Due to climate change, rising temperatures lead to more extreme heat stress in urban areas. Last summer, there were poignant images of people looking for shade in cities. Trees are effective measures to provide shade and decrease the perceived temperature. However, trees cannot grow in healthy conditions due to the conflicting interests of the many functions and infrastructure in cities. Also time is a limiting factor; before trees are fully grown and can fulfil its various functions (shade, biodiversity, appearance), it takes not only physical space but also time. Alternative interventions, such as a pergola, can help increase urban resilience by reducing the negative impacts of climate change.Pergolas are known, for example, in more southern Europe cities. However, despite the described promising effects of the pergola in documents to reduce heat stress and provide shade, we barely see these structures in the Dutch public space. We all know the pergola as an esthetical piece in the backyard where it provides shade, privacy and contributes to well-being, but they are not widely used in the public realm.Next to that, there are few or no known preconditions for an urban pergola. The functions that an urban pergola can offer go beyond providing shade. The pergola might help reduce noise and pollution, provide a meeting place in a neighbourhood and support biodiversity. Since space is scarce in cities where many different interests come together, we want to explore the potential contribution of an urban pergola to different problems. Therefore, at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, we have worked on an urban pergola as a real 'boundary object' where we bring education, research, municipalities, and entrepreneurs across disciplines and sectors together to discuss the potential of such an object.For this workshop, we would like to show our first results of this interdisciplinary action research and continue answering the question: how can a pergola fit in the Dutch urban area? Therefore, we would like to explore the functions and forms of the urban pergola with stakeholders, such as municipalities, entrepreneurs, citizens, students, and researchers all from different disciplines. The desired outcome of this workshop is a joint proposal for implementing urban pergolas that can meet the versatile needs of cities and thereby make cities more liveable.
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Students of the Minor 'Robotic Production and Circular Materials' designed and created a modular outdoor structure suitable for the Green Mile Initiative. The structure fills in one parking lot, along the streetside of the Stadhouderskade.In 2022, this street is one of the most polluted and dangerous street in Amsterdam. It is mainly a lot of asphalt, not beautiful, with little space for nature and mainly focused on moving traffic. We think this can be done differently.The ambition is to turn Stadhouderskade into 'The Green Mile'; a green, sustainable, safe, vital and future-proof street for people, animals and nature. A meaningful public space that invites you to walk, meet, play sports and experience nature.InitiatorsBecause users of the Stadhouderskade can only realize this 'ambition' by joining forces, a movement is being established. The Municipality of Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Heineken, De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Blendingbricks and UNStudio are taking the initiative for this movement.As part of the Minor 'Robotic Production and Circular Materials, a team of students and teachers designed and built a piece of street furniture, the size of one parking space, a conversation piece towards the greening of the Green Mile.
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This booklet contains the analyses and designs that were produced by international teams of students, designers and researchers on the revitalization of public space in the district of Kerkrade – West (Limburg, the Netherlands) in December 2017 during the International Design Workshop (re)CYCLE LIMBURG 2. It was partially built on knowledge, experiences and ideas from the preceding workshop in December 2016. The outcomes of the workshop are mainly presented in the form of drawings, maps, schemes, collages, artistic impressions etc. Both workshops were framed in the interdisciplinary project Kerkrade-West of Zuyd UAS and its Research Centre for Smart Urban ReDesign (SURD).
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This booklet holds a collection of drawings, maps, schemes, collages, artistic impressions etc. which were made by students during an intense design moment in the project (re)CYCLE Limburg, which took place in December 2016. Students of Built Environment, Facility Management, Social Work and Health & Care cooperated in making designs and developing strategies for urban renewal in Kerkrade West (Province of Limburg, the Netherlands). The study focused on the importance of qualitative and shared public spaces. The local community (inhabitants, shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, municipality, housing corporation) was actively engaged by sharing knowledge and information, ideas and opinions. These reflections are part of the Limburg Action Lab (part of the Smart Urban Redesign Research Centre). It engages in research by design on innovative and tactical interventions in public space, that might enhance the identity, sustainability and socio-spatial structure of neighbourhoods.
