Residents’ Living Environments, Self-Rated Health Status and Perceptions of Urban Green Space Benefits

Urban green space (UGS) could contribute to sustainable urban development. Studying residents’ perception of UGS ecological benefits could provide the empirical basis to improve UGS management and quality of life. Based on the questionnaire surveys of 432 residents in Beijing, assisted by non-parametric statistical tests, this paper assessed the relationships between residents’ living environments and self-rated health status and their impacts on residents’ perceptions of UGS ecological benefits. We paid attention to residents’ perceptions of UGS’s notable thermal environmental benefits under the climate-change backdrop. The results showed that: (1) Residents were inclined to perceive direct UGS ecological benefits better than the indirect types; (2) Residents growing up in the city had better self-rated health status than those growing up in the suburb and the village; and residents growing up in the suburb had a better understanding of the cooling benefits of green walls; (3) Residents currently dwelling in the city had a better understanding of UGS benefits, including shading, cooling by green roofs, mitigating the heat island effect and enhancing urban biodiversity, than those dwelling in the village; and (4) Residents with “very good” self-rated health status had a significantly better understanding of UGS benefits regarding shading, providing varied colors and habitats, storing carbon, purifying air, and collecting rainwater.

IoT as Non-Phaarmaceutical Interventions for the Safety of Living Environments in COVID-19 Pandemic Age

The outbreak of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has changed our perception of safety in shared and public living environments including healthcare facilities, shops, schools, and enterprises. The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a suitable solution for managing anti-pandemic smart devices (e.g., UV lights, smart cameras, etc.) and increasing citizens’ safety in public health crises. In this paper, we highlighted how IoT technologies can be exploited as non-pharmaceutical interventions presenting the SAFE PLACE project as an implementation of this concept. The project meant to design and develop an IoT system to ensure the safety and salubrity of shared environments. Advanced algorithms will be exploited to detect and classify humans’ presence, gathering, usage of personal protective equipment, and considering carefully the privacy protection of individuals.

Lapping at the edges: A time-responsive exploration into coastal communities adaption to sea-level rise

<p>Global warming poses an increasingly relevant risk across the globe. Among one of these risks is sea-level rise. The total population exposed to flooding could triple from 50 million people to 150 million by the 2070s due to sea-level rise and increased occurrence of storms, subsidence, population growth and urbanisation (Adeyeye & Emmitt, 2017). Projections suggest that managing a 2°C rise in temperature, as per the Paris Agreement, will still cause a rise of 0.36 to 0.87m by 2100. Sea-level rise is a lagged representation of the effects of rising temperatures. This response time is considered in the research and design process timelines. ‘Lapping at the edges’ proposes a design strategy that reinvents architecture and living environments to respond to sea-level rise. This proposition explores how design, as both a process and outcome, can encourage a shift in mentality from defending against, to engaging with water. Two processes have driven this research. ‘The Execution’ explores flooding and sea-level rise and considers how to respond to this. Reviewed literature and case study analysis provided categories of architectural typologies. The adaptability criteria allows for cross-comparative analyses of each case study and how successful their respective proposals are at being adaptable. The Palette of Solutions proposed in this thesis is a library of urban and architectural ideas designed to rethink urban environments and their relationship to water. These ideas can be realised over time and in diverse arrangements for a myriad of scenarios and settings. ‘The Idea’ refers to how adaptability can be applied to urban development - exploring the maximum alternatives with design iterations. Adaptability, informed by the literature review and the creation of the timeline, is analysed through ‘The Execution’. The methodology analyses how the ‘execution’ and ‘idea’ can complement one another, creating a back and forth of research methods and design methods to execute the final idea. The design proposes a series of changes over 70 years, from 2030 to 2100, resulting in The Hub. An idea that allows modification for most settings provides a vision of the future of coastal architecture, applied to the context of Kilbirnie, Wellington. This thesis is presented in chronological order, to showcase the progression of beliefs, lifestyle, behaviour and architecture accordingly. Projections of living with water create catalysts for adaptive urban development. The Hub proposes floating infrastructure that combines architecture and urban design techniques. Integrating these solutions into a circular economy concept generate prosperity long-term. This research is utilised as a comprehensive study on sea-level rise, and the responsive design opportunities that are possible. The Hub is a representation of the possibilities of sea-level rise and responsive architectural solutions. The research has achieved the intention to generate awareness of the impacts of sea-level rise and create criteria which encourage a different approach to these dynamic living environments.</p>

Lapping at the edges: A time-responsive exploration into coastal communities adaption to sea-level rise

