Quality of public space, well-being and health in BME communities Dr Edward Hobson Head of research and futures
Dec 22, 2015
Quality of public space, well-being and health in BME communities
Dr Edward Hobson
Head of research and futures
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The government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space
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In outline
An age old problem of resource distribution
Contemporary drivers require a joined up response
Understanding similarity and difference
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Patterns2
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Patterns3
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Patterns4
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Patterns
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‘We face a major economic crisis and we face a still bigger climate crisis and by thinking through clearly and carefully, and acting quickly, we can respond to both of them at the same time.
Lord Stern, January 2009
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Climate change: the biggest global health threat of the 21st century
“Managing the health effects of climate change”
Lancet/UCL Commission (16 May 2009)
Key areas of impact
– patterns of disease and mortality
– food security
– water and sanitation
– shelter and human settlements
– extreme events
– population migration
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What’s good for people’s health is good for the planet too
“We must develop win–win situations whereby we
mitigate and adapt to climate change and at the
same time significantly improve human health and
wellbeing. There are major health benefits from
low-carbon lifestyles, which can reduce obesity,
heart and lung disease, diabetes and stress.”
Professor Anthony Costello (UCL Institute for Global Health)
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High density residential
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20
25
30
35
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1970s 2020sLow
2020sHigh
2050sLow
2050sHigh
2080sLow
2080sHigh
Time period and scenario
Max
su
rfac
e te
mp
(°C
)
current form
-10% green
+10% green
High density residential
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20
25
30
35
40
1970s 2020sLow
2020sHigh
2050sLow
2050sHigh
2080sLow
2080sHigh
Time period and scenario
Max
su
rfac
e te
mp
(°C
)
current form
-10% green
+10% green
Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in Urban Environments (ASCCUE), University of Manchester
Moderating extreme temperatures
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Heatwave impact on LondonThe Urban Heat Island Effect
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Persistent incidences of deprivation
Lindsay, 2008
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Health, well-being climate change
Different parts of the UK will be affected in different ways and the social impacts may well be more pronounced in more economically vulnerable areas.
Disproportionate effect on the vulnerable in society – the elderly, the poor, those with less choice to avoid poorer quality internal and external environments. Particularly severe direct impacts include
– Urban heat island effect – overheating
– Fuel and energy insecurity
– Surface water flooding
– Reduced air quality
A report by the Roundtable on Climate Change and Poverty in the UK emphasises the interconnectedness between climate change and poverty – and that it is possible to tackle both together.
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Links between quality of public space, health and well-being
Value for exercise unquestionable
74% of people believe parks and open spaces are important to people’s health and well being
MIND ‘Ecotherapy’ should be recognised as a clinically valid treatment for mental distress (2007)
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Proving the links between quality of public space, well-being and health
Overall, research presents a clear positive relationship between green space, well-being and health.
BUT: evidence base as a whole is highly variable
- Self-reported data limiting value
- Findings can’t support cause and effect, correlations only
- Limited use of objective measurements in physical exercise studies
- Findings not transferable outside specific study context
(Source: Greenspace Scotland commissioned critical literature reviews 2007,2008)
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Other relevant work?
Building Health: Creating and
Enhancing Places for Healthy, Active
Lives: What needs to be done?
Future Health (provisional title)
Making the links between health,
well being and sustainability
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Making green spaces deliver more
Importance of a strategic approach - green
infrastructure for environmental and social
benefits
Do we have the information to support this
approach?
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Making the most of existing data and developing the evidence base
Initial scoping study ‘Green and Pleasant’ research:
1. Creating a baseline of evidence of the current state of England’s urban green space
2. Mapping and understanding the links between deprivation, race and ethnicity and quality of urban green space
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The ‘state’ of England’s urban green spaces
Inventory of over 17,000 spaces in 154 urban local
authorities
Indicators around 6 themes: quantity, quality, use,
accessibility, management and maintenance and
value
14 core indicators as a baseline for future trends
Data gaps and limitations
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Some of the barriers to defining the country’s urban green spaces
No single, national indicator or dataset on quality
Cleanliness or maintenance information only
No dataset of quantity
Deciding specific bundles of characteristics
Combination of objective and subjective indicators
Difficult to isolate the impacts
Measurability and data availability driving definitions
of quality of life and quality of public space
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Barriers continued….
