear and actually are safer than the ones in Oosterparkwijk or in the rest of the city of Groningen. Crossing points close to schools are signaled with colorful elements.

Bike paths in Beijum are separated from the road

What is striking in Beijum is the extremely low number of bike racks; they are almost only to be founf close to the shopping centre. The pedestriansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; safety is further guaranteed by concrete elements that separate car areas from pedestrian ones. As in Oosterparkwijk, in Beijum kindergarten are also numerous, 50

but here they are mostly placed in enclosed spaces. This appears to be a safe solution if one considers that children are prevented from run in the street and get injured, but at the same time these enclosed spaces are quite hidden and sometimes difficult to control from the houses because of the tall shrubberies surrounding them.

Crossroads in front of the schools indicated with colorful objects

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Concrete elements to separate the road from pedestrian areas Bike racks close to the shopping center

Bus stops are provided with shelters

Public transport is well organized, with bus stops equipped with seats and shelters. Orientation is not easy in Beijum because of the spatial organization in the layout design, but

visitors can get some basic information from maps of the neighbourhood placed in several points. Special areas with speed limits of 15km/h (woonerf) are defined and clearly signalled.

Maps can be found in Beijum

Special speed-limit areas in Beijum

Section I - Reference case studies

Apart from the street design, the quality of public space in Beijum is high in some other aspects, for example in terms of connection between the residential part and its more natural surroundings: specific paths for walks and bikes have been realized at the edges of the built areas and provide the inhabitants with

visually appealing spaces and consequently favouring physical activities outside. Major roads are also embellished with some decorative elements (art objects) and greenery containers. Sidewalks are wide, but, as in Oosterparwijk, the number of benches and places to rest is definitely insufficient.

Garbage nets in Beijum

Plant containers and other urban funiture increase the quality of the streets in Beijum

Section I - Reference case studies

07. Large sidewalk in front of Copacabana beach. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Source: Google Street View

green spaces The green areas of a neighbourhood can be one of the key characteristics to realize a healthy neighbourhood. At the same time they offer pitfalls which can have the opposite effect. The analysis required a background research based on the role played by those places regarding many different aspects such as

the identity, sociability, culture, natural amenities and health. The management of green spaces could be successful in order to bring identity to a town, thus, enhancing tourism and attractiveness. Many cities gained fame around its natural landscapes. They are treated as prominent attributes and support activities that further foster benefits that can be gained from such places. In some cities it goes beyond the terms of tourism and profits, as they i.e. provide space for sport activities. An example is Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Here the beaches and the large sidewalks in front of it enhance such activities. One can sit on the sand and watch people practicing running activities, volleyball games or skysurfing from the early morning until midnight. The natural landscape of an urban environment plays a significant role for its inhabitants active lifestyles. 53

Section I - Reference case studies

Although it does not seem as obvious to relate the benefits of green spaces for health further than to physical aspects, there are actually a lot of studies which showed that green spaces are also related to mental health. It was for example shown that they help to reduce stress and enhance the quality of life by enabling social ties and displaying room for cultural activities. By influencing social cohesion, the sense of belongingness and perceived safety green spaces also seem to benefit the mental health of the population (Lee, 2011). Of course this relation is

Gates of Sarah Kubischek’s Park. Brasília, Brazil. Source: Google Street View

not that one-sided, as many studies also reported that some parks actually decreased social cohesion, as well as that they attract drug use and violence. Sarah Kubitschek’s Park, in Brasilia, Brazil, is one such example. The park usually becomes a place of violence during the night even though it promotes a great deal of physical activities during the day. From a certain time onwards it becomes a dead area with no activities within the whole 4,2 km² area. This resulted in a closed gate policy during the night to minimise the problem and address safety concerns.

Section I - Reference case studies

“Quay” sidewalk. Brasília, Brazil. Source: Picnik Brasilia

Urban green areas are also a great public space for cultural activities. In the same city, Brasilia, there is a simple, but good example in this regard: a large “quay” sidewalk was built alongside the lake and in the boundary of Asa Norte in 2011. The construct has efficiently achieved the social role green areas can take on. Dwellers from nearby neighbourhoods and also from satellite cities have come to experience artisans markets, exhibitions and concerts

since its establishment. By simply making the lake accessible, the intervention achieved great benefits. Bringing natural amenities to cities is one of the biggest potentials of urban green areas, as it could also be observed in the case of the Central Park in Manhattan. An urban green square, in the middle of an intensely urbanized area, which attracts so many people that it could not have its size justified, if it was not in the heart of a district of such great density.

Section I - Reference case studies

That was also one of the main ambitions shaping the analysis at hand: successful green spaces should mainly fit the profile of its surroundings - architecturally and demographically speaking. The same green area size that worked so well in the heart of Manhattan, did not bring so many benefits in the heart of Brasilia. Thus the analysis of the green areas of Beijum and Oosterparkwijk were primarily based on the profile of each neighbourhood and the quality of the match between the two. The evaluation method was also based on preconditions for use: universal characteristics that could potentially facilitate or diminish the use of the green areas, such as a sense of safety, relative size and distance to dwellings based on their functional levels. Specifically we studied the natural, social and infrastructural features of these areas as well as the range of activities that take place there. The functional levels of the green areas means to what extent these places affect the population and what functions they have. In this case the analysis is mainly based on the green areas sizes. Literature has 56

shown that districts with a good complementarity between different functional levels perform better. The description of the neighbourhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profiles also made the needs clearer in order to know what sort of function would be more desirable in which neighbourhood. A relation between the populationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and the complementarity of those different functions were traced and compared between both. Beijum, for instance, is primarily a place for young families: the marriage rates are higher, there are more people younger than 20 years old and less people older than 60 years old. Therefore it is likely that the need for safe places for children, i.e. with doorstep greenery that enables the use for this group within the surveillance of the parents is greater. Playgrounds and a different kind of infrastructures for those groups might be also important. The population of Beijum also performs economically speaking better than Oosterparkwijk. Three functional levels were identified: doorstep greenery, fulfilling a sort of semi-private dimension;

Section I - Reference case studies

neighbourhood green with the function to aggregate the neighbours and thereby to work as a social tie in everyday life; and the green spaces that have significance to the city as whole. This last kind were not found in the analysis of both neighbourhoods since there is no park that plays that relevant position for the city of Groningen there. Beijum has a poor complementarity between the functions, although it has a big provision of greenery. This provision do neither meet the preconditions for use: the sense of safety is very low. The physical accessibility is fair enough, but the lack of lightening infrastructure make the greenery quite inaccessible during the night. The distances are short, whereby at least one of the preconditions for use is met, but at the same time the green areas are quite a bit oversized for the functions they play. The poorest accessibility can be found on the two huge green strips that cut-off the urban tissue within an east-west axis: no visual accessibility at all. Moreover, there is much greenery competing with car park areas in small green spaces.

Oosterparkwijk has a privileged position due to its distance to the city centre and other urban parks. Probably it would not need a green area with such huge significance for the city as whole: one can easily reach the Noorderplantsoen within 10 minutes by bicycle. A good accessibility to doorstep greenery is also needed due to its elderly population. The complementarity has a fair performance. The neighbourhood greenery is not as oversized as in Beijum. In the case of Oosterparkwijk it is for example facing four rows of houses, making it physically and visually accessible. However, other green areas like the one alongside Gorechtkade avenue does not seem to provide a good sense of safety. Differently from the case of neighbourhood parks in Beijum, the reasons may lay on the poor variety of activities that place has to offer: it is only a greenery between two lanes of cars within a parking line. There were also a lot of small doorstep greeneries which were closed by gates. This makes them solely private, which is another indicator for a possible lack of safety in the area. 57

Section I - Reference case studies

Evaluation map for the complementarity between the green spaces and the accessibility for the population. Beijum, Groningen.

Section I - Reference case studies

Evaluation map for the complementarity between the green spaces and the accessibility for the population. Oosterparkwijk, Groningen.

Section I - Reference case studies

The next step for the evaluation took place in fieldwork to analyse the natural amenities, the social features and infrastructure facilities. Making the greenery accessible and integrated within the urban environment is a good starting point for making these natural amenities accessible. Although Beijum is surrounded by farms and plain grasslands, the green areas inside the neighbourhood showed a great variety of species. Potential doorstep greenery confronting with car parks. Beijum, Groningen, 2015

However, the same quality could not be observed in regard to social features. Here we examined the leisure possibilities, signs of community ties, the potential identity and the variety of landscapes. We could not find any potential landscape that brings identity to Beijum nor a great variety. There are many places that are basically the same in the whole neighbourhood. One could not tell where he or she is based on what one sees. One of the main entrances to DirtPark, the largest green area of the neighbourhood. Beijum, Groningen, 2015

Section I - Reference case studies

Regarding this issue, Oosterparkwijk performs much better since there is wider range of different landscapes and places that display evidences of social ties, such as a community organization for the Oosterpark and urban

Small doorstep greenery closed by gates. Oosterparkwijk, Groningen, 2015

farming. Since the green areas are to a great extend integrated with the housing, the variety of housing, which is also greater, may play an additional role in the Oosterparkwijk. However no cultural symbol and/or place with strong identity could be found.

Oosterpark, Oosterparkwijk, Groningen, 2015

When analyzing the infrastructure dimension of the green spaces, we focused on the public facilities and urban furniture that may enhance the attractiveness of them. In Beijum, the infrastructure for elderly and disabled people in those places are poor and that may decrease use from these groups. Although there are lot of

playgrounds for children, there is not much provision of places for parents stay. Actually, there is not much invitation for long stay in the parks since they are equipped with very few urban furnitures. What we can perceive in the green spaces are basically cycle paths, running paths, a few small football courts and recreational 61

Section I - Reference case studies

greenery. In this regard, the Oosterparkwijk also outperforms the functionality of Beijum. In the field visits, we could find different sport facilities from open gym areas to basketball courts. There are a lot of seats alongside the Pioenpark and Oosterpark and many playgrounds for children in the small green spaces. Moreover, the leveled crossing lanes provide a good accessibility for elderly, disabled and children. Additionally other urban furniture has been installed in order to slow down the car speed and thus making the environment safer. Finally, the field work also aimed to analyze the range of activities in the green areas of both districts, which can be considered as indicators of the actual extent to which the functionalities are effective. The Oosterparkwijk has green spaces with higher variety of activities: one can find more diversified landscapes, more accessibility due to the urban furniture and infrastructures and a greater variety of sport facilities. The green spaces can therefore meet the needs of a greater layer of the population with adequate spaces not only for elderly and 62

disabled, but also for children and youngsters. In Beijum on the other side the green spaces do not seem to play an important role for its population. Many of them are used for car parks and some do not even have adequate seating facilities, resulting in a lower range of activities. The green spaces are pleasant but become dead areas during the night because they do not seem to have great significance to the citizens. This observation is worsened by the poor light infrastructure and other urban provisions.

Urban farming nearby Oosterpark. Oosterparkwijk, Groningen, 2015

Section I - Reference case studies

08.

environmental solutions The neighbourhoods of Oosterparkwijk and Beijum have particular experiences and strategies in terms of managing environmental impacts. In fact, both were (or still are) the site of new experiences with sustainable technologies and processes that reduce air and water pollution and generate heating.

In Oosterparkwijk, it is possible to verify the implementation of environmental friendly practices in many existing buildings. Double glazed windows, solar panels, wastewater reusing and rainwater capture are practised â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and marketed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in many buildings at the Gorechtkade surroundings.

Section I - Reference case studies Solar collectors in Beijum between 1984 and 1996

In Beijum, the energy savings experience was broader and more experimental: sponsored by the Dutch government, between 1984 and 1996, 96 houses were equipped with solar collectors (2358m2 in total), an underground heat storage unit and low-temperature central heating – a system that provided 54% of the energy demand for heating in the neighbourhood. Each roof of those houses supported a heat pipe collector, providing 64

heat for a water circuit and a heat store. The system was capable of storing heat for the winter months and, in terms of technical feasibility, was a success – however, in terms of costs, the system was clearly unfeasible, with a payback period of 175 years. Nevertheless, what is interesting in the experiences in Oosterparkwijk and Beijum is that both are neighbourhood scale projects – and, in the case of Beijum, in collaboration between multiple landowners.

Section I - Reference case studies

In the city of Groningen, waste discharges have two main destinations: the first is recycling and the second is biodegradable treatment, focused in the production of compost and energy. The main alternative for household waste discharges is putting waste in the municipal containers that store garbage until they are collected by the municipality.

Although the municipality is the only responsible for collecting household waste (by themselves or contracting a private organization to provide this service), Oosterparkwijk and Beijum present different approaches on waste collection. In Oosterparkwijk, as in most part of the city, residential waste collections are made

Recycling waste collectors in Oosterparkwijk

Section I - Reference case studies

with the use of common bins designated for each group of houses. Oosterparkwijk has specific waste bins for organic waste, paper, fabrics and glass. The municipality still does not offer plastic nor metal separation options for its households, and municipal solid waste is only partially separated according to their nature in the source. In 2016, however, the

municipality has announced its plans to install recycling bins for plastic discharges. In Beijum, the collection is made differently: there are fewer containers, and the waste trucks collect residential garbage from each house individually. Common bins are limited to serve the units near the main avenues. Individual collections are made only twice a month. Recycling waste collectors in Beijum

Waste collection truck in Beijum

Section I - Reference case studies

conclusions Our case studies teached us some important lessons about both neighbourhoods. In particular the analysis of the two neighbourhoods showed us what effect the different aspects of each neighbourhood had on its residents. One distinct characteristic that often appeared in our analysis was the distance from each neighbourhood to the city center of Groningen. This difference strongly influenced the planning process in both neighbourhoods during the last years. For example, with regard to the mobility system, Beijum had to provide its residents with a sophisticated bus system. Furthermore several interventions were undertaken to encourage bike use over car use. In the case of Oosterparkbuurt, the proximity to the city

center makes it pointless to provide the area with the same mobility system. This means that the bus system over there does not need to be as highly developed as in Beijum. Indeed, the bus lines do not even reach the heart of the district, instead it is dispersed in the peripheral belt. The locations have utmost importance in how people of both neighbourhoods deal with their transportation. Furthermore, it also affects the profile of population that choose to live there. Whereas Beijum has more married people, a bigger household size and more children (<15 years old), in Oosterparkbuurt more elderly and unmarried people are living there. Since a more older population is living in Oosterparkbuurt, there are consequently also more health and care 67

Section I - Reference case studies

facilities available for these people. Regarding the quality of the architecture both neighbourhoods have very distinct profiles. Beijum lacks to provide visitors with a clear sense of direction. This is caused by the housing profile and the street patterns, which are designed in a car oriented way. The neighbourhood in Beijum is much bigger than the one in Oosterparkwijk. However, there are no different typologies in houses and the urban landscape provides no distinctive places neither. The cauliflower streets add to the disorienting situation in Beijum. Furthermore, the use of small green spaces as car parks make the outside and public areas very unattractive. Additionally, a lot of architecture choices seem discourage the relation 68

between the dwellers and the streets. With regard to this issue, Oosterparkbuurt performs better as the varied architecture and the diverse housing typologies encourage the relation between the dwellers and the public areas. The quality of the green spaces in Beijum follow to some extent the quality of the architecture there. Although there are a lot of green spaces available, many of these are located and designed in an unattractive way, discouraging the use of these spaces. The landscapes for example show no diversity and are not well connected to other spaces of the neighbourhood. Most of the time these places do not establish any relation with the houses nor the residents of the neighbourhood. Besides

