scholarly journals Adapting to the future: vulnerable bodies, resilient practices

Author(s):  
Deirdre Heddon ◽  
Sue Porter

This chapter examines the ‘Walking Interconnections: Performing conversations of sustainability’ project and focuses on the potential contributions of disabled people to sustainability planning. It talks about the interventions that the project and its outcomes have staged not only in environmental discourse and debate about inclusive public space, but also in representations of walking practices. Walking Interconnections brought together disabled people and sustainability practitioners to share walking encounters in public places. Through mapping, talking, walking and reflecting together they entered each other's life worlds. The chapter shows how their experiences are caught in photographs, maps, and Going for a Walk, a verbatim play crafted by Deirdre Heddon from the recorded conversations of the walkers.

Author(s):  
Do Duy Thinh ◽  
Nguyen Van Xuan ◽  
Nguyen Ngoc Long Giang

Urban open spaces (e.g. urban parks) play a pivotal role in improving the quality of life of city dwellers through accommodating various physical and social activities, while further creating social coherence for sustainable development. Due to the shortage of open green spaces in the city, caused by rapid urbanization in developing countries, some big, long-standing urban public spaces such as district parks have been retained, and improved to serve as the main public space for local people. However, such spaces commonly provide outdated, low quality facilities that discourage people from using the park. To satisfy users’ needs, local governments have launched campaigns to improve parks based on the ideas of domestic or foreign designers. The purpose of this research is to explore different behaviors of residents in an open space in Da Nang (Vietnam) which can support the future development and improvement of local open space in accordance with environmental behavior theory. User behaviors were identified and categorized based on their activities in the open space, collected using the place-centered behavior mapping method. Results of the statistical analysis revealed that this open space could be divided into three types, each of which had four dimensions: public facilities setting; openness; accessibility; and recreational facilities. The findings showed some aspects that need to be considered during the development process of open space as follows: 1) increasing the quantity and quality of public amenities; 2) separating accessible space and/or buffer space from already used space inside the park, particularly in the entrance zone; 3) providing space adjacent to the lake; and 4) removing obstacles (e.g. walls around the park) to give a clearer view from inside the park to the streets outside and vice versa. Also, the calculation model of evidence-based designs provides input data for re-planning or creating public space/parks to help designers, planners and authorities improve or design better open spaces in the future.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4

Placemaking is an inclusive approach to the planning, design, and management of public places by which people create and/or recreate places. In the context of the Arab cities, placemaking projects are often envisaged to transform communities’ spaces into lively and attractive places; to enhance quality of life and opportunity for existing residents. It also aims to (re)create a distinct sense of place or place branding at large. Exploring how contemporary Arab cities have framed placemaking processes within the contemporary urban conditions, and sometimes the threats to the quality of the city, are helping in creating healthier, equitable, and humane public places. Such challenges and opportunities of these processes is a core component of this special edition of The Journal of Public Space, which discusses various aspects of placemaking in Arab Cities, ranges from creating, enhancing, adapting and developing attractive and efficient public places in Arab Cities. In this context, academic papers and viewpoints have manifested a variety of perspectives, theories and practices of placemaking concepts, methods, recent challenges and possible solutions. They portrayed several tools on establishing and revitalizing public places starting from governmental toolkits, reaching unplanned activities fostering community engagement in placemaking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2089 (1) ◽  
pp. 012051
Author(s):  
O Facho ◽  
T Cama ◽  
D Esenarro ◽  
J Livia ◽  
C Cuetoand ◽  
...  

Abstract The present research aims to propose a model for the recovery of residual public spaces to improve the quality of life of the district of San Borja’s inhabitants. San Borja is in the process of densification and requires a more significant number of public spaces that offer, in addition to vegetation, public places for active and passive recreation, such as spaces for sports and games, walking pets, and relaxation. These needs have increased due to the confinement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, it was noted that the median strip, or central reservation of the avenue, can be recovered for people to use. Therefore, a four-phase study was carried out that included reviewing the literature and observing two cases. In conclusion, a model was proposed to recover the public space of the median strips of San Borja Norte Avenue and San Borja Sur Avenue to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of San Borja, which can be replicated in other avenues with residual spaces with similar characteristics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Schalk

The article analyzes the representation of disabled veterans in James Cameron’s Avatar and Duncan Jones’s Source Code. The argument is that these two films use the figure of the heroic, technologically enhanced, white disabled veteran man to alleviate cultural anxieties, fears, and guilt about veterans and disabled people in the contemporary United States. In doing so, however, Avatar and Source Code perpetuate a disability hierarchy that reinforces a variety of oppressive cultural norms. The article, therefore, demonstrates how the films reflect the differential valuation and treatment of different kinds of disabled people in American culture at large via the genre of science fiction and its technological imaginative possibilities.


Author(s):  
Annapurna Devi Pandey

Silicon Valley, known as the technology hub of the USA, has emerged as a medley of places of religious worship. It has become a home to wealthy Indian Americas and to many gods and goddesses who have come to reside there as well. Indian Americans have contributed significantly to the mushrooming of temples in this region. This chapter attempts to answer the following questions: How does diaspora provide a space to reconstruct the identity of the women practitioners? How does religion enable them to negotiate their roles in the public space? In this chapter, the author argues that Hindu women in the diaspora play a very significant role in selectively performing religious rituals in public places of worship as brought from their homeland. In performing these rituals, women are creating a distinct space in mainstream public culture to reconstruct their identity and agency beyond their roles as homemakers and professionals. In this specific case study, Odia women living in Northern California are not only reshaping their traditions but are engaged in interreligious dialogue in Silicon Valley corporate culture.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason S. Sexton

This article considers the nature of public theology by assessing essential features of western public space and precisely how Christian confession takes shape in those contexts. In doing so the article argues that instead of understanding theology as something done primarily from the church to the world, perhaps it is best acknowledged that theology is done within the setting of common societal structures, in particular locations and in situations where believers are enabled to confess the hope within them. An understanding of this dynamic nature of Christian confession and the variegated expositions of theological reflection corresponds to the dynamic expressions of faith, in word and deed, which correspond to the Christian missionary impulse.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Lambert ◽  
Scott McQuire ◽  
Nikos Papastergiadis

Networked media are increasingly pervading public spaces and influencing the way we behave in public. Australian municipalities and cultural institutions have begun deploying free Wi-Fi services hoping they will attract more visitors to public places, aid in curated events, galvanize communities and enhance local economies. In this article we present multi-method research aimed at understanding whether such services can enhance public space and culture, and hence contribute to the public good. We identify multiple forms of positive use which certain kinds of ‘user-centric' services enable. However, many public institutions face problems to do with funding, network models and choice of place which prevent the actualization of these positive outcomes. We consider how e-planning can be mobilized to help such institutions develop virtuous networked public spaces.


2013 ◽  
Vol 807-809 ◽  
pp. 1733-1736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Xia Yang ◽  
Wei Shang ◽  
Stefania Rusconi ◽  
Beatrice Anne Bruneaux

The waterfront development in China faces the problems of landscape, ecology and sustainability. According to the research of the waterfront park in the North Bund of Shanghai, this paper discusses the main issues from the view of urban design and gives possible countermeasures for the future design. In order to make full use of the environmental resources, we should build a connection between the waterfront and the inside city, and provide more opportunities for individuals to keep closing to water.


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