Abstract
To investigate the wellbeing factor within the urban context, the authors developed a methodological process for understanding and recreating the term “wellness” focusing on the public open spaces of the city. Using as case study the city of Chania, this research firstly proposes the assessment of four well-being indicators in specific areas of the city linking their effect on people's disposition and then uses the generated data for the redesign of public open spaces in terms of strengthening urban prosperity, with a comprehensive six-step methodology that combines participatory processes and methods based on GIS technologies. This chapter is structured into three main sections as follows: the first section elaborates on the research questions and justification of methods used, the second proceeds with the analysis of the proposed methodology while the third section highlights its overall assessment. Finally, some concluding remarks are expressed for further research.
TopIntroduction
Covid-19 and the evolving pandemic have highlighted the overall reassessment of the value of public goods putting the notion of public space at the core of current debate. On the one hand, urban space is linked with direct benefits for human health, both physical and emotional (Hunter et al., 2019; Kondo et al., 2018; McCay et al., 2017; Zandieh et al., 2020), while several studies contribute to the consolidation of its indisputable value as a common good by constantly emphasizing its importance in ensuring and promoting public health (Carmona et al., 2004; UN-Habitat, 2020; World Health Organization (Regional Office for Europe), 2017).
On the other hand, within the global Covid-19 conjuncture and the associated health crisis, many cities worldwide faced the first waves of the pandemic very defensively, in many cases by completely barring public access to public urban open places, such as parks or coastal fronts, hampering the possibilities of finding relief in the urban fabric.
In the core of an extreme situation such as the one created by the pandemic through which many people consequently witnessed the sudden mutation in the functioning of public space, new issues of public space management and investigation of its potentials concerning aspects of health increasingly emerge.
Taking into consideration the highlighted importance of public space as a common fundamental good and the resulting paradox in its current use, a series of relevant questions posed by this research are: Is urban environment related to the achievement of urban health? And if the obvious answer is yes, then how could we have a better and more methodical understanding of which areas or parts within the urban space contribute more to achieving health and urban prosperity? What are the key components of what is called “urban health” and how could we integrate all this information into a planning framework for the city which by highlighting the correlations of urban public space and health will add value to conventional design processes?
Following this reasoning process, research is seeking new ways to understand and visualize the relationship of urban space with health, both physical and mental wellbeing, while envisioning the creation of a methodology for capturing and strengthening the dynamics of urban prosperity in the urban tissue, resulting in the suggestion of a new way of designing the urban commons.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Urban Health: An evolving area of research which studies the relation of various urban characteristics, tangible and intangible, with aspects of health.
Urban Commons: Shared resources (open spaces, infrastructure etc.) which are not controlled by a dominant authority but through practices of sharing, encourage creative encounters and highlight values aimed at satisfying community needs.
Public Open Spaces (POS): Network of a variety of public open spaces (squares, parks, sidewalks, playgrounds, coastal fronts, etc.) within the urban environment which are accessible to community.
Wellbeing: The state of being physically and emotionally healthy.
Urban Technologies: An emerging sector that integrates information and communication technology (ICT) in the field of urban planning aiming to make cities and urban spaces more connected, efficient, and advance their level of sustainability.
Mind the GAPS Framework: A planning framework that identifies four (4) pillars - green, active, social and safe spaces as key and tangible axes for the design or the assessment of existing open spaces and highlights the extent to which “wellness” is integrated into their design.
Participatory Mapping: A map-making process created by a group of local inhabitants which qualitatively depicts urban space phenomena based on community knowledge in an easily understandable way.