Section I - Reference case studies

that, some parks are also too oversized. In the case of Oosterparkbuurt, although the complementarity between the different functional levels of the green spaces are not optimal as well, there are at least better infrastructures and better integrations between the greenery and the housing quarters as well as between the public and private spaces. Furthermore in Oosterparkwijk there exist more diverse sorts of natural landscapes, more adequately sized green areas and a better sense of safety. Due to its elderly population, Oosterparkwijk has also a better infrastructure for elderly and disabled people. The analysis of the two neighbourhoods was in many ways insightful. Analysing two distinct neighbourhoods in their core structures

and trying to relate these structures to the everyday lives of the inhabitants revealed many practical implications for our main project. Such realisations form a good first starting point to plan a new neighbourhood, as it allows us to avoid certain pitfalls and to implement structures that have been shown to promote a healthy climate in the past. Our analysis led us to formulate six distinct goals to plan a new healthy neighbourhood (e.g.: a social neighbourhood, a safe neighbourhood, a neighbourhood for all, a walkable and cyclable neighbourhood, a green neighbourhood and a sustainable neighbourhood). These strategies are all to some extent inspired by their structural presence or absence within the analysed neighbourhoods. 69

the proposal

Above, the final layout of the Gaaikemadijk area: a healthy neighbourhood between Groningen and Aduard

Section II - the proposal

INTRODUCTION TO THE project The first phase of the work, comprehensive of the historical research, the analysis of two neighbourhood in the Municipality of Groningen (Oosterparkwijk and Beijum) and the reflection on the current situation and quality of life in these areas of the city, was aimed at the development of the second phase: the design of a new, healthy neighbourhood. The on-site visits and the gathering of data, successively organized and analyzed, was thus the basis for the theoretical and practical operations of the comprehension of the main weaknesses and strengths of the existing urban environment and the quest for an improved model through the shaping of a new possible reality. To achieve this goal, an attempt has been made to combine the outcomes and opinions generated by the research in many different fields and disciplines, from health to sustainability,

psychology, community-based neighbourhood planning, historical architectural features and typologies, demography and other data on the local population and trends in its activities, landscape design, policy-making and aesthetics of urban spaces. The whole process, as indicated in the introduction to this booklet, from analysis to design, has been conceived and conducted in a scientific view, hence almost all choices and decisions made for the creation of the Healthy Neighbourhood have been based on solid, evidencebased facts and studies in the aforementioned fields. Nonetheless the design of a living space, especially when it has to be made from scratch, is bound to such a great number of variables and aspects that the outcome always presents the possibility of unexpected results and solutions that have been 71

Section Ii - the proposal

scientifically proved positive for specific context could reveal a lower degree of efficiency in others. Also, when it comes to give a physical (or representative) dimension to a theoretical work and to combine all the inputs coming from the research in the cited fields, some compromises have to be made in order to obtain the best out of a combination of elements; all of them aim at accomplishing the goal to create a healthy neighbourhood, but not all of them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this work has shown can exist together in the same design. Furthermore, urban planning, as other forms of design, presupposes a certain grade of creativity in some of its aspects; a parametric design that relies exclusively on data processing and inductive thinking would give back a cold product devoid of any identity and character. Therefore, notwithstanding the careful research of the best solution for all the aspects of the project, some few characteristic of it cannot be directly referenced from literature or scientific results. 72

Central square of the new neighbourhood

Section II - the proposal

the project area The location of the new neighbourhood is an area belonging to the Municipality of Aduard, around Gaaikemadij. It stands approximately 1km East of Aduard and 1 km NorthWest of Zernike campus. Its boundaries are the Van Starkenborghkanaal to the North, the Reitdiep to the East, the N355 Friesestraatweg

Gaaikemadijk waterfront

to the South and the Aduarderdiep to the West. At the moment, it is a rural area characterized by polders and a few sparse farm buildings. In the Southeastern area there are probably the only two elements of historic interest, the Dorkwerd church and a country estate, resembling a traditional terp for the rounded shape of its outline. They have

Green areas in Gaaikemadijk

Section Ii - the proposal

been left out of the layout in order to preserve and protect the heritage of the territory. The most interesting features of the area are the waterways in its northern and eastern borders and the proximity to Zernike. The first hold a

potential for their landscape and environmental values and the latter constitutes the main connection to the city of Groningen and an ensemble of social activities for potential stakeholders of the neighbourhood to be planned.

Map of the project location

van starkenborghkanaal

aduard

project area dorkwerd

friesestraatweg reitdiep

zernike

hoogkerk

groningen

Section II - the proposal

the layout and guiding principles The main guideline to the whole project has been the research for the best conditions to guarantee a healthy life; it had informed all other choices in matter of design, policies, type and location of services. This has translated into specific measures, dimensions and relations among the different physical parts of the layout. Starting points for the design process: A number of inhabitants similar to that of the inhabitants of Beijum (approximately 13.000) An area in the proximity of Groningen with an extension similar to Beijum (around 2,27kmÂ˛) Following the considerations of the features hereby described, the team has

decided to make the natural environment surrounding the area the main inspiration for the shaping of the layout. The natural environment, when present, has indeed a recognized influence on the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives and on the dynamics of the artificial environment. Therefore, the group has tried to maximize the potential benefits of the canals in the North and East; this has resulted in the idea of a waterfront that could extend for a total of 3,8km and that can provide a green ribbon both creating the setting for different activities and an attraction for people outside the new neighbourhood, besides adding to it a high aesthetic and natural value and connecting the potential inhabitants to their surroundings. The group idea is that the project, if realized, should 75

Section Ii - the proposal

General layout with main facilities identified

Section II - the proposal

be developed in phases. This is consistent with the general line currently undertaken by the Dutch government in matter if projects implementation. As reported in the Jaarboek 2010/2011 (make reference and check details), ‘in the Netherlands the focus has shifted from quick returns and living on credit to new revenue models. The timelapse between investment (purchase of land) and profit becomes longer because speed is taken out of development, resulting in ‘slow development’ or ‘slow urbanism’. There will be a movement towards phased development of plans, prioritized according to current needs among users.’ The first phase of the development would take place in the Eastern area. The sixteen squares would

contain every primal function needed for a small isolated neighbourhood: besides residential units, the zone would also contain a school, a market square and space for public institutions. Cars would be limited to the four borders and a central street that connects the zone to a further residential expansion in the south-southwest region. The same circulation concept that would guide the entire neighbourhood is already seen here: green corridors and parks would provide green walkable scenarios with different fruit trees. But, since the development would start here, this mixed region is planned to be more permeable and denser than the areas developed in the further phases. From the Eastern waterfront the neighbourhood would then develop to the West. Far 77

Section Ii - the proposal

1900m 23 min 6 min

Van

Stark

enbo

550m

rgka

naal

7 min 2 min

500m

To Grote Markt 1h 16min - 6,2km

Aduard 7 min

22min - 6,5km

2 min

16min - 7,4km

Hoogkerk

Mobility map considering recommended distances for different means of locomotion

Section II - the proposal

for creating a rigid zoning, the layout has however been structured in macro-areas: a central â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;spineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; would host the main public buildings and the main public open space; South and North of this spine, two mostly residential areas have been planned, whose width has been kept reduced (ca. 400 m) to ensure a walkable distance between the residential units and the main service area. One of the most important aspects of a settlement is its connection to other centers or service areas. The plan for this neighbourhood has been organized in order to guarantee effective connection especially with the north-western district of Groningen, following the direction of urban expansion that starts in the Rietdiep area. Apart from the inhabitants of the new

neighbourhood, the closest citizens to take advantage of its implementation would be the residents of Paddepoel and Vinkhuizen and the people working or studying at the university center Zernike. We have therefore also thought about how to make the new neighbourhood attractive and useful for them: the waterfront park, the art center and some public services or spaces for entertainment and leisure time may appear oversized for the neighbourhood, but they have been thought of and proportioned to serve a larger catchment area. Another issue that has been addressed in the layout designing phase is orientation. As resulted from the analysis, this significant aspect of the urban space organization seems to have been dealt with in an inefficient way in 79

Section Ii - the proposal

Van

Aduard

Car double lane Car single lane Pedestrian and Bicycle street

Mobility map with different types of tracks

Hoogkerk

Stark

enbo

rgka

naal

Section II - the proposal

the case study of Beijum, and the spatial configuration of the neighbourhood revealed to be problematic in terms of orientation. This may not create difficulties for residents living in a place for a long time, but visitors, temporary residents, impaired individuals and non-resident users of the neighbourhood would definitely find pleasant to come back to a place that is easy to read and to move into. Besides, the quality of life is strictly linked to the vitality of a place, and the more attractive a urban environment is and the easier to grasp its layout, the larger the number of people that will choose it for their activities. To set good conditions for wayfinding through the means of urban planning, a regular grid has been chosen as a support for the entire layout: the blocks find their place

on quadrangular allotments similar in shape and dimensions with the buildingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; faĂ§ades defining their external perimeters for most of the cases. The regularity is broken by the natural curve of the area on the canals, in relation to which the grid itself adapts. Moreover, the connection between the center of the neighbourhood and the waterfront in the North is provided by a series of straight streets in a progressively radial disposition. This would allow people to have a direct visual and walking connection between the two most active parts of the neighbourhood and, at the same time, to create interesting foreshortnings from the built spaces towards the natural elements of the landscape surrounding it. 81

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Also important for the identity of the new neighbourhood as well as for orientation is the presence of distinguishable, unique elements, such as landmarks. A landmark is usually associated to the location where it has been erected and can be one of its biggest visitors draws. It also helps in tying together a community and it can become a reason of pride for the community itself. Sometimes, a landmark is even the only reason for some people to pack their bags and give the place a visit. Aside from making a location more popular, landmarks also improve the value of the buildings and structures around them. Landmarks are mostly ancient structures but they can be as well modern buildings or impressive smaller objects, statues, urban spaces or 82

infrastructures. These reasons given, and on the account that many contemporary urban spaces lack in locationspecific reference points, the group has decided to include in the design some elements that can make the Healthy Neighbourhood a recognizable place, imaging to realize an iconic building at the entrance of the neighbourhood: this is the main function of the geodesic dome building, situated at a significant convergence point at the beginning of the waterfront, where the access from the Rietdiep built area is. Another visually appealing and characteristic feature is the green bridge, that would provide pedestrians with a safe crossing of the access road to the neighbourhood from the waterfront park into the neighbourhood proper.

Section II - the proposal

THE GEODESIC DOME PROJECT

In order to bring people there, a green space should be attractive and accessible. The attractiveness of green spaces is a broad issue, but one of topics is to bring a unique identity, not only for the green space itself but also regarding the whole project. The idea

is develop a spatial symbol that makes people feel belonged to the place, and the character of our project, which is a whole new area, require an even stronger sense of attachment. The idea of the geodesic dome is simple. Structurally

and practically, it does not have much more features than any shelter would have. Nevertheless, we see the uncommon design of the structure as a unique icon for the waterfront, since it will display an architecture that is distinctive within the 83

Section Ii - the proposal

neighbourhood and in the whole city of Groningen. Thus, the dome may not only be a distinctive symbol for the dwellers, but also for visitors. The site of the project plays an important role because of its convergent character, i.e. it gathers the perspective of the pedestrians from the surroundings to the dome (e.g. the ones from the street linked to the market and the users of the recreational area), as well as of the drivers coming from the main entrance, through

the peripheral avenue, and even those who are walking or running from outside the neighbourhood plus people in the boats running the canals will also be able to identify the landmark standing out on the landscape. The dome synthesize the concept of landmark in a simple geometry and in its location. The geodesic structure is simple: its fabrication can either be manual or industrial, and its materials could either be

wood, steel or any sort of pipe. It can easily be built reusing garbage or building materials leftovers. Another important key idea was that it can easily be constructed by dwellers themselves, it would only depend on them. Although it seems strange, this idea was applied several times and revealed that the touch of its own dwellers in their own neighbourhood can enhance the sense of belongingness. Finally, another function for the dome is make it a place

Section II - the proposal

for cultural events, outdoor exhibitions or neighboursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meetings. The main point is, again, enhance the idea that it will be a place of attachment of situations which might add to the social tie of the dwellers

and to the role of place. Thus, the unique and simple architecture, the location and the function relating several important activities were the main ingredients to create one of the most important

Our vision is that a healthy neighbourhood is a neighbourhood that provides its inhabitants with a variety of physical settings and possibilities for social and recreational activities. To avoid a monotonous urban landscape, the design of the layout incorporate a mix of built spaces and open spaces, a mix of functions and different locations to encourage social interaction. Thus, the regular grid is in some points interrupted by squares and terraces of different dimensions, small public gardens and green corridors, in order to evenly

landmarks for our project. Besides that, the use of the green park depends on these strategies and makes the geodesic an important feature for the healthy daily operation of the neighbourhood.

distribute the open spaces in the neighbourhood and to allow people with reduced motorial abilities to reach them without having to cover long distances. Services are concentrated in the center of the neighbourhood, but areas for little markets, small shops and other services have been defined also inside the residential areas. The lack of distribution of these elements has resulted in fact as a critical feature both in Oosterparkwijk and in Beijum. For a more specific description, see the section on Services and Commercial Activities. 85

Section Ii - the proposal

the courtyard block as the heart of the community-based design The community based design principles for the new neighbourhood, together with different ideas on how to improve some aspects of the life as they appear today in the case studies, coalesced in a reference housing prototype: a traditional urban block composed by several residential units organized around a central courtyard. Widely diffused in a large part of European cities, including Dutch cities, this typology proves one of the best housing typologies under numerous aspects. In the first place, it encourages the dwellers to create social bonds, as they have to share a common space and take care of it. Secondly, at a larger scale, it offers a special urban space usually addressed to as ‘semipublic’ when the courtyard is open and accessible to 86

non-residents as well. The specific choice of this typology is also linked to its qualities and possible configurations in the context of a larger portion of the neighbourhood. In fact, the blocks with an internal courtyard enable to create compact housing lots with external façades on the street that create perimetric continuous fronts, a characteristic visual element of compact and consolidated urban environments, that helps to physically and psychologically define the street’s space and volume, also helping people’s perception of the open space direction. This is one possible way to avoid the perceived spatial dispersion we have observed in Beijum. A neighbourhood composed of such blocks presents a higher density, which itself has

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Diagram of a Fused Grid district. Source: Wikipedia

different positive sides in terms of urban living: distances between the houses and between the houses and the services are reduced, people feel less discouraged to move on foot or by bike and for buses and cars routes are shorter and the amount of CO2 produced is lower. For the allotment organization in the layout the chosen model is the Fused Grid model. The Fused Grid is a street network pattern

first proposed in 2002 and subsequently applied in Calgary, Alberta (2006) and in Stratford, Ontario (2004). It represents a synthesis of two well known and extensively used network concepts: the “grid” and the “Radburn” pattern, derivatives of which are found in most city suburbs. Both concepts were self-conscious attempts to organize urban space for habitation.