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When it comes to shopping and spending time in the city, much of the traditional offering has made place for something new, usually more expensive: coffee bars like Starbucks with a wide range of cafés and lattes; bakery stores with a big choice of luxury croissants, sourdough, gluten free or spelt bread; concept stores with a mix of special brands, vintage stores and again good coffee or glass of prosecco at 17.00. But a crafts shop, a furniture upholstery or a good butcher? Hard to find. One of the main reasons for this change is that newcomers generally bring more money to an area but also different lifestyles and tastes, going with the flow of the latest trends and ready to pay for special brands and exceptional or innovative concepts. In the meantime, prices are booming. The term we often use for this phenomenon is gentrification: in my view, it describes a process whereby the renovation of a particular city area attracts newcomers with a higher socio-economic status who in turn make the area more popular. The effect of this popularity is an increase in housing prices as well as leisure offerings, meaning (recreative) shops, bars and sport or cultural activities, which tend to push out the original residents of their own neighbourhood. In this article you can read about gentrification and its visible effects on three shopping areas that feature market places and leisure activities – Van der Pek street, Zonneplein and Purmerplein situated in Amsterdam North, a previously traditional area. I will share with you the outcomes of our research into the liveability of these shopping areas, and our placemaking suggestions, based on the key indicators of the placemaking movement (Madden, 2018).
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Discussions about the importance of the built environment for healthcare delivery extend at least as far back as Hippocrates 1 (400 BC). The iconic Florence Nightingale (1859) also strongly believed in the influence the indoor environment has on the progress of disease and recovery. Today, the role of the built environment in the healing process is of growing interest to healthcare providers, environmental psychologists, consultants, and architects. Although there is a mounting evidence 1 linking healthcare environments to health outcomes, because of the varying quality of that evidence, there has also been a lack of clarity around what can and cannot be achieved through design. Given the ageing of society and the ever increasing numbers of persons with dementia in the Western World, the need for detailed knowledge about aged care environments has also become increasingly important. The mental and physical health state of these persons is extremely fragile and their needs demand careful consideration. Although environmental interventions constitute only a fraction of what is needed for people with dementia to remain as independent as possible, there is now sufficient evidence (2, 3) to argue they can be used as a first-line treatment, rather than beginning with farmalogical interventions.
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This book is the account of teaching practice linked to research projects, a practice that is able to create new, unexpected values in the complex patchwork of the city through experimental and strategic interventions with greenery. That the interventions involve greenery is obviously linked to the fact that the Van Hall Larenstein university of applied sciences specializes in nature and agriculture, but there is also a practical reason. Green spaces act as a cohesive force, as is shown again and again in the Netherlands and in the Lively Cities programme. Particularly in the urban context, green spaces have a distinctive and perhaps even emotional value that encourages people to pause there and makes them think about their appreciation of a place. Greenery triggers people to take part in social experiments. But that is just the beginning.
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In our in-depth case study on two circular business models we found important roles for material scouts and networks. These key partners are essential for establishing circular business models and circular flow of materials. Besides, we diagnose that companies are having difficulties to develop viable value propositions and circular strategies. The paper was presented at NBM Nijmegen 2020 and will be published at a later date
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The nursing home is often a final stage in the living career of older persons, but the question remains whether it is a true home or merely a place where care is provided for the residents. This study investigates the sense of home and its constituent factors among both permanent and temporary residents of nursing homes in The Netherlands. A qualitative research design was chosen for the study, which consisted of in-depth interviews using a topic list that was developed through literature review and a focus group session. Autonomy and safety and security are the basic aspects for a sense of home. These aspects refer to the relationships and actions of nursing home residents and the environment in which people live. The research findings show that developing a sense of home encompasses much more than just being surrounded by personal belongings and having a private room with certain facilities. Subjective components of relationships and (inter)actions are as important as the physical component of living and housing. Only when a right balance is achieved between all factors, a true sense of home, albeit away from the familiar home someone spent most of his/her life, can be developed. Understanding these perspectives and needs can contribute to a better design and retrofitting process of future nursing homes.
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The development of ‘age-friendly cities’ has become a major area of work in the field of ageing and the built environment. This movement is driven by the observation that cities are home to an ever-increasing ageing population. Over the past decade, a multitude of age-friendly initiatives have been developed with the aim of making physical and social environments more favourable for older people's well-being, health and ability to live in the community. This article explores ten key questions associated with the age-friendly cities and communities' movement, with a particular focus on the built environment. It provides an overview of the history of the age-friendly cities' movement and the underlying models, the aspects of the built environment that are relevant for age-friendly cities, the ways age-friendliness can be evaluated, and the interactions between age-friendly cities initiatives and other strategic agendas such as smart cities. The paper concludes by discussing future perspectives and possible directions for further development of the age-friendly movement. © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107922 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jvhoof1980/
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