<p>Global warming poses an increasingly relevant risk across the globe. Among one of these risks is sea-level rise. The total population exposed to flooding could triple from 50 million people to 150 million by the 2070s due to sea-level rise and increased occurrence of storms, subsidence, population growth and urbanisation (Adeyeye & Emmitt, 2017). Projections suggest that managing a 2°C rise in temperature, as per the Paris Agreement, will still cause a rise of 0.36 to 0.87m by 2100. Sea-level rise is a lagged representation of the effects of rising temperatures. This response time is considered in the research and design process timelines. ‘Lapping at the edges’ proposes a design strategy that reinvents architecture and living environments to respond to sea-level rise. This proposition explores how design, as both a process and outcome, can encourage a shift in mentality from defending against, to engaging with water. Two processes have driven this research. ‘The Execution’ explores flooding and sea-level rise and considers how to respond to this. Reviewed literature and case study analysis provided categories of architectural typologies. The adaptability criteria allows for cross-comparative analyses of each case study and how successful their respective proposals are at being adaptable. The Palette of Solutions proposed in this thesis is a library of urban and architectural ideas designed to rethink urban environments and their relationship to water. These ideas can be realised over time and in diverse arrangements for a myriad of scenarios and settings. ‘The Idea’ refers to how adaptability can be applied to urban development - exploring the maximum alternatives with design iterations. Adaptability, informed by the literature review and the creation of the timeline, is analysed through ‘The Execution’. The methodology analyses how the ‘execution’ and ‘idea’ can complement one another, creating a back and forth of research methods and design methods to execute the final idea. The design proposes a series of changes over 70 years, from 2030 to 2100, resulting in The Hub. An idea that allows modification for most settings provides a vision of the future of coastal architecture, applied to the context of Kilbirnie, Wellington. This thesis is presented in chronological order, to showcase the progression of beliefs, lifestyle, behaviour and architecture accordingly. Projections of living with water create catalysts for adaptive urban development. The Hub proposes floating infrastructure that combines architecture and urban design techniques. Integrating these solutions into a circular economy concept generate prosperity long-term. This research is utilised as a comprehensive study on sea-level rise, and the responsive design opportunities that are possible. The Hub is a representation of the possibilities of sea-level rise and responsive architectural solutions. The research has achieved the intention to generate awareness of the impacts of sea-level rise and create criteria which encourage a different approach to these dynamic living environments.</p>

Video Chat Technology to Support Home and Community-Based Organizations

Concerns about loneliness and social isolation for older adults were already evident but have been exacerbated during the pandemic. Home and Community Based Organizations (HCBOs) provide support for their older clients in the community and need to support their staff, who may be working remotely. We are exploring the potential of video chat technology to connect older adults with their friends, families, and other support. We review the technologies available to older adults in the community and staff working with older adults to promote social engagement. We are collaborating with OneClick.chat to identify the needs of the HCBOs through a literature review and qualitative interviews of staff members from different senior living environments. Their challenges and successes of engaging older adults through video chat technologies will provide guidance for design of an HCBO dashboard for OneClick.chat that will support diverse needs.

Social Determinants of Cognitive Health: Studies on Physical and Social Environments and Cognition

Living environments profoundly influence the aging process. This symposium presents research on two main aspects of the living environment and their relationships with cognitive health. The living environment is broadly defined, including both physical and social aspects. The physical environment is the characteristics of the built environment, such as tripping hazard in the home, cleanness of the community streets, and presence of deserted buildings, etc. The social environment is the cohesiveness with other people living in the neighborhood. Living environments have multiple layers; the physical environments encompass both in-home and in-community domains, whereas the social environment can be categorized as domestic versus community cohesiveness. This symposium includes studies with investigation scopes spanning from the micro to mezzo levels. The first presentation scrutinizes the buffering effect of marital relationships, as a form of domestic social environments, on cognition among older adults with vision and hearing impairments. Using the NHATS dataset, the second presentation examines social isolation as a potential mediator for the association between physical, social environments and global cognitive functioning. The third presentation evaluates the impact of living environments on cognition among Canadian older adults with multimorbidity. The last presentation examines how the physical environment affects sleep quality and thus influences older adults’ cognition. All four presentations are closely linked to the overarching theme of evaluating the environmental impact on cognition and provide possible explanations mediating the association observed. This symposium contributes to advancing gerontological knowledge by offering new perspectives on the social determinants of cognitive health.

Engaging Neighbourhoods: Interrogating urban geometries and the implications on community

<p>The urban geometries of New Zealand suburbs do not encourage social and cultural engagement amongst contemporary communities. In 2017, New Zealand is ‘Home’ to people from over 30 nations, however the planned suburban layout is still tailored for a bi-cultural ideal implemented in a country that had never experimented with suburban living design before and now struggles to break away from it. The planning of future neighborhoods in New Zealand is crucial at this time of housing crisis, where the priority is given to the quantity of dwellings that can be produced to house families, when focus should be on the quality of life that is being provided and the healthiness of the context in which communities exist. This thesis explores how New Zealand suburbs can be adapted through architectural and urban design interventions to allow for more immersive, healthy and sustainable living environments that facilitate cultural and social exchange.</p>

Engaging Neighbourhoods: Interrogating urban geometries and the implications on community

<p>The urban geometries of New Zealand suburbs do not encourage social and cultural engagement amongst contemporary communities. In 2017, New Zealand is ‘Home’ to people from over 30 nations, however the planned suburban layout is still tailored for a bi-cultural ideal implemented in a country that had never experimented with suburban living design before and now struggles to break away from it. The planning of future neighborhoods in New Zealand is crucial at this time of housing crisis, where the priority is given to the quantity of dwellings that can be produced to house families, when focus should be on the quality of life that is being provided and the healthiness of the context in which communities exist. This thesis explores how New Zealand suburbs can be adapted through architectural and urban design interventions to allow for more immersive, healthy and sustainable living environments that facilitate cultural and social exchange.</p>