scholarly journals Community Food Growing in Parks? Assessing the Acceptability and Feasibility in Sheffield, UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinvo Nam ◽  
Nicola Dempsey
Keyword(s):  
Local Authority ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The City

Urbanisation brings with it increased pressure on land and land uses, particularly green spaces. There has been considerable interest in community food growing in green spaces as part of a wide trend for gardening in the UK, which has been found to bring social, health, and well-being benefits. Such activity tends to take place in community-managed gardens and allotments. In light of the context of austerity within which local authority parks departments currently operate, this study tested the acceptability and feasibility of parks as a potential urban setting for Community Food Growing (CFG) in Sheffield, UK. Employing a combination of resident questionnaires and interviews with community groups and professionals, the study results showed localised differences in the acceptability and feasibility of CFG. Residents’ propensity to want to get involved in CFG differed by age and household composition, which, if acted on across the city, could significantly change the demographic make-up of parks-based community groups in the city. Barriers to CFG in parks were described by community groups and park managers as security and vandalism, need for resources, and undue pressure on the local authority as land-owner. We discuss the emergent questions around who is best placed to manage urban parks, particularly when the public sector is subject to stringent austerity budget measures. The paper concludes with commentary and recommendations about the importance of governance arrangements if CFG is to be included as part of the activities supported and managed in urban parks.

scholarly journals Student Homelessness: Sheltering Our Future: An Adaptable Approach to Underutilised City Spaces

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Caryl Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Modular Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Homeless Population ◽  
Future Application ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
The City

<p>The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance.  In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters.  The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing Nature-Based Recreation to Support Urban Green Infrastructure Planning in Trento (Italy)

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Cortinovis ◽  
Grazia Zulian ◽  
Davide Geneletti
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure ◽  
The City

Nature-based recreation is among the most relevant ecosystem services supplied by urban green infrastructure, affecting citizens’ physical and mental wellbeing. Providing adequate green spaces for nature-based recreation is among the main goals of urban planning, but commonly-used indicators offer a partial view on the issue. Innovative methods and approaches, such as the ESTIMAP-recreation model, appear as promising ways to increase the quality of information available for decision-makers by considering both the range of green spaces that provide the service and the locally-specific demand. The article presents an application of the ESTIMAP-recreation model to the city of Trento (Italy), aimed at testing its adaptation to the local context and the potential improvements brought to urban planning. The comparison of the results with traditional indicators based on the availability and accessibility to urban parks shows significant differences in terms of priority of intervention across the city, with implications on planning decisions. The application demonstrates that innovative methods can enhance the understanding of nature-based recreation in cities beyond the focus on urban parks, revealing a wide portfolio of actions that planners can put in place to promote nature-based recreation through a multifunctional green infrastructure.

scholarly journals Improving Educational Outcomes through Getting It Right for Every Child in Glasgow

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (S1) ◽  
pp. S86-S92
Author(s):  
Maureen McKenna
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The City

This article sketches the context of education in Glasgow, which is Scotland’s largest local authority, serving some of the most deprived communities in Scotland and the UK. It considers the ways in which we work with our schools to raise aspirations and extend young people’s horizons, and explores some of the successes and some of the challenges we have faced and continue to face in bridging the gap between school and higher education. In Scotland, higher education can be delivered through colleges as well as universities. This is an important dimension for our young people, as colleges offer a different learning experience for them and, for some, this can be a more successful learning pathway. There are also other pathways to higher education, for example through work-based learning, such as apprenticeships. Our partnerships with universities and colleges is very strong. Through this partnership there is a range of programmes which support young people across the city to learn about life in university. This is especially important for young people from deprived communities as, often, their families do not have prior experience of higher education. The means of funding and planning these programmes can be viewed as both an enabler and a barrier in certain contexts.

scholarly journals A field survey of hand–arm vibration exposure in the UK utilities sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 2179-2198 ◽  
Author(s):  
David John Edwards ◽  
Iain Rillie ◽  
Nicholas Chileshe ◽  
Joesph Lai ◽  
M. Reza Hosseini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Exposure Levels ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Health And Well Being