District with four neighbourhoods and mixed use zone, showing the twin connectors

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The grid was conceived and applied in the pre-automotive era of cities starting circa 2000 BC and prevailed until about 1900 AD. The Radburn pattern emerged in 1929 about thirty years following the invention of the internal combustion engine powered automobile and in anticipation of its eventual dominance as a means for mobility and transport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fused" refers to a systematic recombination of the essential characteristics of each of these two network patterns. The Fused Grid assembles several elements from these precedents into a complete stencil. Just as the grid stencil and the Radburn pattern did, it sets up a geometric structure that exhibits the key characteristics of a functioning system. It consists of a largescale open grid of collector streets, carrying moderate speed motorized traffic. This grid forms precincts; within each precinct, the layout uses crescents or cul-de-sacs or a combination of both to eliminate through traffic. In addition, a continuous 88

open-space and pedestrian path system provides direct access to parks, public transit, retail and community facilities. Residents can cross a quadrant block on foot in about five minutes. The most intensive land uses such as schools, community facilities, high-density residential uses, and retail are located in the center of the plan, reached by twinned roads which connect longer, district destination points. The gridâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second essential characteristic, connectivity, is recaptured through a third element that completes the "system" â&#x20AC;&#x201C; pedestrian-only connectors between regular streets that are intended for all movement modes. These connectors (paths) are typically routed through open spaces that occupy central points in a neighbourhood cell. Thus the neighbourhood street network comprises a mixture of streets; some pedestrian dominant and others car dominant. A third element is the nested hierarchy of streets that distinguishes between connectivity and permeability

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An approved Community Development Plan in Calgary, Alberta that is based on the Fused Grid model

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at the neighbourhood level. This idea reflects the fact the longer the linked destinations the higher the level of mobility must be . A nested hierarchy distributes the flow at each volume level to alternative paths. The complete system, though it may appear unfamiliar, is composed of entirely familiar and extensively used elements in contemporary development. The model has been applied

in two new communities, one in Stratford, ON and the other in Calgary, Alberta. The potential merits of the concept so far have been tested through research; site observations or measurements will await full built out. The aspects of the model that have been tested correspond to the key criteria of performance, such as mobility, safety, cost and environmental impact:

Mobility A study on the transportation impacts of the fused grid asserted through comparative analysis using computerbased traffic modeling that

the fused grid produces the least total delay in all four density scenarios tested and performed progressively better as the density increased

walkability An extensive study of neighbourhoods based on geo-coded trips to local destinations found that a Fused Grid type of layout increases home-base walking trips by 11.3% in comparison 90

to the conventional grid and it is associated with a 25.9% increase in the odds that residents will meet the recommended physical activity levels. Its 10% increase in relative connectivity for

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pedestrians is associated with a 23% decrease in vehicle kilometres of local travel . A second study compared seven neighbourhoods of different street network layouts for the daily travel patterns including the amount of walking that occurred. It found that the fused grid had considerably more walking activity. The set of network patterns included two versions of the traditional grid, two versions of post-war suburbs, two versions of the Traditional Neighbourhood Development (i.e. modified grid) and the

Fused Grid. The lowest amount of walking was found to happen in one of the postwar conventional subdivision. Setting this as the base (100) for the purpose of comparison, the two classic grids registered 11%, one conventional subdivision 109%, one TND neighbourhood 108%, the second TND 137% and the Fused Grid 143% . In terms of the total distance walked, the Fused Grid registered 23% larger distance than the lowest of the seven in the set which was also reflected in the lowest amount of local driving

health outcomes Neighbourhood layouts may indirectly influence the health and wellbeing of residents through their effect on factors such as noise, air quality and physical activity. Noise levels and duration of exposure correlate with traffic volume and speed. According to a traffic analysis study neighbourhood streets in the fused grid layout exhibit the lowest traffic volumes

when compared to alternative layouts. By inference, low volumes imply lower duration of exposure to noise. Frequent turns in the streets (see drawing of approved development plan) result in speed reduction which lowers noise intensity. As a consequence of low traffic volumes, its residential streets show low air pollution levels. The high walking levels registered by 91

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the fused grid layout, mentioned above, indicate the potential of increased physical activity. In addition to these three factors that may impact on residentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health - noise, air quality and physical activity - a fourth one, proximity to natural open spaces, has emerged as a significant contributor. From these studies it can be inferred that a neighbourhood layout

based on the fused grid model may confer these health and well-being benefits to residents because it incorporates green open spaces as integral parts of its pedestrian circulation network. Inclusion of green spaces is possible in any layout as an option; in the fused grid it is a necessary component of its configuration

The importance of the variety of typologies in a cityscape has been already remarked. Different typologies can allocate people with different needs and tastes, and avoid repetition and monotony in a built environment. The choice of the courtyard block has derived in this project from a common research for the typology that can favor the most social relations, safety and other urban life aspects. It is not the purpose of this project to draw an executive plan, thus the reader should keep in mind that the fuse grid model has been used as a regulation principle for design and that the courtyard blocks system is the main typology to

be found. Other typologies, such as single houses or storey homes buildings could be inserted in the project as well, but will not be discussed in this booklet. Besides, architectural variety is possible to achieve while using a limited number of typologies as well, through variations in color, height, detailing, materials, treatment of the corners, windows and doors frame, roofs and faĂ§ade relationship with the street. This said, guidelines for a potential implementation of the general plan for the neighbourhood must clarify that the quality of architecture will have to respond to certain criteria and respect approve standards for housing

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buildings, but that architects or cooperatives in charge of the actual design and realization of the buildings will have a certain

freedom to design different houses in the different blocks, or different houses in the same block as well.

Old and new urban blocks with internal courtyard. This typology presents a high design variations grade. Source: S333.org

Aldo Rossi, SchĂźtzenstrasse, Berlin: architectural variations in the same courtyard block.

Projects of urban blocks with internal courtyard of different heights by MVRDV. Source: Dezeen

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Detailed area of the circulation system with internal courtyards in the Healthy Neighbourhood

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Pictures depicting a ‘healthy life’ in a promotional booklet on Beijum. Source: Historical Archive Groningen

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Special attention has been paid in our project to the blocks’ dimensions: they have a maximum length of 80-100m to avoid creating long distances between two consecutive streets and thus encouraging walkability. In order to keep the relationship between the housing units and the rest of the urban space tight and also to increase the chances of face to face meetings with the neighbors, the blocks should not be taller that three storeys. Each block is made up of juxtaposed residential units that share a common internal space, but in a prototype housing unit also a small patio and a small doorstep garden is provided, to enable the inhabitants to have a little personal green space they can take care of or use for some outdoor activities. To provide visual and spatial variety in the urban space of the neighbourhood, each block should display some unique character. The blocks 96

should have at least two openings on the street each and can host in the common space of the courtyard different small structures (fountains, gazebos, small cafés, small kindergarten, little gardens for self-produced food products) depending on the courtyard’s size, and different activities (musical events of limited extension, street art performances etc). In a sustainability-oriented neighbourhood, each courtyard should be equipped with one or more composting devices, of which the inhabitants of every block should take care. Planning a neighbourhood where social integration is one of the priorities, and considering the proximity of the project’s area to the university complex Zernike, we have decide not to assign a specific spot in the layout to students. As for other demographic groups, we have chosen to not differentiate the residential areas into sub-areas with

Section II - the proposal Internal courtyard would have different size. The bigger ones could provide pleasant places for the inhabitants as well as for the pass-byers

big differences in the house typologies, and to have students residences or houses for groups of people integrated into the blocks. Elderly people have the possibility to choose to live in a (traditional Dutch) guesthouse type of complex, composed of two fused blocks. This guest house is been placed close to the central public buildings and to a green urban belt, so that they can benefit from both without having to cover long distances. Being the courtyards semipublic spaces, we believe

that this block typology can hold a great potential. On the public side, it provides the pass-byers with several welcoming spaces where they can stroll through or also stop and sit, rest, read or meet other people. On the blockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents side, such a space should encourage the development of small communities , social interaction, integration and participation. Should this happen, safety would also be increased by people watching the common shared inner space from all around the block. 97

Section Ii - the proposal One of the courtyards in Booschstrattkwartier, Maastricht

Inside the blocks, accessible only by bikes and pedestrians, urban furniture and vegetation can create high quality spaces, both functionally, socially and aesthetically valuable. The nature of the fused grid implies that different courtyards can be connected through openings or by proximity one to another. In a reference project, the Boschstraatkwartier in Maastricht, a similar configuration has proved slightly problematical in terms 98

of wayfinding. To cope with this issue, many urban design measure can be taken to help people orientating around and in and out the courtyards network, including different paving materials (paths inside the courtyards with a specific pattern to indicate people how to reach the street for an easy visualization), different vegetation species and different styles and materials in the architectural look of the houses belonging to different courtyards.

Section II - the proposal Doorstep garden and patios in Boschstrattkwartier in Maastricht

In this neghborhood in Maastricht the proportion between the height of the buildings and the width of the internal courtyards creates a comfortable place and a rather intimate scale

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our goals To build a Healthy Neighbourhood we established six goals: To build a social neighbourhood, a safe neighbourhood, a neighbourhood for all, a walkable and cyclable neighbourhood, a green neighbourhood and a sustainable neighbourhood. For each goal there is an explanatory part and then the corresponding parts in the design are presented and also reference projects are pointed. 100

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a social neighbourhood “Over money, social interactions are more important and make people happy. A happy city is a social city’” Charles Montgomery (2013)

With this statement Montgomery contrasts a long held view, namely that high income is equivalent to high levels of happiness. Although research has shown that this might be true to a certain extent, investigations suggest that this is not the whole story. Research by Howell & Howell (2008) for example have presented that after a person’s needs have been met (food, shelter, etc.) the relationship between income and happiness is rather small. Furthermore, it has been found that once wealth reaches a subsistence level, its effectiveness as a generator of well-being is greatly diminished. These findings have been referred to the

happiness-income paradox or the Easterlin paradox (Easterlin, Mcvey, Switek, Sawangfa & Zweig, 2010). The United States serve as a good example to point out this paradox. Although the United States’ economy has grown steadily since the 1950’s, it has been shown that levels of happiness have not increased alongside (Diener & Seligman, 2004). Rather, as Charles Montgomery has framed it, there exists a much stronger predictor of happiness, namely people’s social connections with others. Not only report socially connected people higher levels of happiness (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008), there has 101

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also been shown a strong link between people’s social connections and their mental and physical health (Berkman et al., 2000; Cohen, 1988; House et al., 1988; Seeman, 1996; Uchino, 2004). The more connected we are to family and community, the less likely we are to experience heart attacks and strokes (Berkman et al., 1992; Brummett et al., 2001; Kaplan et al., 1988), cancer ( Ell et al., 1992; Hibbard and Pope, 1993; Wien et al., 1992) and depression (Barnett & Gotlib, 1988). Furthermore, it also has been shown that connected people sleep better at night and even live longer (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). When we regard this from a psychological point of view, this makes sense as one of our basic human needs is the need to belong. It is one out of our 5 human needs which comes right after physiological and safety needs (Maslow, 1943). Humans need to belong has been identified as a strong psychological motivator in people’s behavior across cultures (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). People that report a 102

strong sense of belonging have been linked to lower levels of loneliness and depression (Pittman & Richmond, 2007). Since every human being needs a certain amount of regular, satisfying social interactions to fulfill their need to belong (Baumeister & leary, 1995), the consequences of not meeting this need are immense. Montgomery has framed it in an interview he gave to the guardian (Montgomery, 2013) in the following way: ‘As much as we complain about other people, there is nothing worse for mental health than a social desert.’ Accordingly, it has been for example shown that people that don’t meet their need to belong report higher levels of loneliness and mental distress (Baumeister and Leary). In contrast to the earlier listed positive effects of social connections, social isolation can elevate blood pressure, disrupt sleep, increase depression, increase rises in the stress hormone cortisol and lower overall subjective well being (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2003; Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009). Furthermore, social exclusion

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The Neighbourhood as a social support system

can elicit strong negative emotional responses such as a lower self-esteem, aggressive actions and antisocial behavior (Twenge, Baumeister & Stucke, 2001). In addition, research has even shown a link between suicide rates and a failure of social integration (Durkheim, 1933). Another strong finding that underlines once more the immense benefits of social connections comes from research about the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. The results indicated, that veterans that perceived high levels of social support developed significantly less often PTSD than those with less social support (Solomon, Waysman, & Mikulincer, 1990). On the evidence of all these incredible positive effects

social connections offer to human beings and on the other side the immense negative consequences of social isolation and exclusion, we were asking ourselves: ‘How can we create an environment of social inclusion and social connections? How can we design a place where the community of the neighbourhood can operate as a source of social support, fulfilling people’s need to belong and thereby improving its inhabitants health and levels of happiness?‘ To achieve this, we came up with several sub goals that should lead to an environment of social interactions, independent of people’s backgrounds, age and/ or ethnicity. In the next section we will present the idea of ‘The neighbourhood as a social support system’.

As presented above, we need social connections with friends, family as well as intimate relationships to be healthy and happy. But not only interactions with closed ones,

also occasional interactions for example with our neighbors, can provide us with a feeling of belongingness which influences our well being (Helliwell & Putnam, 2004). 103

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Being part of the community Being part of a community has many beneficial outcomes, for the individual and the community. As we have presented earlier, people have the inherent psychological need of belongingness. A great part of this belongingness can be satisfied by experiencing a sense of belonging to the community. As shown

before, a strong sense of belonging has incredibly beneficial effects on people’s physical and mental health. Furthermore, it has been shown that people who feel that they belong to their community report higher levels of happiness, feel more meaningful and participate more often in society (Kaal, 2011).

social capital A good connected community offers its inhabitants many benefits through social support from the neighbours. These connections within a community create what is called social capital. Social capital refers to ‘connections among individuals—social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them’ (Putnam, 2001). The development of social capital has been named as an important factor in 104

increasing community’s well being and happiness (Haslam et al. 2008; Jetten, Haslam & Alexander, 2012). Think for a moment back about the example on the incomehappiness paradox, which we presented earlier. A group of italian researchers have investigated this paradox in detail and blamed America’s decline in social capital as the reason for the not increasing levels of happiness (Bartolini, Bilancini & Pugno, 2008). Not only is the development

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of social capital related to inhabitant’s wellbeing and happiness (Haslam et al. 2008; Jetten, Haslam & Alexander, 2012), there has also been shown a strong connection between social capital and

inhabitant’s health. Where social capital is high, people have shown to be less prone to physical illness and cognitive decline (Mendes de Leon, Glass & Berkman 2003; Ertel, Glymour and Berkman 2008).

Being involved in the community life Neighbours create social capital of their neighbourhood by participating in the community life and thereby creating social networks within the neighbourhood. People tend to be happier when they feel involved in the decisions that affect them (Montgomery, 2013). Literature has shown that processes that empower people to take part in creating and maintaining their community life, will develop a sense of shared social identity (Haslam et al. 2009), which in turn enable people to develop a sense of social responsibility (Evans 2009; Messer and White 2006). This sense of shared identity and social responsibility that develops through

neighbours participation in their community promotes a community’s common good and the achievement of shared goals (Haslam, Postmes and Ellemers 2003). Furthermore, it thereby increases people’s wellbeing and satisfaction (Knight, Haslam & Haslam, 2010). To give an example, Knight, Haslam & Haslam (2010), conducted an interesting experiment at a care home. For reasons they couldn’t determine, the care home had a ‘happy floor’ and an ‘unhappy floor’. The care home had to move into a new facility where the ‘happy floor’ got a professionally designed new environment. The ‘unhappy floor’ however 105

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was assigned to work together with the inhabitants of their floor to design their own new floor (empowered group). The results showed that members of the empowered group reported increased identification with fellow residents in the new home, reported improved wellbeing and used the communal space of the new care home more often in comparison to the people from the other floor. The experiment shows how collective empowerment helps people identify with their peers and, as a result,

encourages more frequent and productive social interaction ( Postmes, Tanis & de Wit, 2001). Taken together, the development of a neighbourhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social capital is important in order to tackle future problems together, to help, support and trust each other and in general to increase residents health and happiness. To create such a social neighbourhood we came up with 1) a design and 2) a policy strategy (the policy strategy can be find in the end of the book).

design

Common space for everyone

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Research has shown that a shared space that is neither noisy nor overcrowded, like for example a park or a community center in a neighbourhood can promote face-to-face contact. Neighbours that have frequent face-to-face contact with other neighbors are more likely to form social ties. This may develop in social capital as the frequency and intensity of the interactions increases (Klein,

2013). When the people from the neighbourhood have repeated day-to-day contact at that common space they become acquaintances. This may then even lead to friendships. Therefore by providing the neighbourhood with a common space where people like to spend their time at, helps to increase social ties between the neighbours (Kweon, Sullivan, and Wiley 1998).

