scholarly journals Fostering Interactions at Public Open Spaces. The Role of Physical Interface in Facilitating User Interactions in the UAE

2021 ◽  
pp. 167-184
Author(s):  
Arushi Malhotra ◽  
Ranjana Dobriyal
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Tall Buildings ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Open Spaces

Over the past few decades, the importance of public open spaces has been substantially increased due to rapid urbanization and developments. Likewise, cities and communities in the Arab world are also going through urban transformation; driven by the global context in which cities are being reshaped along with the modernization of urban planning themes. Over the last 15 years, Dubai has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing cities. It has been associated with the desire to build tall buildings as a statement of modernity, globalization, and economic prosperity, which lead to a rapid growth in population. This expansion has caused many environmental and urban planning challenges. Hasty urbanization, demographic, and economic growth alongside land privatization process has progressively changed the nature and theme of public open spaces within the UAE which in turn creates a gap between social life and community urban planning. The regeneration of public open spaces in cities of the UAE is a major issue as multiple factors must be taken into consideration during the design stages. This paper aims at understanding the role of physical interface of the public open spaces in context of UAE and its transformation over the years. These spaces act as a catalyst which accelerate this transformation of urban scenario and there by citizens life. Open places play an important role for bringing people closer and act as a socio-cultural entity for the sake of improving social life and interactivity. Social well-being arises from a sense of security, belonging, familiarity, support, cohesion, and integration of social groups, based on respect for different cultures, traditions, and backgrounds. Hence this research analyzes the influence of such tangible and intangible elements in the public open spaces, through which the social interaction happens and offers unprecedented experience to the users, visitors and urban community alike.

scholarly journals Social Evaluation of Public Open Space Services and Their Impact on Well-Being: A Micro-Scale Assessment from a Coastal University

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4372
Author(s):  
Abdullah Addas ◽  
Ahmad Maghrabi
Keyword(s):  
Open Space ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Evaluation ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Public Open Space ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Public Open Spaces

Public open spaces services have been shown to be profoundly affected by rapid urbanization and environmental changes, and in turn, they have influenced socio-cultural relationships and human well-being. However, the impact of these changes on public open space services (POSS) remains unexplored, particularly in the Saudi Arabian context. This study examines the socio-cultural influence of POSS on the King Abdulaziz University campus, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the impact of these services on well-being. A field survey and questionnaire were used to collect data. Non-parametric tests (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests) were used to find significant differences in the importance of POSS as perceived by stakeholders based on socio-demographic attributes. Factor analysis was performed for 14 POSS to identify those that are most important. The study showed that (i) university stakeholders are closely linked to services provided by public open spaces (POS) and dependent on POSS, (ii) there were significant differences in the perceived importance of POSS according to gender, age, and social groups, and (iii) 70 to 90% of stakeholders reported POSS as having a positive impact on well-being. Thus, the findings will help design and plan POSS to meet the needs of society and promote well-being.

scholarly journals Public health and well-being in public open spaces through climate responsive urban planning and design

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Urban Planning And Design ◽  
Active Lifestyles ◽  
Controlled Environments ◽  
Public Open Spaces

The urban fabric enables people to move between climate-controlled environments (such as home and indoors work) and non-controlled ones (such as parks and beaches). The planning and design of urban spaces, on the other hand, largely define the way we live and affect our health as it can, for instance, promote or hinder active lifestyles and social cohesion (Owen, 2009; Speck, 2012). But even when the cities have compact built form and provide key features and infrastructure conducive to healthy lifestyles, local climate can indirectly dictate and restrict the use of public open spaces if the weather is prohibitive (Tavares & Swaffield, 2017). Climate responsive urban planning and design is, therefore, key to secure a healthy urban lifestyle (Barton, Thompson, Burgess, & Grant, 2015; Kent et al., 2017; Mouratidis, 2017) especially in light of frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

A Methodological Approach for Creating Urban Commons of Wellness in Public Open Spaces in the City of Chania

2022 ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
Sofia Mavroudi ◽  
Panagiotis Parthenios
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Urban Commons ◽  
The City ◽  
Public Open Spaces

