Habitation, Urban Context and Psychosocial Rehabilitation

This paper articulates architecture, urbanism and mental health through the study of specific habitation, called Therapeutic Residences, for people with severe mental illness who undergo psychosocial rehabilitation. The study analyzes the insertion of these habitations in the urban scheme, in relation to the possibilities of social coexistence, access to commerce, services and other public equipment through the presentation of two case studies located in the west zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Besides the considerations linked to the urban space in its physical sense, it also touches on the subjective questions inherent to the exchanges and experiences possible in this context. The methodological strategies correspond to the survey and data analysis along with a qualitative approach. Information made available by City Hall and Mental Health Office, satellite images, semi-structured interviews directed to professionals involved in assisting at the Therapeutic Residences and, in the case of the habitants, open interviews were used. The results indicate the offer of services, the location and the relation of the houses with the street as fundamental factors to the stimulus of social coexistence. It is concluded that the closed condominium model exclusive to TR, in addition to the fragility and difficulties in the urban area in which it is inserted, it hinders the process of psychosocial rehabilitation and it still refers to the idea of an asylum institution. The model of a one-story house integrated to the consolidated urban fabric suggests more possibilities of creating community ties and appropriating the urban space.

Collective minds: social network topology shapes collective cognition

Human cognition is not solitary, it is shaped by collective learning and memory. Unlike swarms or herds, human social networks have diverse topologies, serving diverse modes of collective cognition and behaviour. Here, we review research that combines network structure with psychological and neural experiments and modelling to understand how the topology of social networks shapes collective cognition. First, we review graph-theoretical approaches to behavioural experiments on collective memory, belief propagation and problem solving. These results show that different topologies of communication networks synchronize or integrate knowledge differently, serving diverse collective goals. Second, we discuss neuroimaging studies showing that human brains encode the topology of one's larger social network and show similar neural patterns to neural patterns of our friends and community ties (e.g. when watching movies). Third, we discuss cognitive similarities between learning social and non-social topologies, e.g. in spatial and associative learning, as well as common brain regions involved in processing social and non-social topologies. Finally, we discuss recent machine learning approaches to collective communication and cooperation in multi-agent artificial networks. Combining network science with cognitive, neural and computational approaches empowers investigating how social structures shape collective cognition, which can in turn help design goal-directed social network topologies. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines’.

The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

This study, written collaboratively with a native Rwandan author, briefly recalls the historical reality from a Rwandan perspective and addresses the consequences of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Furthermore, the way the Western world was a passive spectator to the economic, political and social pillage and Genocide that occurred in the last part of the 20th Century, that was, in 1994, is discussed. How is reconciliation fostered in the communities across Rwanda? In particular, the sites and communities where massacres were held? Strong community ties and community being central to social work practice is observed in most East African countries, with no exception to Rwanda. While social work pedagogy is something new and possibly introduced by Western idiom, the tradition of welfare and mutual caring (would have been/ has been part) of the Kinyarwanda culture, language, and manner of living. What factors have worked for reconciliation, reconstruction of the society? How were people made to understand violence, and what did they replace it with? How is the post-genocide moral narrative shaped? The traditional indigenous processes that have been utilised, including the Gacaca, unique court process, are briefly discussed. How do people implant hate into people? By the same token, how do people put peace and love into people? These are a few questions that were central to this study throughout.

Liberalization and Community Ties

The post-war period (Tony Judt) of citizenship, which was overshadowed by expulsions, decolonization, and the ideological division of Europe, embodied a long history of dealing politically with the consequences of war, violence, and discrimination. In the European dictatorships after 1945, integration into the community of class and the state-prescribed ideology remained decisive for political affiliation. By contrast, in Western European society, which became more open under the influence of post-colonial immigration and the sustained boom, citizenship (T. H. Marshall) evolved into the ultimate emblem of a social-welfare state, a state in which on the principles of constitutionally guaranteed and expanding civil rights political affiliation was based on consensus, participation, and consumerism. These two polar concepts of citizenship were overcome and politically overlaid by a new human rights policy that established the protection of civil rights beyond the state and contributed to the 1989 political transformation of Europe.

MICRO FINANCE THROUGH WOMEN SELF-HELP GROUPS

Self-help groups also known as mutual help, mutual aid, or support groups, or groups of people who provide mutual support for each other. In a self-help group, the members share a common problem, often a common disease or addiction. Their mutual goal is to help each other to deal with, if possible to heal or to recover from, this problem. In traditional society, family and friends provided social support. In modern industrial society, however, family and community ties are often disrupted due to mobility and other social changes. Thus, people often choose to join with others who share mutual interests and concerns.

The Development of the New Urbanism Theory and Reflections on its Application at Florida’s Seaside

This article reviews the background, preparation, development and birth stage, and the main content and framework of the new urbanism theory, then understands new urbanism from a historical perspective and then discusses how the seaside project in Florida developed a smalltown community with a strong community atmosphere and a beautiful environment, guided by the theory of New Urbanism. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of the high construction and maintenance costs of New Urbanism in practice, the impact on the privacy of residents’ lives, the relative reduction of community ties, and other problems, and finally, it gives opinions on the sustainable development of the New Urbanism theory in the future.

From seed to social agency

Food studies is an emerging and interdisciplinary field that has produced abundant theoretical, analytical, and conceptual insights into contemporary agro-food system dynamics. However, space still exists for the convergence of classroom-based food pedagogy and transformative community work to promote social justice frameworks. While calling for a paradigm shift within educational systems, we ask, how can community-based experiential engagement in post-secondary food pedagogy enhance student learning, bridge academic-public divides, and foster transformative social change? Drawing from our experiences farming in Calgary, we argue that activist food studies employed with a learner-centered, place-based teaching approach centering Indigenous Knowledge Systems can support local food networks and build community within and beyond academia. We present strategies for bridging the academic-public divide through a participatory approach and activist scholarship that directly engages with sustainable urban and agrarian development. Complementing course-based theory and literature with applied methodologies that build the technical and leadership capacity of students will enhance student learning, build stronger community ties, and produce meaningful work that connects the local to the global. Furthermore, we will reflect upon our approach, identify potential benefits to students who engage in food studies, and offer recommendations for best practices in food pedagogy that will support social change.

Scale of community centre: Clarification of the relation between scale and multifunctionality of community buildings

Community architecture is becoming a contributing tool for community development. In recent years it has gained popularity for its potential to encourage interaction and strengthen community ties. Community architecture represents not only the final product of architectural design but also the design process. It covers many kinds of community interventions and efforts of different extent; from tiny public space interventions to a complex design of community centres or comprehensive urbanistic structures focused on community well-being. Irrespective of the scale, their goal is the same; to provide space for leisure activities, networking, and reinforcing a sense of community. The most apparent design concept representing community architecture is the community centre, which provides space for meetings and interaction, and its program derives from the needs of a specific community. Furthermore, the design considers urbanistic relationships, architectural appearance, materials, spatial and functional requirements, interior design, equipment, and furniture solutions. The community architecture theory is an under-explored phenomenon in Slovakia. Thus, there is a lack of methodical design recommendations or guidelines for designing community centres as individual typological forms. The article focuses on the examination of 100 selected community facilities, identifying their prevalent features and their interrelationships. Presented research aims to examine fundamental characteristics of community centres, particularly their multifunctionality related to the character of the space, and the scale related to size in square meters. In conclusion, research suggests new size categories considering the relationship between the two factors.