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Place attachment People might even develop emotional bonds towards the places where they spend frequently time at or where positive social interactions and the development of social ties are taking place at (place attachment). People who feel an emotional bond with a neighbourhood, park, or other places showed higher levels of well-being, were less likely to move away from that place and even developed a greater sense of community

surrounding this place (Altman & Low 1992). Hence, place attachment offers the community many benefits since a sense of place attachment has been shown to increase peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement and participation in the community (Manzo and Perkins, 2006). Consequently, place attachment enhances the development of social ties which in fact may result in the development of social capital (presented earlier).

Providing all facilities needed Not only have common spaces such as a park or community center the potential to increase social ties within a neighbourhood, also can places such as a supermarket or a market square lead to such outcomes. To ensure that the inhabitants of the neighbourhood are given the opportunity to see and meet their neighbours

wherever possible we aimed to provide the neighbourhood with most of the facilities that are needed for their living. Like this, people for example donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go to the center of Groningen to get fresh vegetables but can go to the market square in their own neighbourhood where they will see and meet the other inhabitants. 107

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CRATING SPACE FOR SOCIAL INTERACTIONS Jane Jacobs (1961) mentioned that to create a place of social interactions ‘people should spend their time as much as possible outside their houses, on the streets, in the community gardens, in their blocks…’ to get in contact with the people that live in the same area. Even though this might sound simple, this argument should not be underestimated. To get in contact with people that do not live in the same house demands naturally to get outside of that house. Therefore, we aimed to create an environment outside people’s homes where they want to spend a lot of their time. This should also be an environment where everyone feels welcome. The common places which are available for everyone offer a neutral ground for neighbours to get in contact with each other. Investigations by Allport (1954) have shown that under appropriate 108

conditions interpersonal contact is one of the most effective ways to reduce stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination between different groups. By designing the neighbourhood in such a way that people will be given many opportunities to interact with their neighbours we aimed to create a more tolerant, peaceful and integrative surrounding. Even though the investigations by Allport (1954) are quite old they are of utmost importance and relevance in today’s society as we are facing our generation’s biggest crisis (refugee crisis). In the near future there will be even more people from different countries, with different cultures, values etc., that will be living next to each other. But also many other intergroup conflicts within a neighbourhood (e.g.: between different age groups, different religious beliefs etc.) exist. These intergroup conflicts make the community life more

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difficult and in most cases separate the neighbourhood apart. To prevent such negative outcomes, the neighbourhood is designed in such a way that positive intergroup contact can take

place at various different places. In accordance with this reasoning, we propose a community-based design for the new neighbourhood, which will be discussed in the following section.

Community-based design The structure of an urban place should be designed in a way so that it facilitates the fulfilment of the need to belong of the inhabitants and to promote interaction among them (increase social capital). One approach could be a community-based design. A community based design is meant to structure an urban space in such a way, so that communities are created on every imaginable level. The structure should at the same time promote bonds between immediate neighbours, within neighbourhood districts, between different surrounding neighbourhoods and between outskirt neighbourhoods as well as with closeby centres (here, the city of Groningen). An example

would be to promote social bonds with the neighbours by structuring their houses around a square in the middle. Such a structure is likely to promote the interaction among the neighbours, especially if the green squares additionally feature facilities such as playgrounds or community gardens. Similar urban structures should be implemented to promote this sense of belonging throughout the whole neighbourhood - for example by building a market square. At the same time it is important to connect the specific neighbourhood to surrounding neighbourhoods or the city centre. This can be achieved by offering something unique, that does not exist, not even in the city centre yet. Such a facility would 109

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get people from the centre or surrounding neighbourhoods to come to this neighbourhood, which supposedly fosters a sense of being connected with each other. In which ways

does such a community-based design find itself in our proposed neighbourhood? The design of the neighbourhood includes a number of facilities placed in strategic places

Map of the neighborhood, points of attraction and connections

Points of attraction and connections

Points of attraction

Large point of attraction Medium point of attraction Small point of attraction Connections

The points of attraction considered were the main features of the area, as the waterfront and main square ( larger points of attraction) , the facilities as the schools, playgrounds, small squares, green areas.... ( medium points of attraction) and the small inner courts in the blocks ( small points of attraction).This map show how this hubs can be connected ex posing how the whole neighborhood is permeated by those connections.

Connections

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ensuring the access and creating connection and dynamic movement through the whole neighbourhood. The mix use of buildings in the center and the compact form of the neighbourhood ensure the great connection of the dwellers to facilities and promote the continuous movement through the streets, contributing to the formation of a lively district. The livelier an area the more likely people are to interact with each other and to form new connections among them. The main square and the waterfront are the two main magnets of the design and

Viskmarkt Groningen, Netherlands. Source: vismarkt.groningenl.nl

they are the main points of meeting and socialization. Although, through the whole neighbourhood are other places for this interaction to happen, such as the schools, sport centers, elderly houses, the gasthuis, small squares, green areas and playgrounds.The main square is localized in the central east area of the project, is well connect to the waterfront through a pedestrian street in the east direction and the place promotes a turn in the pedestrian axis that continues to the west. The square provides a place for a market, a common event in most of the cities around the world.

Feira Centro de ConvivĂŞncia, Crafts Market Campinas, Brazil. Located in a central square that have also an arts center. Source: angelicacortez.wordpress.com

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The space can be also used for festivals and is an iconic point of reference and meeting place for the community. An arts center is placed within the square, and a small cinema in the first block in the west direction. Such points of attraction also lend themselves as a way to connect the neighbourhood to surrounding neighbourhoods such as Aduard and Reitdiep (see project location). These two closeby neighbourhoods do not feature market squares or cinemas, whereby their inhabitants might be attracted to the new neighbourhood, promoting interaction among people from

Herestraat Groningen, Netherlands. Souce: Start Pagina

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different satellite neighbourhoods. The pedestrian and bicycle street have two parts, which is an extremely important element in the design. It was projected to ensure easy connections to the main places of the project while prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists. The west pedestrian street starts in the square and ends at the sports center. The blocks around it have a higher density than in the rest of the neighbourhood and mixed use of the buildings is projected (commerce facilities on the ground floor and apartments in the second and sometimes third floor). This situation will

Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, Colorado, US. Source: AWS Amazon

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People seating in tables outdoor, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Source: Dutch Amsterdam

ensure a continuous use of the street through the day and the pedestrian street surrounded with a great number of commerce facilities configures the space as a shopping street. The shopping street is also one common element of the city and promotes as well a place for gathering, meeting and leisure. Thereby it depicts a point of attraction and interaction for the people from the whole neighbourhood. Through the pedestrian street some important elements in the design ensure the social interaction and attract the utilization of the places, such as the community center, the small

square with shops and at the end of the street, the sports center, school and playground. The community center is placed as an essential feature for a healthy neighbourhood, it is a place where the community can meet, discuss and plan (see â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Being involved in the community lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;). The community center can be reached through a small street that leads directly to the main square, enhancing its importance but keeping it a little more inside the neighbourhood as a more intimate and private space for the community. The small square with shops (possible restaurants) again provides a place to stretch the possibilities of meeting and gathering as well as providing a pleasant place. Especially in the summer when the shops and particularly restaurants can use the space to assemble tables outside, contributing to a lively district. The school, sports center and playground located in the end of the pedestrian street were particularly placed there to create an attraction point towards the end of the neighbourhood ensuring the use of the entire pedestrian street and the places around it. 113

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Scheme of the central area of the project

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The waterfront is one of the principal points of the design and configures itself as a major place for people to meet, enjoy, exercise and also for being in contact with nature (see ‘A Green City’). The blocks near the waterfront are projected with a higher density to ensure the appropriation of the space, facing the street that is in the border of the waterfront the buildings are designed with three floors. The pedestrian street that starts in the main square and leads to the waterfront also plays an important role. It ensures the connection of the two main points of the project, whilst prioritizing the pedestrians and cyclists. The iconic waterfront with its green bridge (see ‘A Green City’) is at the same time a unique sight in the area of Groningen. Thereby it might lend itself as a point of attraction, whereby the neighbourhood might find recognition by people from the centre of Groningen as well. In the small scale, the blocks are specifically design to have inner courts, those spaces are proposed to be semi public

spaces where different activities can happen and the dwellers can appropriate themselves of the space, creating an identity for each block, socializing with each other, resulting in the strengthening of the feeling of belongingness with the space. In the courtyards community gardens can be grown and playgrounds can take place. Those spaces are project to always have suitable urban furniture and greenery.( see paragraph on the description of the design - housing/ courtyards). By implementing these courtyards the community between the immediate neighbours is strengthened. They are given a shared space, that will foster their interaction (see ‘A Green City’). The sense of community is further strengthened by providing shared resources among the neighbours (i.e. the urban gardens and playgrounds). In an attempt to further foster the bonds between the neighbours and the neighbours from surrounding squares we propose to implement an additional 115

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shared resource. In particular we suggest to implement shared public apple trees throughout the neighbourhood. By planting public fruit trees (i.e. apple trees) on each square, that everyone is welcome to pick fruits from when it is time to harvest, the neighbours will be brought closer together. At the same time the fruit trees lend themselves as a way to foster the community among different parts of the neighbourhood, namely with neighbours from different squares. To ensure that second aspect we propose that every square would receive different types of fruit trees

South Florida Community Garden. Source: Danon Management

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and each tree would have a blackboard with a map showing where each fruit tree grows in the neighbourhood, this could promote to cycle past other parts of the neighbourhood to pick different types of fruits. This would promote a sense of community between the little green squares, creating a community of the whole neighbourhood as such. It could at the same time lend itself for naming different areas in the neighbourhood, which would at the same times make the whole community structure prominent among the citizens.

Small Playground. Source: Oxxford Hunt

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Additionally we suggest to build The Free Café and The Repair Café as two special places included in the design of the neighbourhood. They are placed one in the north part near the school and the waterfront and the other in the south part near the playground. The Free Café, in the north part, is a place where people meet and cook together with donated food or the food grown in the community

gardens. The Repair Café in the south part, is a place where people can gather to work together on repairing things such as furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, toys, clothes and more. As both places depict yet additional shared resources of the whole neighbourhood, they are important for strengthening and nourishing the social relations throughout the whole neighbourhood community.

People working at a repair café. Source: Repair Cafe

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The city of Groningen already has a Free Café project, where people gather two days per week. There is an international network of Repair Cafés that can be found through this website repaircafe.org. This type of initiative also have a strong sustainable aspect because seeks to give new life to old things, not treating everything as disposable and helping to reduce the amount of garbage generation.( see also

chapter about sustainable city). Even though the design of the neighbourhood should already invite people to get in contact with each other, this is often not enough to bring people from different backgrounds together and interact with each other. Sometimes this needs some extra help and we therefore came up with a neighbourhood programme/ policy that will be presented in the last section.

Proposed design for the Groningen Free Café. Source: Free Cafe

People working at the Free Café in Groningen. Source: Free Cafe

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a safe neighbourhood

Safety and Place attachment

An interrelated concept of creating a social and healthy neighbourhood is the creation of a safe neighbourhood. If the design of the neighbourhood creates a lively environment where people want to spend their time, a sense of safety develops simultaneously. Since people spend a great part of their time outside of their houses the chance that neighbors can help each other in a given situation increases. This does also

work the other way around; a safe designed neighbourhood, where people are protected against accidents (e.g. by a good designed sidewalk) reinforces people to be outside which then again creates a lively neighbourhood. In Jane Jacob’s concept of ‘eyes on the street’ she explains that ‘Safety is guaranteed by people who watch the streets every day because they use the streets every day’ (Jacobs, 1961).

Earlier we have explained the concept of place attachment and its’ importance for the community’s and individual’s well being. Research has shown

that place attachment has been closely linked to safety, such as decreased crime rates (Brown et al. 2004) as well as decreased subjective fears of crime 119

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(Robinson et al. 2003). Brown et al. (2004) have even suggested that place attachment may directly encourage behaviors that can protect the neighbourhood against crime. Furthermore, residents who feel a strong and meaningful bond with the place in which they life in develop more trust towards

their neighbors (Lewicka 2005; Brown et al. 2004). Helliwell & Wang (2010) have shown that trust within a community is tightly linked to people’s well being. Moreover, their research presents that there exists a positive correlation between people’s trust towards their neighbors and their satisfaction with life.

Safety and Social Capital

In addition to place attachment, social capital has also been presented to play an important role in ensuring a community’s safety (Sampson et al., 1997). It has been for example shown that neighbourhoods with strong social capital are more effective in controlling uncivilised and deviant behaviors within the community (Sampson et al. 1997). In line with that, neighbourhoods that lack social capital have been shown to be more vulnerable to crime (Bellair 1997). As presented earlier, place attachment can decrease people’s fear of crime. Since the concepts of place attachment and social capital are strongly connected with

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each other it is not surprising that in neighbourhoods where social capital is high, people report as well less fear of crime. This has been for example shown in communities where neighbors had friends in their immediate surrounding or were members of a local club of the community (O’Bryant, Donnermeyer, & Stafford, 1991). Taken together, a lively neighbourhood where inhabitants spend a lot of their time outside of their houses can increase people’s place attachment and a community’s social capital. This in turn has been presented to increase the safety within a neighbourhood. The concepts

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the design

presented throughout this book aim at creating a ‘ social neighbourhood’ in order to develop a ‘healthy neighbourhood’. As we explained earlier, the creation of a social neighbourhood simultaneously

increases safety within that neighbourhood. Therefore, the implementations for the design of the ‘social neighbourhood’ (presented above) serve also the development of the ‘safe neighbourhood’.

The design provides the safe neighbourhood because promotes a mix use of buildings an and walkable distance between houses and facilities, promoting dynamic movement through all day, ensuring this way eyes on the streets all the time. (See chapter social city)

Also the height of the buildings is proportional to the size of the streets, promoting an adequate housing density and a satisfactory illumination. The buildings have a maximum height of three floors that guarantee important relation of the dweller with the street. Scheme showing the “eyes “on the street.

Advertising about the importance of the eyes on the street Source: CityLab

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Besides that the urban design prioritize the pedestrian and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have extremely large avenues and fast expressways cutting through the neighbourhood. The urban furniture, street lighting, urban greenery, pavement, walkability and wayfinding of the places are adequate as well. (see walkable, social city, city for all and urban furniture). The urban landscape and street lightning are very important aspects of a safe city. The design ensure the correct positioning

of street lights and green spaces always with adequate illumination and well located and planned to have activities near or in it through the whole day. The design have many facilities and specific attraction points already explained, promotes integration and identity of the dwellers with the space enhancing the feeling of belongingness to the place, making people feel comfortable and secure.(see social city, city for all).

Scheme showing the correct position of street lights. Source: CityLab

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a neighbourhood for all “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” Jane Jacobs (1961)

Elderly

One of our sub goals to create a ‘social neighbourhood’ and thereby a ‘healthy neighbourhood’ is the creation of an inclusive neighbourhood; a neighbourhood where everyone feels welcome and where facilities are available for all inhabitants. The next section has been divided into different age groups, since each age

group has some special needs that have to be taken into account while designing the neighbourhood. We have hereby focused on three age groups (elderly, children, adolescents), as we felt that these groups are often neglected in the urban design process. The age group ‘elderly’ is given hereby some extra attention.