PurposeExcessive exposure to HAV can lead to hand–arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) which is a major health and well-being issue that can irreparably damage the neurological, vascular and muscular skeletal system. This paper reports upon field research analysis of the hand–arm vibration (HAV) exposure levels of utility workers in the UK construction sector when operating hand-held vibrating power tools.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical epistemological lens was adopted to analyse primary quantitative data on the management of hand-held tool trigger times (seconds) collected from field studies. To augment the analysis further, an interpretivist perspective was undertaken to qualitatively analyse interviews held with the participating company's senior management team after field study results. This approach sought to provide further depth and perspective on the emergent numerical findings.FindingsThe findings reveal that none of the operatives were exposed above the exposure limit value (ELV) and that 91.07% resided under the exposure action value (EAV). However, the Burr four parameter probability model (which satisfied the Anderson–Darling, Kolmogorov–Smirnov and chi-squared goodness of fit tests at α 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 levels of significance) illustrated that given the current data distribution pattern, there was a 3% likelihood that the ELV will be exceeded. Model parameters could be used to: forecast the future probability of HAV exposure levels on other utility contracts and provide benchmark indicators to alert senior management to pending breaches of the ELV.Originality/valueHAV field trials are rarely conducted within the UK utilities sector, and the research presented is the first to develop probability models to predict the likelihood of operatives exceeding the ELV based upon field data. Findings presented could go some way to preserving the health and well-being of workers by ensuing that adequate control measures implemented (e.g. procuring low vibrating tools) mitigate the risk posed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Residents Perception about Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Urban Green Spaces of Lahore, Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-96
Author(s):  
Zartab Jahan ◽  
Safdar Ali Shirazi ◽  
Khadija Sharkullah
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
City Managers ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
The City

In a country like Pakistan, the presence of urban greening and parks are very essential for the well-being ofits citizens. The resident’s awareness about urban green spaces (UGSs) is essential as it would not only help towards ahealthier environment, but prepare residents to manage these spaces efficiently through local resources. This formulatesthe rationale behind current research work. This research is aimed at studying about the resident’s perception for UGS’sattributes like environmental, negative and positive. Another major focus of this research is to analyze thesocioeconomic differentials and its consequent impacts on resident’s perception about urban green spaces, which hasbeen probed with the help of MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Variance). In this regard the primary data of 223visitors were collected by random sampling method from eight major parks of Lahore, Pakistan. The findings of thissurvey of resident’s perception have shown that mostly male, single, low and middle class, and educated people visitthe urban green spaces and they are highly indebted by their environmental and health benefits. For the selectedcharacteristics of urban green areas, the resident’s perception has revealed that there exists an insignificant relationshipwith age and marital status of the respondents while the most significant relation was shown by the residents whovisited the UGSs regularly as ‘ρ’ value is less than the set significance level of 0.05. This study has highlighted a direneed of such UGSs in the city of Lahore which is known to be the “City of Gardens”. This could raise the spirits ofadministrators, city managers and planners to take immediate action in this regard.

scholarly journals Nature in the Urban Context: Renaturalisation as an Important Dimension of Urban Resilience and Planning

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 161-190
Author(s):  
Steffen Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
The City

How are our cities confronting the challenges posed by a warming climate, the loss of biodiversity and major resource depletion? ―This article discusses the opportunities and benefits of applying the concepts of renaturalisiation and rewilding of cities. It introduces Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in urban planning that are integrated with the aim to enhance urban resilience and to slow down the biodiversity decline, which can be applied in two areas: through the conception of new green neighbourhoods; and through the regeneration and re-greening of existing but neglected parts of the city, such as postindustrial brownfields or economically weak districts. Contact to nature is essential for human existence, urban wellbeing and a good quality of life. Green spaces in cities –big or small– all contribute to health and wellbeing. However, many cities, including in the U.S. and in Europe, do not offer residents easy access to green space within the city. Improving better access to green spaces and extending gardens and parks will deliver a large number of benefits, such as ecosystem services, better water management for enhanced urban flood control, slowing down the biodiversity loss, contributing to food security, with the potential to restore damaged ecosystems. Furthermore, additional green space and NBS help to keep cities cool during heatwaves and improve the urban microclimate. As most of our cities keep growing and warming, the scale of the issue is significant. For example, in 2020, cities in the European Union were home to over 70 percent of Europe’s population, and this figure is expected to increase to over 80 percent by the middle of the century. This translates to 36 million new urban citizens in Europe by 2050 alone, who will need housing, employment, health care and access to green spaces (EU-Commission, 2018). In this context, nature-based solutions and re-greening can generate significant benefits for citizens, improve urban health and well-being, and offer an opportunity to effectively deploy nature in helping to resolve major societal challenges ―such as social inclusion, food security and disaster risk reduction. However, as the discussion of this article shows, it is essential that the design of NBS is fully integrated with other complementary planning interventions and seeks synergies across all sectors.

scholarly journals First records of Callaspidia defonscolombei Dahlbom, 1842 (Hymenoptera, Cynipioidea, Figitidae) in an urban environment in Colombia