Acute lack of skills e.g. 68% said a lack of
horticulture skills is affecting service delivery
Shortage of professionals such as landscape
architects and green space managers
Collecting data is like eating your greens!
Shortage of directly applicable National Indicators
Source: CABE scoping study into the links between quality of public space and quality of life 27
Features of public space not measured in national datasets
Type of feature of quality
of public space
Feature
Condition/maintenance Robust, Adaptable
Design Well-designed, Legible
Has sense of enclosure
User Healthy
Space for social
interaction
Fulfilling, Relaxing
Function Community resource
Vital and viable,
Functional
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Aspirations for public space
1. Clean: a clean and well cared-for place 2. Accessible: a place that is easy to get to and move through 3. Attractive: a visually pleasing place 4. Comfortable: somewhere that is pleasant to spend time in 5. Inclusive: a place that is welcoming to all 6. Vital and viable: a place that is well used in relation to its
predominant function(s) 7. Functional: a place that functions well at all times 8. Distinctive: somewhere that makes the most of its character 9. Safe and secure: somewhere that feels safe from harm 10 Robust: a place that stands up well to the pressures of everyday
use
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Moving beyond the urban centres - where the quality dips
[picture of a nice central park]
What of the areas that don’t feature on the glossies
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A question of equity
How is quality of urban green space important and
significant to health and well-being in people from
white British and black and minority ethnic groups
living in deprived areas of England?
What is the impact of varying quality in urban
green space on well-being in these areas?
What are the implications of these findings for
policy makers?
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Author Method Target group
Rishbeth, in press[1] QUAL(audio methodologies)
First generation migrants, Sheffield, and use of urban streetscape, n=11
Dines et al 2006[2] QUAL (focus groups) n=42, ethnographic analysis, semi-structured interviews (n=24)
Newham (cross-section of the local residential population in terms of ethnicity, age, gender and housing tenure)
Rishbeth 2004[3], 2001[4]
QUAL+QUAN(2 year, mixed methods, n=73)
Users of Chumleigh Gardens (Southwark), Calthorpe Project(King’s Cross) white British and Asian/Africans
Topia-Kelly 2004[5] QUALBiographies, n=22
Asian women
Ravenscroft and Markwell 2000[6]
QUALInterviews of park users, (n=294) plus observation
Teenage users of 8 parks in Reading
Woolley and Amin 1999[7]
QAUL+QUANFocus groups, questionnaire (n=117)
Pakistani teenagers, age 13-18,Sheffield
Worpole and Greenhalgh 1995[8]
QUAL+QUANsurveys, interviews, observation, 12 LA’s
Ethnic park users in Middlesbrough, Hounslow, Greenwich and Leicester
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Selecting areas to explore these relationships
6 case study areas in England: London, West Midlands and
North West
On the ground audits of green space
Facilitated face to face household questionnaire and focus
groups
Largest survey of its kind in UK
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Tiers of analysis
Environmental audits of local green spaces
Community group and independent evaluators
Site visits and appraisals
Survey approaches
Conjoint analysis of urban green space relative to other
environmental attributes
Exploring relations across self-perceptions of well-being,
perceived quality and use of local green space
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Issues for consideration
Whether there are convergent similarities or
significant differences between ethnic groups?
Whether our assumptions hold for what is
significant and important to particular
communities?
How this might affect the need and provision for
certain types of green space and the implications
for more responsive management.
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Equates to…
Inclusive design
Sustainable design
Healthy design
Well being and
happiness
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East London Green Grid
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