The Netherlands population is ageing. Investigations have shown that the percentage of people aged 65 or over is expected to increase by 26% in 2035 (Statistics Netherlands

(CBS), 2010). Furthermore, the proportion of adults aged over 80 is projected to increase from 3.9 % of the total population in 2010 to 10.2 % in 2050 (Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 123

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2011). Given the special needs that such an ageing population will demand,a great challenge

will be imposed on society and consequently on the community that these people will live in.

isolation An often reported issue that people face when they are getting older is isolation and loneliness. We have already presented earlier the immense negative effects of social isolation on human health. Given that loneliness increases with age and with a deteriorated individual’s health (Luo, Hawkley, Waite & Cacioppo, 2012), elderly are at high risks of becoming isolated and

feeling lonely. Loneliness in older people is associated with high blood pressure, an increased number of general practitioner visits and higher incidences of falls. In addition, loneliness in elderly has also been linked to cognitive decline and depression (Stek, Beekman, Van Tilburg & Westendorp, 2004; Tilvis, Kähönen-Väre, Jolkkonen, Valvanne, Pitkala & Strandberg, 2004).

social capital and elderly Therefore the beneficial effects of social ties and social interaction on human health (presented earlier) might be even especially important for the elderly. Research by Kweon, Sullivan, and Wiley (1998) for example has shown 124

that older people that had strong social connections showed improved physical health, lower levels of mortality and reduced suicide rates. Moreover, Gray (2009) presented that neighbourhood contacts and the frequency

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of meeting people had a greater effect on feeling socially supported than had partnership status, having had children or being active. In line with this, investigations on the social capital of elderly presented that social capital can mitigate the effect of feeling lonely and the development of depression (Nyqvist et al., 2013). Furthermore, a positive linkage between elderlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

social capital and increased self-related health and wellbeing has been identified (Muckenhuber et al., 2013). Since elderly are often less mobile to visit for example family or friends that live further away, local and social contacts within the community have been shown to serve the elderly as an important resource for social and instrumental support (Forrest and Kearns, 2001; Gray, 2009).

Mobility and wellbeing in later life Research has shown that mobility plays an important role in influencing elderlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well being and health (Cutler 1972; Carp 1988). With regard to the positive effects social connections offer to elderly, it follows naturally that being unable to move around independently, and thereby meeting people outside the home, affects peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well being in a negative way (Mollenkopf et al. 2004). As an example elderly might experience

reduced contacts with friends, relatives and neighbors due to their restrictions in mobility. An important factor that increases reduced mobility in later life is safety. Research has shown that older people often feel unsafe to leave their house when there are not enough possibilities in the neighbourhood to rest and sit. Reduced mobility has been linked to increased loneliness and depression (Mollenkopf et al., 2004). 125

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independence Since being mobile means being independent, research (Secker et al., 2003) has pointed to the experience of choice and autonomy as the cause for the positive effects of staying mobile in later life. Accordingly, Kasser and Ryan (1999) presented that elderly that experienced greater control and autonomy over their inter-personal relations showed improved health, greater life satisfaction, higher self-esteem and lower depression. In this sense, the presented literature presents evidence that the ability to stay mobile and thereby to stay socially connected enhances elderlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical and psychological well being (Gibson 1991). Taken together, social ties within the community provide the elderly with social support which has shown to be an important factor in increasing elderlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health and well being. With regard to the benefits that social ties offer it is even more alarming to acknowledge 126

that the resources for social capital have been shown to decline in later life (Nyqvist et al., 2013). It is therefore our duty as the designers of the neighbourhood to prevent this from happening by including elderly in the community life. Interestingly, it has been shown that elderly can also derive a feeling of sense of community by simply seeing and hearing the neighbourhood life from their home. Moreover, it has been presented that this can even mitigate feelings of loneliness in older people (Lager, Van Hoven & Huigen, 2015). Additionally, elderly should be given the opportunity to stay mobile as much and as long as possible since this has been shown to allow them a feeling of control and autonomy. Thereby, the design of the neighbourhood aims at providing the elderly with a safe surrounding that invites them to spend time outside their homes, by offering them many opportunities to rest and sit.

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kids

Furthermore a good connected neighbourhood does not only have benefits for the elderly but also for the youngest of the community. It has for example been presented that a tightly connected neighbourhood is linked with school success (Baker, Barthelemy, & Kurdek, 1993) and effective child rearing (BrooksGunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Sealand, 1993). Furthermore

it has been shown that the natural environment such as the parks can enhance childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creative play and their cognitive and emotional development (Evans et al. 2001; MĂĽrtensson et al. 2009). The design of the neighbourhood therefore provides many possibilities for kids to spend their time outside of the house, for example at the playgrounds or the parks of the community.

Adolescents

When children develop into adolescents, they strive to become increasingly autonomous and independent, and will spend more time away from their parental home. Often they will thereby spend more time in their neighbourhood. Hence, it is the duty of the neighbourhood to provide the adolescents with supportive networks (Pretty, 2002). This for example can take place through involving the adolescents in the community life of the neighbourhood. It has been shown that adolescents who participate in the local community life benefit in many ways from this

(Youniss, McLellan, & Yates, 1997). Young people that are involved in the community develop a higher sense of community (SoC) compared to less involved adolescents (Zani, Cicognani, & Albanesi, 2007). Sense of community (SoC) has been defined as the feeling that one is part of a readily available, supportive, and dependable structure (Sarason, 1974). Past research has presented many beneficial outcomes for adolescents that arise with an increased sense of community (SoC). It has for example been shown that SoC enhances adolescents social well being (Zani et al., 2007) and 127

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furthermore influences positive social development (Connell, Halpern-Felsher, Clifford, & Crichlow, 1995). As it has been explained before, SoC precedes the engagement in community life. However, there exist some obstacles for adolescents to be engaged in the community life. It has for example been shown that adolescents often search for places in the community where they can feel influential or powerful. In contrast, many neighbourhoods have often neglected these needs of the adolescents and thereby diminished their

chance of becoming part of the neighbourhood and experiencing a sense of community. Consequently we aimed to design the neighbourhood in such a way that adolescents are given the space and the opportunity to become part of the community and thereby develop a sense of community. Places such as the skate park, the free café, repair café etc. will provide the adolescents this kind of opportunity. Here, they can experience a sense of power and meaningfulness and furthermore can gain some distance from their parental home.

design

To attend the different types of dwellers the design of the neighbourhood promotes a mix of types of houses and a variety of activities for specific publics. In each block is projected a diversity in the types of houses. A reference for the design of the Healthy Neighbourhood was the “Skärvet” urban neighbourhood in Växjö, Sweden, projected by the

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architects Kjellander + Sjöberg Architects (K + S). In this project the design provides rental units, tenant ownership units, youth housing, row townhouses, school, elderly housing and commercial units in one block ( that is in that case the whole neighbourhood). This “block” has a square in the middle with greenery, playgrounds and spaces for people to rest.

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Image of the Sk채rvet Neighbourhood Source: Archdaily

Scheme of the Sk채rvet Neighbourhood Source: Inhabitat

In our design of a Healthy Neighbourhood this was thought but in a small scale, since the blocks are smaller and the neighbourhood is much bigger than the one of Sk채rvet. In the blocks there is a mix in the type of houses although not as variable as Sk채rvet ( see paragraph on the description of the housing blocks) The facilities are concentrated in the center area that is in the maximum of 10 minutes of walking or 3 minutes of biking, from the farthest house. Although, there is facilities spread through the other

parts of the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood also has a variety of activities to ensure that different types of people are being integrated in the community life. There are three schools, two elderly houses, one sports center, one community center, one arts center, one gasthuis, and three big playgrounds inside the area, besides smaller ones at the waterfront and in the courtyards. There is also a skate park/ space for the young people near the waterfront. The schools are placed in different parts of the 129

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neighbourhoods and each one of them covers a 500 meters radius that ensure that every part of the neighbourhood area is covered and also that the maximum distance that a child will walk to school is 500 meters, about 6 minutes ( also see the chapter on a walkable and cyclable city). The skate park with sports court is a space designed for the

young people, it is placed next to a school and the waterfront. This especial location ensure a dynamic and truly accessible place for the young people to enjoy besides having a place for them will strengthen their relation with the place, and enhance the feeling belonging to a community that has a special and integrated space for them.

Oregon Park District - Nash Recreation Center,Oregon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Il, US. Source: Oregon Park

The waterfront is also a place important place designed for the integration and utilization of all the people. There are 130

Skate park with sports court. Source: Planet Contra

located playgrounds for the kids, running paths, outdoor gyms, volleyball courts, green spaces, places for food

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Elderly houses, playgrounds and schools locations on the project

growth, tables for picnics and contemplation sites. ( for more details also see chapter about a green neighbourhood) As presented earlier, research (Lager, Van Hoven & Huigen, 2015) has shown that simply seeing and hearing the neighbourhood life from the home can mitigate feelings of loneliness in older people. We therefore designed the social houses for the elderly in such a way that the people inside can watch the community life from out of their windows and can thereby still feel as a part of the

community. In two green stripes in the north and in the south part of the project were placed playgrounds and in the next block an elderly house.This layout besides integrating the playground and the elderly house to a green area, also insert the elderlies in a dynamic place, surrounded by kids. The both elderly houses are also near facilities, the central part of the project and main connection axes were public transportation can be accessed. This offers the elderly increased mobility. Another important feature of integration and designing a city for all in the project is the Gasthuis, is an historical reference to the city of Groningen that had/ have a considerable number of this types of buildings. ( see paragraph on the description of the design - gasthuis) To ensure that all dwellers can enjoy walking around the neighbourhood suitable Urban Furniture is designed. Especially for elderlies to go on a walk is necessary to have benches 131

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and large sidewalks for them to have places for rest and walk comfortably. The project provides benches on the courtyards, parks and sidewalks; wide sidewalks without obstacles, correct street lighting, and landscape project that provides shade but doesn’t created dark areas that people feel unsafe (see also chapter about the safe city ). Having a pedestrian friendly environment is an essential feature of a city

for all (also see chapter on walkable and cyclable city). In Singapore was design street furniture shaped like walking sticks and installed at intersections. These elements permit the seniors a support to rest a little or put their shopping bags for a minute. The project designer also affirms “When doing things in the spirit of design for older people, you’re designing for everyone”1.

Street furniture for elderly to rest while walking in the streets Source: Fast Company

Urban Design of sidewalk with benches. Source: Pinterest

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1. "Ideo Imagines 19 Concepts To Ease The Aging Process ..." 2014. 27 Feb. 2016 <http://www.fastcodesign.com/3029437/ ideo-imagines-19-concepts-to-ease-the-aging-process>

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The city of Groningen is doing a great job at minimising car use and promoting greener ways of transport, such as cycling, walking and buses. The city as such is not easily accessible by

car and several one way streets make it inconvenient to drive. This is the result of a traffic circulation plan that was proposed by Van den Berg in 1970, being finally implemented in 1977.

Van den Berg Source: The Guardian

Groningen traffic circulation plan Source: henkvoogd.nl

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This new traffic circulation plan expelled the car from the inner city, which first raised great resistance by local politicians and shopkeepers. Nowadays the city has been internationally recognised for its bike friendly infrastructure, with 61% of all trips undertaken by bicycles. Globally speaking, this is an impressive percentage, which is an essential contributor to a healthier city. The amount of physical activity it brings to the inhabitants is substantial and such “green” exercise has been repeatedly linked to health and well-being improvements. Cycling and walking have been shown to reduce stress levels and to lower the risks of cardio and brain vascular disease, diabetes, colorectal cancer, osteoporosis and depression (Foster, Hillsdon,Thorogood, Kaur, & Wedatilake, 2005; Kahn, Ramsey, Brownson, Heath, Howze, Powell,... & Corso, 2002; Meisinger, Löwel, Heier, Kandler, & Döring, 2007; Shaw, Gennat, O’Rourke, & Del Mar, 2006; Williams, 2001; Thomas, Elliott, & Naughton, 2006; Gregg, Pereira, & Caspersen, 2000; Gast, Frenken, Van Leest, Wendel-Vos, 134

& Bemelmans, 2007). On top of that, it not only promotes healthier lifestyles of the inhabitants, but also a healthier environment as a whole. Cycling and walking are not by coincidence called ‘green exercise’: these ways of transportation reduce airpollution and contribute to sustainability. Considering all these positive effects a bicycle friendly environment has, it seems inevitable to follow the lead of cities such as Groningen when planning a new healthy neighbourhood. Analysing the two neighbourhoods, Beijum and Oosterparkwijk, we came across two main strategies about how a neighbourhood’s structure can promote cycling and walking: planning an unattractive structure for using a car on one hand, encouraging the use of bikes by placing a good and safe environment for them on the other hand. In Oosterparkwijk, riding bicycles was mainly encouraged by making the environment inconvenient for car-use. It was achieved by implementing several one way streets, which make it time consuming for them. However the same holds

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true for Beijum, there are not only car use discouragement policies, but also cycling is made more attractive. This is achieved by building shortcuts throughout the neighbourhood which are not accessible for cars. These paths are reserved for cyclists and pedestrians and offer quick connections within the neighbourhood (See analytical section on mobility structures). Due to the health and

design

As a direct consequence of car use threats on health – as well as upon the environment – the strategy chosen for the design of the new neighbourhood aims a walking and cycling structural predisposition. Firstly, we tried to organize a hierarchy structure that prioritizes pedestrians and bikes: Primary roads (double lane for cars, one lane for each direction, with double bike lane and wide sidewalks) surrounding the neighbourhood and acting as a collector for the secondary roads Secondary roads (single lane for

environmental benefits (reduced air-pollution), that can be derived from a neighbourhood using such active ways of transportation (i.e. cycling and walking) we think that both strategies of encouragement should be implemented in future neighbourhoods and cities. Car use should be structurally discouraged, while cycling and walking should be actively encouraged.

cars with double lane for bikes) across the neighbourhood four times in the East-West direction and every three blocks in the North-South directio Tertiary roads (single lane for cars with double lane for bikes) are meant for pedestrians and bikes, but they are dimensioned for a single car/ambulance/ firefighter truck passing in case of emergency or some dweller’s special transportation needs This circulation schemes allows a certain permeability of cars into the neighbourhood but creates wide pedestrian areas of six blocks each. The whole 135

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area inside the blocks will be entirely free of cars and open to pedestrians (semi-public spaces) whereas a system of connected courtyards will enable small networks between the group of blocks. In these places, people can move in safe areas where different social activities can occur. The result is discouraging for cars since it would be waste of time move inside the neighbourhood given the considerable number of single lane streets. Following the example of Oosterparkwijk, traffic and speed control strategies should be applied, such as speed bumps, chicanes and curb extensions. By increasing the cognitive load of driving, these engineering

measures modify the road layout or appearance to actively or passively retard traffic. In the Netherlands, an efficient and diffused method of traffic calming is the creation of woonerven areas, where cyclists and pedestrians have legal priority over cars and a motorized speed limit of “walking speed” applies. A number of visual changes are being applied to many streets in order to bring more cautious driving, reduced speeds, reduced crashes, and a greater awareness to the pedestrians. Visual traffic calming includes lane narrowing (9-10’), road diets (reduction in lanes), trees next to streets and parking lanes and a closer placement of buildings.

