Worldwide, sedentary behaviours and overweight are major health concerns. Most adolescents are insufficiently physically active and have overweight. Moreover, most work is sedentary or requires only light activity. And most people live in cities, a context which discourages participation in physical activity. How can we change this situation? An analogy between urban design and facility design is introduced to elucidate spatial properties that may be beneficial in both contexts. It is the purpose of this paper to use this analogy for the advancements of health and well-being of both workers and city dwellers.
DOCUMENT
Most people live in cities and work in offices, two contexts offering many lifestyle-related and environmental health risks. To advance their health, an analogy between urban design and facility design is introduced to explore whether health-directed design interventions in cities and facilities are related and to look for applicable cross-overs and opportunities to develop the facility management (FM) profession on the urban level.The principles of abductive reasoning as a first phase of scientific investigation were followed, by introducing a new idea and attentively observing phenomena in the communities of facility management and urban design. The method was desk research, in the context of discovery.Many possible cross-overs exist which offer opportunities for urban planners and facility managers to reinforce each other, and interesting market opportunities for the further development of urban FM. However, more systematic research is needed on efficacious and effective interventions. Furthermore, experiences and capacities of the FM sector should be unlocked and applied within a city context, as the knowledge and experiences of facility managers and urban planners can create synergy.The findings are directly applicable to facility and urban design practices, and to FM education by involving students in city design practices.Cross-overs between facilities and cities are new and can inspire both facility managers and urban planners to work together more closely for the benefit of citizens and employees.
MULTIFILE
Background and aim – This paper studies urban decline, the processin which the built environment suddenly or gradually loses its practical,technical and economic functionality, resulting in it being abandonedby its legitimate occupants and neglected by its owners for an extended period of time. Recent European examples of urban decline fromaround the globe as well as five German examples were studied. This isfollowed by a reflection on the risks for public safety and public healththat these examples show and the possible role of facility managers indiminishing these risks.Methods / Methodology – Data were collected by means of desk research and direct observations.Results – At all locations public safety and public health risks were considerable. Direct observations at five German locations show extensive urban decline.Originality –Identifying safety and health risks in abandoned buildings and connecting these issues to the facility management profession offers a new perspective on dealing with urban decay.Practical or social implications – Abandoned buildings that are easily accessible to the public generate considerable risks for public safety and health. This paper calls for a debate about how to deal with these risks. Part of the debate should be whether or not such situations should be allowed to continue.Moreover, this paper suggests a prominent role for the facility management profession in order to deal with these safety and health issues.Type of paper – Research paper.
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