To investigate the wellbeing factor within the urban context, the authors developed a methodological process for understanding and recreating the term “wellness” focusing on the public open spaces of the city. Using as case study the city of Chania, this research firstly proposes the assessment of four well-being indicators in specific areas of the city linking their effect on people's disposition and then uses the generated data for the redesign of public open spaces in terms of strengthening urban prosperity, with a comprehensive six-step methodology that combines participatory processes and methods based on GIS technologies. This chapter is structured into three main sections as follows: the first section elaborates on the research questions and justification of methods used, the second proceeds with the analysis of the proposed methodology while the third section highlights its overall assessment. Finally, some concluding remarks are expressed for further research.

scholarly journals Employee well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating role of teleworking during the first lockdown in the province of Quebec, Canada

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Annick Parent-Lamarche ◽  
Maude Boulet
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Business Sectors ◽  
Moderating Role

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health. Many employees have had to pivot suddenly to teleworking to prevent the virus from spreading. While teleworking may have some negative consequences, it may also represent a human resources practice that may improve employee well-being. OBJECTIVE: The study main objective was to determine if teleworking played a moderating role in the relation between potential stressors and employee well-being during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic when working from home. This was based on the theory of conservation of resources. METHODS: Multivariate regression analyses were conducted with Stata 13 software to determine the contribution of potential stressors on employee well-being, as well as the moderating role of teleworking on a sample of 480 Canadian employees. Data were collected once for white and blue collar from both public (67.08%) and private (32.92%) business sectors. RESULTS: Results indicated that work-life imbalances, workload, and marital tension were associated with lower levels of well-being. On the other hand, teleworking and household income were associated with higher levels of well-being. Teleworking also moderated the differences in well-being between the public and private sectors. Teleworking in the public sector seems to increase employee well-being. Conversely, working on-site in the public sector seems to decrease well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Employers need to proactively address work-life imbalances, workloads, and teleworking to maintain employee well-being. Specific recommendations are offered to ensure that teleworking remains positive for employee well-being both during a pandemic and afterward.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing Testbed Planning: Urban Planning in the Intersection between Experimental and Public Sector Logics

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Berglund-Snodgrass ◽  
Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Experimental Logic

Urban planning is, in many countries, increasingly becoming intertwined with local climate ambitions, investments in urban attractiveness and “smart city” innovation measures. In the intersection between these trends, urban experimentation has developed as a process where actors are granted action space to test innovations in a collaborative setting. One arena for urban experimentation is urban testbeds. Testbeds are sites of urban development, in which experimentation constitutes an integral part of planning and developing the area. This article introduces the notion of testbed planning as a way to conceptualize planning processes in delimited sites where planning is combined with processes of urban experimentation. We define testbed planning as a multi-actor, collaborative planning process in a delimited area, with the ambition to generate and disseminate learning while simultaneously developing the site. The aim of this article is to explore processes of testbed planning with regard to the role of urban planners. Using an institutional logics perspective we conceptualize planners as navigating between a public sector—and an experimental logic. The public sector logic constitutes the formal structure of “traditional” urban planning, and the experimental logic a collaborative and testing governance structure. Using examples from three Nordic municipalities, this article explores planning roles in experiments with autonomous buses in testbeds. The analysis shows that planners negotiate these logics in three different ways, combining and merging them, separating and moving between them or acting within a conflictual process where the public sector logic dominates.

scholarly journals Public open space initiatives for healthier cities in Rwanda

2020 ◽  
pp. 129-146
Author(s):  
Ilija Gubic ◽  
Oana Baloi
Keyword(s):  
Open Space ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Public Open Space ◽  
Urbanization Rate ◽  
Capital Development ◽  
Technical Assessment ◽  
Public Open Spaces

With a population of close to 13 million, and an annual growth rate of 2.86 percent, Rwanda plans to position itself as a climate resilient, low carbon, low unemployment, reduced poverty country, with a strong services sector by 2050. Its projected increase in its urbanization rate from a current value of 18.4 percent to 35 percent by 2024 is driven by strong political will, significant investments in infrastructure, service provision, and human capital development. Rwanda’s secondary cities, identified as economic nodes of growth, are currently undergoing revision of their masterplans in consideration of climate change realities and the pressure on infrastructure and services due to rapid urbanization. Currently, cities in Rwanda do not yet have a system of public open spaces. Where available, such spaces are usually hardly accessible and need upgrading. To address this, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda Housing Authority, City of Kigali and six secondary cities have committed to deliver on public open space related activities and targets under the yearly performance contract ‘Imihigo’. The outcomes of their commitments support the climate-responsive revision of masterplans of the City of Kigali and six secondary cities. This paper presents public open space initiatives in Kigali and the results of the technical assessment of public open spaces and participatory planning and design workshop in Nyagatare, secondary city in Rwanda’s. It also discusses ongoing policy changes and initiatives that aim to promote public open spaces as crucial for urban public health.