Chicane for traffic calming

Curb extension for traffic calming

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a green neighbourhood More and more people are moving from rural to more urban places. At the same time it is widely recognised that built environments can either facilitate or constrain physical activity (i.e. Bedimo-Rung, Mowen, & Cohen, 2005). Therefore it is important to consider how such a change of the everyday environment affects someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well-being. Does it have a good, a bad or maybe not any influence at all? In order to come to any conclusions it is hereby important to think about both, physical and mental aspects of well-being. During the period of the

Enlightenment a tendency to move out of urban places back to more rural areas took place as natural environments were considered to be more beneficial to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well being. Nowadays the opposite is taking place - people are moving more and more to urban places. Therefore a comparison between living in urban places to living in more natural surroundings with respect to our wellbeing does not seem to be a contemporary thing to do. It seems rather important to consider the following within new urban places: Moving from rural areas to 137

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urban areas brings about a significant decrease in one’s personal exposure to natural environments and therefore the role of urban green spaces in compensating for such environmental shifts needs to be assessed. This role of urban green spaces has been studied in relation to both, physical and mental well-being. The results yield certain implications for our future planning of urban environments: Green spaces have been mainly linked to well-being through their positive effects on physical activity (Morris, 2003). They promote ‘green exercise’, i.e. walking, cycling or fishing, which has not only been found to improve physical health (Pretty, Griffin, Sellens, & Pretty, 2003) but also psychological wellbeing by i.e. improving self-esteem and mooddisturbances (Pretty, Peacock, Hine, Sellens, South, & Griffin, 2007). The extent to which such effects were found can be illustrated by looking at a study by Takano, Nakamura, & Watanabe (2002). They 138

showed that the degree to which elderly homes are surrounded by green areas, contributes to the longevity of the residents. The greener and the more walkable the surroundings were had predictive value with regard to the inhabitant’s duration of life and their personal attitudes towards the community as such. When it comes to the effects of urban green spaces on mental well-being, similar findings were obtained. It has been generally found that a decreased exposure to natural environments has effects on psychological functioning (for a review see Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012). Recent studies in this regard for example suggest, that a frequent use of urban green spaces reduces stress levels (Stigsdotter, Ekholm, Schipperijn, Toftager, KamperJørgensen & Randrup, 2010) and that it might have beneficial effects on cognitive functioning such as concentration (Koester, 2015). Different theories have been proposed in order to

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explain these findings, such as the Stress Reduction Theory and the Attention Restoration Theory. According to the Stress Reduction Theory natural environments have a restorative advantage over artificial environments (Ulrich, 1981). Being exposed to natural environments was found to activate human’s physiology in an affectively beneficial way. An example is the finding, that walking through natural landscapes reduces cortisol levels (Park, Tsunetsugu, Kasetani, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2010). Cortisol is a stress hormone and as heightened stress levels are detrimental for cognitive functioning (Upadhayay & Singh, 2013), the reduction of the related hormone was found to be at the same time beneficial for cognitive functioning. Yet another theory suggesting that there might be a relation between being exposed to natural environments and one’s cognitive abilities, is the Attention Restoration Theory. Part of it states,

that urban environments deplete cognitive resources and thereby diminish performance on tasks that rely on focused and directed attention (Hartig, Mang, & Evans, 1991). The theory points out, that the exposure to natural environments replenishes these cognitive resources by invoking a different kind of attention – namely one of ‘fascination’ and ‘being away’. A recent study for example found improved cognitive development in school children whose schools were surrounded by greener and more natural environments (Dadvand, Nieuwenhuijsen, Esnaola, Forns, Basagaña, Alvarez-Pedrerol, & Sunyer, 2015). Besides these attempts to explain the beneficial effects on physical and mental wellbeing another aspect that arguably contributes to both aspects has been studied, namely the relation between the availability of green spaces, social cohesion and perceived community in neighbourhoods. Green 139

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spaces were found to be related to a stronger sense of community and i.e. less perceived loneliness and shortage of social support (Maas, Van Dillen, Verheij, & Groenewegen, 2009). A study indicated that this might be due to the attraction of groups to spaces with natural elements such as trees, resulting in an increase of opportunities for social interactions (Coley, Sullivan, & Kuo, 1997). For green spaces to have the aforementioned positive effects on well-being certain structural conditions were proposed that should be meet. These consists of both environmental factors, but also of individual characteristics that promote or constrain the use of green spaces (i.e. age, gender, ethnicity and disability). Herewith only the three most prominent structural determinants of green space use will be mentioned as they are the most relevant to the planning of new urban green spaces. These are availability, quality and safety (Owen, 140

Humpel, Leslie, Bauman, & Sallis, 2004): In regard to ease and convenience of access to green spaces it has been repeatedly found, that the more accessible green spaces are, the more they are being used. Several studies thereafter found a relation with increases of physical activity as well. It was i.e. repeatedly found that living close to green spaces correlates with higher levels of physical activity (Cohen, McKenzie, Sehgal, Williamson, Golinelli,& Lurie, 2007; Cervero,& Duncan, 2003; Giles-Corti, Broomhall, Knuiman, Collins, Douglas, & Donovan, 2005) and that physical barriers such as larger roads can diminish this effect of proximity (Lee, & Moudon, 2008). When it comes to the quality of green spaces it was observed that a green spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s condition (maintenance) and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facilities also contribute to its level of use (Morris, 2003). Furthermore the level of maintenance affects the level of perceived safety of a

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green space (Law, King, King, Kertoy, Hurley, Rosenbaum, & Hanna, 2006). What are the structural strategies to be derived from these findings in regard to the planning of future urban green spaces and how will these strategies be implemented within the proposed neighbourhood plan? The overall results suggest that urban green spaces should be plentiful and easily accessible to everyone. The proposed neighbourhood is therefore rich in urban green spaces. As some of the aforementioned literature suggests, public facilities such as schools and elderly homes should be also surrounded by green areas as this has been shown to have beneficial effects on cognitive abilities of children (Dadvand, Nieuwenhuijsen, Esnaola, Forns, BasagaĂąa, Alvarez-Pedrerol, & Sunyer, 2015) and the longevity of elderly (Takano, Nakamura, & Watanabe, 2002). Taking the aspect of social cohesion and community into account

that green spaces have been positively associated with (Maas, Van Dillen, Verheij, & Groenewegen, 2009; Coley, Sullivan, & Kuo, 1997), the green spaces should offer a place to meet and to interact. In line with the idea of a communitybased design throughout the neighbourhood (proposed earlier), different green spaces offer such opportunities. The effect should be strengthened by turning some of the green spaces into shared resources, which has also been shown to facilitate a feeling of community and to increase social contacts (REF). First of all the neighbourhoods most iconic sight is the green waterfront along the canal, which offers different facilities (sports, gardens etc.), whereby people are thought to come together. The function of the place should shape the size, the different activities, infrastructure and other features in order to guarantee the three main aspects used as a guideline 141

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(see “Green spaces” in the “Case studies” section). The waterfront park, further from its significant size, it is also the main entrance of the neighbourhood and face the canal, reasons which form the basis for choosing to treat this green space with a broader significance and as a social tie for the whole population. In order

to achieve it, a varied type of activities were thought for the place; different functions of the greenery, different landscape areas and some iconic features, i.e. the geodesic dome (see the “Social Neighbourhood” section), the waterfront quay sidewalk and the pedestrian green bridge coming from the pedestrian street.

Scheme map showing the geodesic dome with two little other geodesics and the quay sidewalk

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The green bridge was thought mutually as an icon and an accessibility infrastructure, which connects the urban area to the waterfront through the pedestrian avenue. This should help to reduce the diminishing effect of the road as a barrier to green space use and to bring vegetation into the urban area. Of course, there is a symbolism attached in putting the pedestrians above the cars regarding the

different importance we are giving to each other. Using as a reference the quay sidewalk in Brasilia (see â&#x20AC;&#x153;Green spacesâ&#x20AC;? in the case studies section), the quay sidewalk has a different purpose: bring people closer to the water and display a pleasant running path for sports practice alongside the canal, giving different and unusual â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the case of the Netherlands - meanings for the use of a canal.

Plan of the green bridge adapted to the project of our park

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Mile end park, Tower Hamlet, UK: Example of a green bridge Source: Stati Flickr

Scheme map concerning the different functions that will be provided inside each cell

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The park as a whole is divided in cells and those cells divided in different functions regarding our goals for the green spaces, working with the landscape in order to achieve varied environments. These division could not only provide a more enclosed environment

- vanishing the sense of exaggerated broadness so people can feel more comfortable - but also displayed room for activism of the dwellers. Furthermore, we combined and shaped from the street pattern of the neighbourhood to ease the accessibility.

The streets shaped these cells in order to give a better accessibility to people coming from inside the neighbourhood.

Regarding the function of the small green spaces, which are primarily important as well, the positive effects of those within the

neighbourhood blocks should be strengthened by implementing urban gardens and fruit trees (see â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Community-based designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;) . 145

Section Ii - the proposal Apple trees in the community

These also depict shared resources which should strengthen the community on top of the supposedly positive effects green spaces have on social cohesion by themselves (Coley, Sullivan, & Kuo, 1997). When it comes to facilitating the use of the green spaces, the three structural aspects of quality, safety and accessibility mentioned earlier should be taken into account, as all these factors contribute to the actual use of the green spaces. In regard to quality, the green spaces should not be concentrated at distinct locations, but should be distributed throughout the neighbourhood with different qualities, such as sizes and 146

facilities. This will ensure to accommodate different needs of the inhabitants (Morris, 2003). With regard to safety, the green spaces should be accommodated with thorough lightening systems and a team should be derived to maintain the quality of the green spaces. Last but not least, the proximity and availability of the green spaces matter. Green spaces should be easily accessible to everyone and they should not be blocked by big roads, which has been shown to diminish the effects of proximity on green space use (Lee, & Moudon, 2008). Overall the neighbourhood should facilitate green space

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use to increase both physical and mental well-being of the inhabitants. The exact effects can be facilitated through different strategies that were discussed. Therefore we propose to use these strategies which will

ultimately result in a green neighbourhood. Such a design should not only bring its inhabitants closer to nature, but it should also increase their contacts and cohesion among each other.

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a sustainable neighbourhood Granvik., M., Wlodarczyk, D. & RydĂŠn, L. (2003) suggest three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. In this sense, a sustainable neighbourhood must be planned in order to cover all dimensions in an integrated way. The environmental dimension comprises issues like energy efficiency, preference for local energy sources, water management and waste management. Among the efforts to reach the economic dimension of sustainability there is the providence of both home and working places within the same area, as well as commercial facilities in order to reduce the need for 148

traveling and to concentrate and enrich the local economy. Local food production is also an important effort towards sustainability: the residents can grow vegetables in their own yard or in communal gardens, and the local shops can be supplied with goods from local producers. The social aspects are addressed to encouraging social interactions, also inspiring community feelings. The areas may offer child and elderly care, schools, community centres, as well as sport facilities and open spaces for social interaction. Concerning economic and social matters, the authors also mentions the importance of affordability of houses.

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Furthermore, the authors reflect on the mobility aspects, which lies on the three dimensions of sustainability. It should aim to diminish the necessity of fossil fuels and hence air pollution, and encourage green energy production with the stimulus of governmental policies. For this purpose, the efforts concentrate in providing more environmental friendly transportation and reducing its price for the users. Reducing the need for travel is a way to start, but moreover it should be complemented by proper infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians, in order to encourage these types of green transportation and also provide high quality public transportation. It can be noticed that planning a sustainable neighbourhood go further beyond environmental matters: it is a holistic approach for urban renewal and urban planning, a paradigm change and a new way of reasoning. As our societies and urban forms are becoming more complex due to overpopulated cities, the challenge is how to design processes and systems that ensure health and sustainable

development over time. Responding to this necessity, worldwide movements and conferences on sustainability are happening, such as the Fifth Environmental Action Programme “Towards Sustainability”, which identified the “need for a far-sighted, cohesive and effective approach to attain sustainable development” (CEC, 1996). The World Health Organization’s European Healthy Cities programme echoes the necessity of relating urban planning to overall health (1999). After the Rio conference in 2002, the sustainable development has become a goal and the nations are slowly becoming aware of the need for sustainability and innovation. Not just for urban development, but for an ecological, economic and behavioural repositioning. Leaded by the private sector, by the governmental party or by personal interests, several sustainable settlements have being formed and developed. Those can be from academic and research experiments to eco-villages formed by 149

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individual interests. There are several approaches leading the renewal of urban development; Barton and Kleiner (2000) propose types of eco-neighbourhoods

regarding different forms of categorization, such as the scale, the location (whether it is rural or urban) and the lead sector. Describing in a concise way, these types are:

rural eco-village

televillages

Villages located in rural areas, where the permaculture is a key concept. The idea is to create a land-based economy.

Villages based on the idea of trusting Internet to foster locally based work in order to reduce the need of transportation.

urban demonstration projects

urban eco-communities

Experimental projects, results of competitions or constructed with research purposes. Driven by technological and architectural innovations.

The idea is to have an environment of cooperation with urban commons managed by the community in an ecological way.

new urbanism development

ecological townships

Projects in a larger scale, led by the concept of TODs (transitoriented developments), with local accessibility by foot and regional accessibility by public transport. It is denser than suburbs, and it aims social diversity throughout a mixed used of spaces.

Projects in a larger scale aiming that the whole city evolves towards sustainability.

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sustainability and public health

Although the awareness over sustainability issues is increasing over the last decades, few actions are being done. According to Barton and Kleiner (2000), their search for sustainable urban forms reached an unsatisfied number considering the global scale. This can be often due to practical problems, such as an economic barrier to invest in innovative urban sites or in

released technology. Yet, sustainable practices require a change of habits and a strong support by governmental policies. The shift of thoughts requires a transdisciplinary group where people can effectively work towards develop a healthy, sustainable and economically lively city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or a Healthy City (Duhl and Sanchez, 1999).

According to the Commission of World Health Organisation (e.g. WHO), the definition of health is no longer merely the absence of disease or disability. The public health is moving away from medical modes and rather, backing to its origins: the social modes (see Ebenezer Howard, Lewis Mumford, Patrick Geddes) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is the new public health paradigm. The mindfulness is changing from focusing on the individual or on treatment of diseases to focusing on the society as a whole. The new public health paradigm is based on a social

model that considers health as an outcome of peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice and equity (First International Conference on Health Promotion in Ottawa, 1986). Health is both a social and a political issue. The Social Justice concept denies that each human being is born equal, since the resources are not distributed equally among every community; they are rather distributed by means of power. So to social justice can be guaranteed, some 151

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benefits might be assured for all (e.g. housing, education, safety) and the environment might be planned to control hazards. The environmental theory supports that diseases are caused by toxins in the environment, and suggests that disease prevention, instead of requiring individual personal changes or medical treatments, demands changes in our surrounding environments, not only chemicals, but also physical environments and social organization under which people live. The politicaleconomic theory emphasizes that the structure of the economy and society affects the lives of individuals (Duhl & Sanchez ,1999). Those three concepts aforementioned (social justice, political-economic and environmental theory) are important in helping to demonstrate the link between public health and urban planning by relating physical and social matters to the health of a community. Duhl & Sanchez (1999) state that â&#x20AC;&#x153;urban planning can and does serve as a form of primary 152

prevention and contributor to health outcomesâ&#x20AC;?. In order to assure the health urban planning implications, it is necessary to start where people are and to involve the community in the process. Planning healthy cities go further than the traditional urban planning concepts because it is intrinsically concerned to foster health for all and promote a sustainable development. The health urban planning must be holistic and organic towards changing basic conditions and creating long-term sustainable improvements on social, political-economic and environmental scales. Since sustainability implies a balance between social, economic and environmental qualities, the Healthy City intersects in many points with the Sustainable City (see last section). Considering the link between health and sustainable urban planning, this project aims to support all dimensions of sustainability. This section contains mainly environmental and economic solutions, since the social aspect is already broad debated on previous sections.

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waste management

Proper waste destination and treatment is a very important issue when it comes to the urban environment. Towards

a sustainable approach it is important to selfprovide the incomes but also be able to manage the outcomes.

composting Each block of the neighbourhood will be equipped with composters to recycle the organic garbage of the houses and generate humus (nutrient-rich biological

fertilizer) to be used in the local food production. The composters are small and can kitchen waste (e.g. any organic waste), including leftover meals, eggshells and small bones.