Check List ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-169
Author(s):  
Esteban Tulande-M. ◽  
Juliana Durán-Prieto
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
First Record ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Widespread Distribution ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Local Impact ◽  
The City

Callaspidia defonscolombei Dahlbom, 1842, is a figitid wasp with a widespread distribution. In South America, it has been reported from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Here we report the first record of this species in Colombia, where it was associated with two species of trees in urban parks of Bogot&aacute;. We also report the presence of unknown pollen in the examined individuals. Future studies need to be conducted to identify the local impact of this species as a possible parasitoid and/or pollinator in the green spaces of the city of Bogot&aacute;.

scholarly journals Pilot study of an integrated model of sleep support for children: a before and after evaluation

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e000551
Author(s):  
Heather E Elphick ◽  
Candi Lawson ◽  
Ann Ives ◽  
Sue Siddall ◽  
Ruth N Kingshott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Authority ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Delivery Model ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
The Uk

ObjectiveDespite the success of behavioural sleep support interventions in the third sector, sleep support is not universally available for families in the UK. The aim of the study was to provide evidence of efficacy and to propose a delivery model for integrated sleep support for families of vulnerable children.Design and settingA sleep support intervention was carried out in Sheffield Local Authority evaluated using a preintervention and postintervention study design by Sheffield Children’s National Health Service (NHS) Trust.ParticipantsFifty-six children aged 6–16 years with significant sleep problems were recruited; 39 completed the intervention and evaluation.InterventionsBasic sleep education and an individualised programme was delivered by a sleep practitioner. Follow-on telephone support was provided to empower the parent (and/or young person) to carry out the sleep programme at home. An integrated NHS and Local Authority delivery model was designed and implemented.ResultsParents’ ratings of their child’s ability to self-settle improved from 1.1/10 to 6.4/10 (p<0.05). Mean Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale scores improved significantly for parents/carers (MD 5.16, 95%CIs 2.62 to 7.69, p<0.05). Children who completed the intervention gained on average an extra 2.4 hours sleep a night. There was reduction in healthcare utilisation, illnesses and medication use.ConclusionsThe behavioural approach to sleep support for these vulnerable groups of children is highly effective. Follow-on individual support to empower parents is key to achieving success. Sleep support can be implemented in NHS and Local Authority services by integration into the existing workforce using a cross-agency model.

scholarly journals Does the Presence of Birdsongs Improve Perceived Levels of Mental Restoration from Park Use? Experiments on Parkways of Harbin Sun Island in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 2271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhu ◽  
Ming Gao ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Tianji Ge
Keyword(s):  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Grid Method ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Path Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Mental Health Benefits ◽  
Bird Habitat ◽  
Tree Coverage ◽  
The City

Green spaces in cities and urban parks serve as central areas for mental restoration and relieving pressure, and attention to soundscapes for their mental health benefits has become more prevalent. Birdsongs are perceived to enhance the restorative benefits of urban parks. This study examines Harbin Sun Island Park, the main bird habitat in the city of Harbin with numerous types of landscapes. We used space syntax to select the appropriate path space as a carrier and the pixel grid method to quantify path space shapes. A correlation analysis of field data was also used to explore the perceived restorative effects of birdsongs heard in urban parks using scales detailing the perceived restorative effects of various visual and auditory stimuli. The results show that soundscapes can significantly improve perceived recovery benefits, and that hearing birdsongs can significantly improve the perceived restorative benefits of wetland paths; the sky index of a tour path showed a significantly negative correlation with each feature (i.e., the four featured dimensions of “charm”, “escape”, “ductility” and “compatibility” included in the recovery scale), and the soft/hard ratio showed a significantly negative correlation with each studied feature. When the sky index ranged from 13–36%, tree coverage of the vertical coverage range was 30.28–38.6%, and when the soft/hard ratio ranged from 5–21, the perceived recovery benefit was strongest.

PARKS ON NEW YORK ISLANDS – A NEW COMPONENT IN THE URBAN SPACE AND CITYSCAPE

space&FORM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 225-240
Author(s):  
Wiesława Gadomska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Quality Design ◽  
Design Solutions ◽  
The City

This article raises the issue of setting up and developing urban parks on islands which are situated around New York’s borough of Manhattan. Among the principal consequences are an improved balance of developed green spaces in the city and the emergence of attractive public places with a variety of functions and high-quality design solutions. As for the urban landscape, interesting relations are created with respect to views of the unique silhouette of the city, and in particular of Manhattan.

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