scholarly journals Advancing environmental public health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Marcelo Korc ◽  
Fred Hauchman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Public Health ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health And Well Being

This paper highlights the important leadership role of the public health sector, working with other governmental sectors and nongovernmental entities, to advance environmental public health in Latin America and the Caribbean toward the achievement of 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 3: Health and Well-Being. The most pressing current and future environmental public health threats are discussed, followed by a brief review of major historical and current international and regional efforts to address these concerns. The paper concludes with a discussion of three major components of a regional environmental public health agenda that responsible parties can undertake to make significant progress toward ensuring the health and well-being of all people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

SOCIOCULTURAL BASIS OF URBAN PLANNING REGULATION FOR PUBLIC OPEN SPACES

2021 ◽  
pp. 18-40
Author(s):  
Olga N. Bliankinshyein ◽  
◽  
Natalia A. Popkova ◽  
Matvey V. Savelyev ◽  
Natalia A. Unagaeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Landscape Planning ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
Public Open Spaces

The authors consider the problem of urban planning regulation of public open spaces from the perspective of their dominant role in the formation of a holistic socio-cultural structure of a city. Relevance of the study is determined by the modern demand for comfortable urban environment of the public open spaces, which has become the global urban planning trend in recent decades. The modern approach, promoted in the UN Charter and in federal and regional strategic development programs is aimed at increasing the emotional attachment of people to a place of living and fostering a sense of community. The improvement of public spaces should be based on the historical and cultural context, natural features, and the identity of a place. The implementation of numerous projects all over the country has revealed the flaws of urban planning regulations. This fact stimulated the emergence of targeted contests of applied research aimed at the development of new national and local regulations, standard architectural solutions which would provide high-quality development of the urban environment. Analysis of the approaches to public open space development reveals current trends in their planning regulation, which are considered in separate sections of the article. The first section explores the mechanisms which regulate the improvement of urban historical and cultural sites. It touches upon the problems of preservation of cultural heritage and the identification of landmark places. It also considers examples of the urban planning regulations for the areas of “historical urban regeneration” (Dresden, Ivanovo, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Belgorod) and the examples of completed projects in Siberian cities (Yeniseisk, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk). The second section is devoted to the identification and preservation of unique natural elements and images of a place through the urban landscape zoning. Different approaches to solving issues of improvement and humanization of the living environment are considered using examples of Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow, Krasnoyarsk. The third section presents a comparative analysis of existing Russian and foreign regulatory documents aimed at creating an environment of public open spaces in urbanized areas of a city. Of particular interest here are the methods of regulation that take into account functional content, development morphology, remoteness from city center, natural and socio-cultural characteristics, as well as those aimed at protecting the wildlife (Seattle, New York, Toronto, London, Victoria Australia). The socio-cultural phenomenon of public open spaces highlights the fundamental relationship between the quality of spatial environment and human consciousness, behavior, way of life. Therefore, a tailored approach to the creation of architectural and landscape planning regulations will allow to treat each public space substantively, preserving and maintaining the identity of the historical and cultural environment of a place.

Geographers and sexual difference: feminist contributions

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda McDowell
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Sexual Difference ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Geographical Knowledge ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Family ◽  
Definition Of

Divisions based on the assumption that men and women are different from one another permeate all areas of social life as well as varying across space and between places. In the home and in the family, in the classroom or in the labour market, in politics, and in power relations, men and women are assumed to be different, to have distinct rights and obligations that affect their daily lives and their standard of living. Thirty years ago, there were no courses about gender in British geography departments. This chapter discusses the challenges to geographical knowledge, and to the definition of knowledge more generally, that have arisen from critical debates about the meaning of difference and diversity in feminist scholarship. It examines a number of significant conceptual ideas, namely: the public and the private; sex, gender and body; difference, identity and intersectionality; knowledge; and justice. Finally, it comments on the role of feminism in the academy as a set of political practices as well as epistemological claims.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document