The composting cycle. Source: Shannon Mulqueen

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The process of composting generally consists in a reaction between the nitrogen provenient from organic materials and a carbon source. For this matter, straw (dried garden waste such as grass cuttings, leaves and pruning), sawdust or dried leaf can be used as a carbon

source. Our aim is to create a neighbourhood that recycles 100% of its organic waste. In order to encourage the residents to use the facilities, the project developed some policies that can approach the neighbors to sustainable practices (see section Policies).

Composter. Source: Michigan Green Law

Scheme of how a composter works. Source: Green Council

Community Gardens

The community gardens will be developed as a choice for the inner courtyards, in some places of the waterfront and also in the experimental area (see next section). This aims to encourage local organic food production in order to reach a self-sufficiency of

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food. The gardens will be provided with appropriated agricultural tools enough to be shared among the residents. This measure will result in less costs for all and it will also improve community feelings of belonging and sharing.

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Community Garden. Source: CommunityGarden.org

Vegetation: Diverse and Local

Community Garden. Source: http://oswegocountytoday.com/

One of the Healthy Neighbourhood Projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philosophy is that support the diversity and the local is a measure that needs to be present in all scales. Besides being widely

debated in the previous chapter for the community environment, this issue cannot be absent in the economic environment and have to be developed for the ecosystem scale. 155

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The neighbourhood vegetation is planned to be native and diverse. Local species are more adaptable to the local environmental conditions and changes, such as strong winds, limited soil nutrients and so on. Furthermore, they are genetically more diverse, what makes them more stable to withstand and adapt to environmental stresses and changes (FAO, 2014). The following lines contain a

group of native trees of the North Hemisphere frequently seen in The Netherlands that will make part of the neighbourhood vegetation. The fruit trees will be not only an embellishment for the area, but a strategy for community gathering. The idea is that the residents can easily recognize and create an association of areas according to the places where the fruit trees are grown.

Lindens (tilia)

Alder (alnus)

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Oak (quercus robur)

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Beech (fagus sylvatica)

Willow (salix)

Elm (ulmus)

Blackberry (rubus plicatus)

pear (pyrus communis)

apple tree (Malus domestica)

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seed bank

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The neighbourhood will be provided with a community seed bank that consists in storing and managing seeds to be used in the community garden. It is a way to maintain a variety of local seeds, to a have stock for eventual emergencies (such as damaged or destroyed crops) and to guarantee independency for the community regarding food production.

The formal seed system, that consists in a national or global seed bank that sells seeds to the farmers, can be costly or may suffer from erratic supply. Furthermore, it sells seeds that are not adapted to the local conditions and local environmental changes, which can be a loss in genetic diversity. Thus, this system may not be enough to ensure diversity at local level.

Genetic diversity in crops. Source: linnaeafarm.org

Rich harvest and diversity. source: linnaeafarm.org

Seed saving is a practice that allows farmers to cultivate a large number of different local varieties that are adapted to local environment and supplies the community bank with the most adapted varieties for the region. Moreover, seed diversity is enhanced and can

be an additional income when exchanged and sold to neighbour communities. Diversification of crops is also important to the community food security because it avoids the impact of failure in one production and strengthens self-sufficiency.

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composting

cycle path with solar panels

Each block of the neighbourhood will be equipped with composters to recycle the organic garbage of the houses and generate humus (nutrient-rich biological

fertilizer) to be used in the local food production. The composters are small and can kitchen waste (e.g. any organic waste), including leftover meals, eggshells and small bones.

In November of 2014 a bike path made in concrete with solar cells attached was installed in the town of Krommenie, North Holland, Netherlands. The project has already generated more energy than the expected: in May of 2015 the amount of energy generated by the 70-meters bike path was about 3.000 kilowatt/hour. In the Healthy Neighbourhood

Project this type of technology will be also implemented in the cycle paths. Even though the Dutch weather is not the most suitable for sunlight energy, the bike paths and the road pavements in general take an enormous amount of space, and if green energy can be generate from them, this solution is more than welcome.

Concrete squares with solar cells. Source: CityMetric

Bike bath in Krommenie. Source: CityMetric

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Experimental Area

In order to encourage sustainable behaviour and to be adaptive to the residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feelings and preferences, an area of approximately 120.000 mÂ˛ with experimental purposes will be placed in the end of the central

pedestrian axis. The philosophy of the project advocates that people play a major role in the city. For this reason, it is important to experiment some alternatives that might need the residentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acceptance and support.

food production

A greenhouse area will be designated in the neighbourhood in order to produce food along the winter and autumn seasons; the

residents interested in producing can grow local food in order to self-sustain the neighbourhood and the local market during the whole year.

Green Houses. Source: China King Peng

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Low-impact and sustainable buildings

The experimental area will host sustainable housing projects, aiming to test the viability, to evaluate and to identify the best economic and environmental solutions that could be used and encouraged in the

neighbourhood. The projects should aim to develop low impact or sustainable houses by using high tech solutions and innovations. The constructions must experiment sustainable features such as:

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Use of local and low-impact materials A photovoltaic array to supply energy to the building. Vacuum tube solar panels that supply the buildings with hot water. The design must take advantage of the energy, light and ventilation that the natural environment has to offer.

Local energy production

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Double glazing for insulation and noise reduction Transparent solar cells in windows1 Insulated walls with sustainable insulating material (e.g. cellulose fibre (made from recycled paper), cork, straw, hemp/ lime mix) Recycling/Reusing greywater2

Besides that, a power plant to generate clean energy will be implemented. For this goal, a biomass power plant with sustainable architectural design will be tested as a solution to the neighbourhood in order to become a self-sustaining energy place. The biomass is a renewable energy that can be generated by organic waste like forestry crops and its residues, agricultural crops and its residues, sewage, animal residues and food waste. As a reference to the Healthy Neighbourhood Project, the city of Uppsala, in Sweden have a luminescent geodesic dome

1. SolarWindowTM Technologies; Michigan State University Technology and Solaria Technology

2. Approval from local council to operate a single household greywater is a needed treatment system

biomass power plant designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) that, besides housing the biomass operations, is also a public park. The power plant is planned to supplement the town grid when the demand for energy and heat is high, specially in the winter and spring months. During the summer months, when out of service, the biomass facility can attract tourists and become a gathering area surrounded by green spaces, walking paths, restaurants and a skating area. During winter, the place can turn into an educational center, receiving visits to show the machinery and processes of energy production.

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Geodesic dome power plant in Sweden. Source: Inhabitat

The rainbow colour effect on the geodesic dome is created by the use of clear photovoltaic panels that becomes architectural expression and a landmark to the city. This experimental area aims to be a space where different experiments with highly sustainable architecture can be placed, and it is also an experimental territory to support the neighbourhood development towards a completely sustainable place. 163

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policies This section is a gathering of several policies that we also suggest for the project. The aim of these policies is to

getting involved in the community life

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encourage the implementation of our goals, since the success of a plan cannot be guaranteed by good urban planning alone.

Shared responsibility Urban gardens, the free cafĂŠ and the repair cafĂŠ can be located in the smaller neighbourhood blocks. The number of people involved in the management of such facilities should be kept limited, to prevent them from losing contact with their activity and keep the feeling of responsibility high. These activities will increase the contact between the neighbours in the blocks as they need to care for these spaces together. People should take part in designing their surrounding.

We learned from the literature which we presented earlier that the empowering of inhabitantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to be part of creating their surrounding has immense positive effects for the community life of a neighbourhood. Therefore we came up with a policy plan that encourages the inhabitants to take part in the process of creating and designing particular places in the neighbourhood. Neighbours should for example be given the responsibility to decide together about the interior

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design of such places as the free café, the repair café or the community center. Furthermore, adolescents and kids should be involved in designing, for example in that of the

skatepark (e.g.: by painting together the walls). There are example of such social design initiatives, where the citizens themselves got involved in planning their own environments.

Park Fiction in Hamburg. Source: park-fiction.net

The Park Fiction in Hamburg is one such example. After it was announced that a housing cooperation would build a new complex on an empty space at the waterfront of the Elb river, a form of activism started within the neighbourhood

requesting the open space to become public instead. In the following years the citizens were given tools to design the so called ‘Park Fiction’. These tools included things like being given pencil and paper to draw or write things down or being given 165

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plasticine to physically built models of what one envisions. The protests in Hamburg are one example in which the citizens actively demanded to get involved in the planning of their living environment. It seems as if there exists a need on the side of the citizens and we should learn from such occasions and include citizens to some degree in the planning of public spaces

and facilities. Another example where this is happening is the neighbourhood of Selwerd in Groningen in which the social designer Hanna Wolff engages with the citizens of the neighbourhood with the aim of raising awareness of the neighbourhood’s needs and to actively involve the citizens in the future development of their surroundings (Wolff, 2016).

Involvement in the planning at the Park Fiction. Source: Wolff, H. 2016, Social Design - Eine Annäherung

Citizens of Selwerd making suggestion how to improve their neighbourhood. Source: Wolff, H. 2016, Social Design - Eine Annäherung

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Section II - the proposal Participatory suggestions from citizens in the neighbourhood of Selwerd, Groningen. Source: Wolff, H. 2016, Social Design Eine AnnĂ¤herung

workshops integrating multiple generations

Younger and older adults should interact with each other. During the design process of the neighbourhood we have put some extra attention towards the needs of the elderly. This continues as well in the policies in order to protect older people from loneliness and social isolation. Gray (2009) suggested that to maintain continuity of social and instrumental support, it is important for older adults to develop bridging social capital with younger generations. We therefore came up with a

policy plan that organizes transgenerational workshops. In these workshops older and younger inhabitants should interact with each other, exchange skills and learn from each other. An example could be that of an elderly that teaches a younger person how to play a particular instrument and in exchange the younger person explains the elderly how to make use of new technologies (e.g.: apps), but sewing, knitting, cooking, repairing tools or building a shed could be other options. 167

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community gardens

Encouraging Food Production and selfempowerment The community gardens should be provided with information about the crops that grows during each season and detailed information about organic and agroecological (e.g. organic and based on use of local resources) agriculture. Such information could be provided by using blackboard and through the community house. Besides being a place that promote food security for the neighbourhood, the community garden will be a place with educational and gathering purposes, since it creates opportunities for people to work together and learn from each

other about gardening, food preparation and more. The kids can grow up learning to respect the local culture and the nature, and to eat mindfully. The community gardens promotes physical and emotional health by connecting with nature, teaching life skills and improving the food security (Bradley & Baldwin, 2011). To encourage the activity, the policies will be based on providing information about both, the beneficial and technical issues and promote events and measures that engage the community from the beginning.

Involving the children There will be a separated area exclusively destined for kids with adapted tools available. The schools will be invited to 168

organize visits frequently and the gardeners will be also invited to manage different workshops about how to grow organic gardens.

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Involving the community Workshops of organic food production; agroecology and permaculture will take place on the community centre and on the community garden

for the whole community, as well as video debate about topics as nutrition, benefits of organic food and local food production.

Selling self-produced goods and providing local work The community could benefit of one or more shops where people can temporarily rent a shelf and sell their self made products (soap, handmade clothes, certain types of food products, baskets and others).

A shop of this kind,Tafeltje, can be found in Groningen. Other shops with alimentary goods produced locally or by the nearby farmers can be organized and run by people in the community.

The harvest festival 1. As a guideline check: http://ac-aa.org/docs/HarvestFestivalThoughts.pdf

As a way to celebrate the achievements of the community garden, we suggest, the organization of a festival that involve the community and neighbours communities in the process of harvest. Then, celebrate together with abundance of food with music, local art, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities, dancing

and sharing of healthy and delicious local food1. This is a way to bring the public more involved with the gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities with an opportunity to visit the place and learn about the program. It is also an opportunity to sell homemade goods as a way to promote the local economy. 169

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Self Sustaining Apple Festival Among other initiatives to strengthen the new neighbourhood identity and maybe create a tradition, a festival could be organized yearly, centered on the cultivation of apple trees and the sell of products derived from the fruit. One week before members of an association would pick up the apples from the trees in the

public spaces, process them and produce different types of food. On the Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day these products can be sold in stalls and activities organized all around the neighbourhood. Part of the the money gained through the sales should be used to organize the festival in the following year or to maintain the green areas.

sports events Sports events are usually successful in creating bonds within a community of local supporters. Organizing a football local team, for instance, and football tournois could prove a source of inspiration

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for healthy activities appealing to people of different ages. The program could possibly take advantage of the sports facilities in the nearby Zernike complex in the first phases of its development.

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community gardens

Encouraging Food Production and self-empowerment The community gardens should be provided with information about the crops that grows during each season and detailed information about organic and agroecological (e.g. organic and based on use of local resources) agriculture. Such information could be provided by using blackboard and through the community house. Besides being a place that promote food security for the neighbourhood, the community garden will be a place with educational and gathering purposes, since it creates opportunities for people to work together and learn from each

Community Seed Bank

As learned from the literature aforementioned, the community seed bank could provide food security and independency for the farmers. In this project, the seed bank will be a way to ensure the availability of resources for the production of food and

economic independency in the matter of seeds. It will support the community gardens and provide diversity in crops. Moreover, during the harvest festival, the community can organize an exchange or seed fair in order to enhance diversity. 171

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self-organization All farmers and other community members should be involved when setting up a community seed bank. Other issues that should also be

addressed include, among others, who and how the bank will be managed; which, how and where will the seeds be stored and maintained.

eco-Friendly Community

composting The procedure for the treatment of the organic waste of the community will empower the composters. All blocks will be provided with one composter and the residents of each block will be responsible for managing the organic waste and the composter. The compost outcome from the process will be used in the community garden as fertilizer, so each block is responsible to take their

outcomes to the closest community garden once a month. All the extra compost outcome will be commercialized and the funds will be reverted to the blocks. To improve knowledge and empower the residents, workshops on the theme will be organized in the blocks, as well as in the schools. Each school will have its own composter and they must empower the students for the management.

Recycling points The neighbourhood will be provided with recycling points spread through the 172

blocks, points which the neighbours can take with their recyclable material.

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Recycling workshops In order to encourage home recycling, the neighbours can organize workshops of how to recycle some materials into something useful for themselves or for the community. For example, bio-construction(e.g.

construction with biological and local produced material) workshops, to create together urban furniture with reused or recycled material that can be placed on the neighbourhood or in their homes.

recycling fair in schools Recycling Fair in Schools Each year a competition is released between the schools to award the best project using recycled or

reused material. For this matter, the students will have to accumulate material during the year and use it for the project.

Re-use organizations and Repair café This project will encourage organizations that support the environment by facilitating the reuse of belongs. These organizations could provide a proper destination for unwanted items in good conditions – especially furniture and electrical items; at stores, these items could be sold for low prices; this would also create job opportunities and avoid useful

items to become waste. The repair cafés are also a good way to bring people together and they are provided with tools to help making the repairs and people can meet there to try to fix things up. This is an idea that makes people aware, instead of just throw broken items away or taking them straight away to major repairing shops. 173

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Reflections The project has been in retrospect a very interesting learning experience. On the one hand it created an awareness for aspects that need to be taken into account in order to build a healthy living environment and on the other hand the way the project was structured taught us a lot about the dynamics of working within a transdisciplinary team. As more and more people are moving to urban areas, our living environments are in need to adapt to these changes. The way our living environments are finally changed need to be carefully considered and should be evidencebased. Thereby a healthy balance needs to be found between the impact of the environment on its inhabitants and the inhabitantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on the environment. Only by finding the right balance, we can achieve a truly healthy 174

neighbourhood for us humans and the global environment. To find the right balance in the aforementioned relation is a very complex task, just as most problems are that our society is currently facing. Therefore the knowledge base and the skills that the project taught us are of great importance for our future work fields. When it comes to the specific task to build from scratch a new neighbourhood outside of the city, it seems rather questionable whether this is a contemporary construct to consider. As mentioned above more and more people are actually moving to urban centres instead of moving out of the centres into suburbs. Would it not be rather worthwhile to consider how these urban centres need to be adapted in order to find a healthy balance in the interaction between

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the environment and its inhabitants? We think the answer to this question is yes. Yet, the project we engaged in should be seen as a means to an end to find such solutions. If you try to adapt an urban environment to the needs of the inhabitants and the global environment then your lines of thought might be restricted by the preexisting structures. However, when you plan a whole new neighbourhood from scratch, there are no such limitations and the neighbourhood can be planned freely, bringing all relevant ideas together. It will ultimately result in an unrealistic makeover with regard to the adaptation of already existing urban environments, but only if you take it in a literal sense. Being unrestricted in the planning within a transdisciplinary team can bring together important

concepts that promote a healthy balance. Not all these ideas would have come up if our work would have been restricted to the adaptation of a pre-existing urban environment. Therefore we think that what is worthwhile about the project at hand from a contemporary perspective, are the health related concepts that we developed in a setting with almost no boundaries. These concepts can still be used and translated onto pre-existing urban areas in order to promote a healthy balance within them. Therefore we clearly see certain shortcomings with regard to the project but at the same time, these shortcomings provide us with tremendous opportunities, namely to bring together different perspectives on a thriving topic and to freely come up with conceptual solutions. 175

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Cohen, D. A., McKenzie, T. L., Sehgal, A., Williamson, S., Golinelli, D., & Lurie, N. (2007). Contribution of public parks to physical activity. American Journal of Public Health, 97(3), 509-514. Coley, R. L., Sullivan, W. C., & Kuo, F. E. (1997). Where does community grow? The social context created by nature in urban public housing. Environment and behavior, 29(4), 468-494. Connell, J. P., Halpem-Felsher, B. L., Clifford, E., Crichlow, W., & Usinger, P. (1995). Hanging in there: Behavioral, psychological, and contextual factors affecting whether African American adolescents stay in high school. Journal of adolescent research, 10(1), 41-63. Cutler, S. J. (1972). The availability of personal transportation, residential location, and life satisfaction among the aged. Journal of Gerontology, 27(3), 383-389. Dallago, L., Perkins, D. D., Santinello, M., Boyce, W., Molcho, M., & Morgan, A. (2009). Adolescent place attachment, social capital, and perceived safety: A comparison of 13 countries. American journal of community psychology, 44(1-2), 148-160.

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Section Ii - the proposal De Leon, C. F. M., Glass, T. A., & Berkman, L. F. (2003). Social engagement and disability in a community population of older adults the new haven EPESE. American Journal of Epidemiology,157(7), 633-642. Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Beyond money toward an economy of well-being.Psychological science in the public interest, 5(1), 1-31. Duhl, L.J, A.K Sanchez, and World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. 1999. “Healthy Cities And The City Planning Process : A Background Document On Links Between Health And Urban Planning”. (Copenhagem: WHO Regional Office for Europe). Available at http://www. euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0009/101610/E67843.pdf Durkheim, E. (1933). The division of labor in society, trans. George Simpson (Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1947), 191, 175. Easterlin, R. A., McVey, L. A., Switek, M., Sawangfa, O., & Zweig, J. S. (2010). The happiness–income paradox revisited. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(52), 22463-22468. Ertel, K. A., Glymour, M. M., & Berkman, L. F. (2008). Effects of social integration on preserving memory function in a nationally representative US elderly population. American journal of public health, 98(7), 1215-1220. Evans, G. W., Lercher, P., Meis, M., Ising, H., & Kofler, W. W. (2001). Community

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noise exposure and stress in children. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 109(3), 1023-1027. Evans, K. (2009). Learning, work and social responsibility: challenges for lifelong learning in a global age (Vol. 13). Springer Science & Business Media. FAO, 2014. Module: Community Seed Banks Junior Farmer Field And Life School – Facilitator’S Guide. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization fo the United Nations. Available at: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_ upload/fao_ilo/pdf/Other_docs/FAO/ Community_Seed_Banks.pdf Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (2001). Social cohesion, social capital and the neighbourhood. Urban studies, 38(12), 2125-2143. Gehl, J. (2013). Cities for people. Island press Geni.org, 2016. “Renewable Energy Resources - Library - Articles On Bioenergy - Global Energy Network Institute - GENI Is The Highest Priority Objective Of The World Game (R. Buckminster Fuller).”http://www.geni. org/globalenergy/library/articlesrenewable-energy-transmission/ bioenergy.shtml. Gibson, R. C. (1991). Age-by-race differences in the health and functioning of elderly persons.Journal of Aging and Health, 3(3), 335-351. Giles-Corti, B., Broomhall, M. H., Knuiman, M., Collins, C., Douglas, K., Ng, K., ... & Donovan, R. J. (2005).

Section II - the proposal Increasing walking: how important is distance to, attractiveness, and size of public open space?. American journal of preventive medicine, 28(2), 169-176.

Helliwell, J. F., & Putnam, R. D. (2004). The social context of well-being. Philosophical transactions-royal society of London series B biological sciences, 1435-1446.

Granvik., M., Wlodarczyk, D. & Rydén, L. (2003), Building a sustainable neighbourhood – Kronsberg. In: L. Rydén (ed.), Building and Re-building Sustainable Communities, p. 26-34. Uppsala: Baltic University Press.

Helliwell, J. F., & Wang, S. (2010). Trust and well-being (No. w15911). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Gray, A. (2009). The social capital of older people.Ageing and Society, 29(01), 5-31. Haslam, C., Holme, A., Haslam, S. A., Iyer, A., Jetten, J., & Williams, W. H. (2008). Maintaining group memberships: Social identity continuity predicts well-being after stroke. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 18(5-6), 671-691. Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., Postmes, T., & Haslam, C. (2009). Social identity, health and wellbeing: an emerging agenda for applied psychology. Applied Psychology, 58(1), 1-23. Haslam, S. A., Postmes, T., & Ellemers, N. (2003). More than a metaphor: Organizational identity makes organizational life possible. British journal of management, 14(4), 357-369. Hay, Andrew, and Robert Parlane. 2011. “Okanagan College Centre Of Excellence In Sustainable Building Technologies And Renewable Energy Conservation”. Journal Of Green Building 6 (1): 14-24. doi:10.3992/ jgb.6.1.14.

Herzele, A. V., Wiedemann, T. (2003): A monitoring tool for the provision of accessible and attractive urban green spaces. Landscape and Urban Planning. Free University Brussels: Brussels. 63 (p 109-126). Home, R., Bauer, N., Hunziker, M. (2010): Cultural and Biological Determinants in the Evaluation of Urban Green Spaces. Environment and Behavior. Environmental Design Research Association. 42 (4). Howell, R. T., & Howell, C. J. (2008). The relation of economic status to subjective well-being in developing countries: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 134(4), 536. Jacobs, Jane. (1984). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Harmondsworth: Penguin in association with Cape. Jetten, J., Haslam, C., & Alexander, S. H. (Eds.). (2012). The social cure: Identity, health and well-being. Psychology Press. Kaal, H. (2011). A conceptual history of livability: dutch scientists, politicians, policy makers and citizens and the quest for a livable city. City, 15(5), 532-547.

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Section Ii - the proposal Kasser, V. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). The Relation of Psychological Needs for Autonomy and Relatedness to Vitality, Well‐Being, and Mortality in a Nursing Home1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(5), 935-954. Klein, C. (2013). Social capital or social cohesion: What matters for subjective well-being?. Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 891-911. Knight, C., Haslam, S. A., & Haslam, C. (2010). In home or at home? How collective decision making in a new care facility enhances social interaction and wellbeing amongst older adults. Ageing and Society, 30(08), 1393-1418. Köster, M.A.F. (2015). Possible effects of urban green space use on citizen’s concentration abilities (Unpublished summer school report). University of Helsinki, Finland. Kweon, B. S., Sullivan, W. C., & Wiley, A. R. (1998). Green common spaces and the social integration of innercity older adults. Environment and behavior, 30(6), 832-858. Lager, D., Van Hoven, B., & Huigen, P. P. (2015). Understanding older adults’ social capital in place: Obstacles to and opportunities for social contacts in the neighbourhood. Geoforum, 59, 87-97. Law, M., King, G., King, S., Kertoy, M., Hurley, P., Rosenbaum, P., ... & Hanna, S. (2006). Patterns of participation in recreational and leisure activities among children with complex physical disabilities. Developmental

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Medicine & Child Neurology, 48(05), 337-342. Lee, A. C. K., Maheswaran, R. (2010): The Healthy Benefits of Urban Green Spaces: a review of the evidence. Journal of Public Health. University of Sheffield: Sheffield. 33 (8). Lee, C., & Moudon, A. V. (2008). Neighbourhood design and physical activity. Building research & information, 36(5), 395-411. Lewicka, M. (2005). Ways to make people active: The role of place attachment, cultural capital, and neighbourhood ties. Journal of environmental psychology, 25(4), 381-395. Low, S. M., & Altman, I. (1992). Place attachment(pp. 1-12). Springer US. Luo, Y., Hawkley, L. C., Waite, L. J., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2012). Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: A national longitudinal study. Social science & medicine, 74(6), 907-914. Maas, J., Van Dillen, S. M., Verheij, R. A., & Groenewegen, P. P. (2009). Social contacts as a possible mechanism behind the relation between green space and health. Health & place, 15(2), 586-595. Manzo, L. C., & Perkins, D. D. (2006). Finding common ground: The importance of place attachment to community participation and planning. Journal of planning literature, 20(4), 335-350. Mårtensson, F., Boldemann, C.,

Section II - the proposal Söderström, M., Blennow, M., Englund, J. E., & Grahn, P. (2009). Outdoor environmental assessment of attention promoting settings for preschool children. Health & Place, 15(4), 1149-1157. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological review, 50(4), 370. Messer, B. A., & White, F. A. (2006). Employees’ mood, perceptions of fairness, and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology, 21(1), 65-82. Mollenkopf, H., Marcellini, F., Ruoppila, I., Széman, Z., Tacken, M., & Wahl, H. W. (2004). Social and behavioural science perspectives on out-of-home mobility in later life: findings from the European project MOBILATE. European Journal of Ageing, 1(1), 45-53. Montgomery, C. (2013). Happy city: transforming our lives through urban design. Macmillan. Montgomery, C. (2013). The Secrets of the World’s Happiest Cities. The Guardian, Nov, 1. Morris, N. (2003). Black and minority ethnic groups and public open space. Literature Review. OPENSpace, Edinburgh, Retrieved April, 15, 2011. Morris, N. (2003). Health, well-being and open space. Literature Review. OPEN space: the research centre for inclusive access to outdoor environments. Edinburgh College of Art and Heriot- Watt University, Edinburgh.

Muckenhuber, J., Stronegger, W. J., & Freidl, W. (2013). Social capital affects the health of older people more strongly than that of younger people. Ageing and Society, 33(05), 853-870. Novio Design, Ton Haex, and Ton Haex Novio Design. 2016. “Flora Van Nederland: Wilde Planten En Hun Omgeving Online.”. Floravannederland.Nl. http://www. floravannederland.nl/home/. Nyqvist, F., Forsman, A. K., Giuntoli, G., & Cattan, M. (2013). Social capital as a resource for mental well-being in older people: A systematic review. Aging & Mental Health, 17(4), 394-410. O’Bryant, S. L., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (1991). Fear of crime and perceived risk amonc older widowed women. Journal of Community Psychology, 19(2), 166-177. Owen, N., Humpel, N., Leslie, E., Bauman, A., & Sallis, J. F. (2004). Understanding environmental influences on walking: review and research agenda. American journal of preventive medicine, 27(1), 67-76. Pittman, L. D., & Richmond, A. (2007). Academic and psychological functioning in late adolescence: The importance of school belonging. The Journal of Experimental Education, 75(4), 270-290. Postmes, T., Tanis, M., & De Wit, B. (2001). Communication and commitment in organizations: A social identity approach. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 4(3), 227-246.

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Section Ii - the proposal Pretty, G. M. (2002). Young people’s development of the communityminded self. In Psychological sense of community (pp. 183-203). Springer US. Pretty, J., Griffin, M., Sellens, M., & Pretty, C. (2003). Green Exercise: Complementary Roles of Nature, Exercise and Diet in Physical and Emotional Well-Being and. Pretty, J., Peacock, J., Hine, R., Sellens, M., South, N., & Griffin, M. (2007). Green exercise in the UK countryside: Effects on health and psychological well-being, and implications for policy and planning. Journal of environmental planning and management, 50(2), 211-231. Putnam, R. D. (2001). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon and Schuster. Robinson, J. B., Lawton, B. A., Taylor, R. B., & Perkins, D. D. (2003). Multilevel longitudinal impacts of incivilities: Fear of crime, expected safety, and block satisfaction. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 19(3), 237-274. Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighbourhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science,277(5328), 918-924. Sarason, S. B. (1974). The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. Jossey-Bass. Secker, J., Hill, R., Villeneau, L., & Parkman, S. U. E. (2003). Promoting independence: but promoting what

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and how?. Ageing and Society, 23(03), 375-391. Serag El Din, Hamam, Ahmed Shalaby, Hend Elsayed Farouh, and Sarah A. Elariane. 2013. “Principles Of Urban Quality Of Life For A Neighbourhood”. HBRC Journal 9 (1): 86-92. doi:10.1016/j. hbrcj.2013.02.007. Solomon, Z., Waysman, M., & Mikulincer, M. (1990). Family functioning, perceived societal support, and combat-related psychopathology: The moderating role of loneliness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(4), 456. Speel, Hans-Cees. 2016. “Dutch Treeguide At www.Bomengids.Nl, European Trees”. Bomengids.Nl. http:// www.bomengids.nl/ Statistics Netherlands [CBS]. (2010). Prognose bevolking kerncijfers 2012–2060[Forecast population core figures 2012–2060]. Den Haag/ Heerlen, The Netherlands Statistics Netherlands [CBS]. (2011). Prognose bevolking op 1 januari; leeftijd en geslacht, 2012–2060 [Forecast population on January 1st; age and gender, 2012–2060]. Den Haag/Heerlen, The Netherlands Stek, M. L., Gussekloo, J., Beekman, A. T. F., Van Tilburg, W., & Westendorp, R. G. J. (2004). Prevalence, correlates and recognition of depression in the oldest old: the Leiden 85-plus study. Journal of affective disorders, 78(3), 193-200.

Section II - the proposal Takano, T., Nakamura, K., & Watanabe, M. (2002). Urban residential environments and senior citizens’ longevity in megacity areas: the importance of walkable green spaces. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 56(12), 913-918. Tilvis, R. S., Kähönen-Väre, M. H., Jolkkonen, J., Valvanne, J., Pitkala, K. H., & Strandberg, T. E. (2004). Predictors of cognitive decline and mortality of aged people over a 10-year period. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 59(3), M268-M274. Twenge, J. M., Baumeister, R. F., Tice, D. M., & Stucke, T. S. (2001). If you can’t

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Texts: Adriana Magno, Atila Fialho, Gabriel Pozzobom Silveira, Isis da Silva Telles, Jana Etmann, Kellyanna da Silva Vasconcelos, Massimo Anders Francesco KĂśster, Sofia Dupon. Design: Adriana Magno and Gabriel Pozzobom Copyright ÂŠ 2016. All rights reserved.

This book is a product of mutual efforts by students from different areas with a common goal. We are concerned about mental health issues, as well as physical health issues, but we also seek the relations established between people and the places they live. The answer for this question requires transdisciplinarity, which was another important motor for us. Psychology, history, engineering and architecture were part of our academic backgrounds, and the challenge laid on working our skills to mutually synthesize it into a healthy neighbourhood.