PROJECT: PUBLIC SPACE UTILISATION
'Public Space Utilisation' is the research and proposals document formulated from the results of the 2018 Headplace Survey.
ABSTRACT
For the first time in 2016, it was established that an estimated 54.5 percent of the world’s population lived in urban environments (UN, 2016). The trend of urbanisation is only set to increase with a projected raise to 60 percent by 2030. It is widely agreed that our cities need to address new and growing challenges (Adli, 2011); these challenges will range from economic to environmental, including and potentially most concerning many social matters. Of these social matters the most pressing of our age is how we manage the needs of people, including the 450 million suffering from mental health disorders worldwide. (WHO, 2003)
The spectrum of mental health disorders is extremely large, with the American psychiatric association (APA) classifying over 450 definitions of mental illnesses (APA,2013). It is estimated that 1 in 4 people in the United Kingdom report suffering from a mental health disorder every year. (McManus et al, 2009). In recent years there has been a widely accepted change of perspective regarding mental health. It has become a regular subject of discussion in many different forums, with the subject and those who suffer from the associated conditions becoming less stigmatised. New avenues of research and methodologies that formulate the treatment patients receive have begun to open and garner support from many sources. Due to the wide range and nature of disorders, many conventionally ‘unconnected’ professions are starting to consider the impact of their work and how it could benefit people suffering from mental health disorders.
The aim of this report is to show how public space, within our urban environments, can be utilised in order to help alleviate difficulties associated with mental health disorders. The disorders that will be focused upon are those categorised as anxiety based illnesses. Conceptual proposals have been generated and shown throughout this text to illustrate potential elements and approaches, designers of public space could use, to help alleviate the difficulties those suffering with mental health disorders experience in our urban environments. It is hoped that these proposals or ‘Headplaces’ could go on to influence the design of areas within our cities, as a series of elements or approaches that utilise public space and help to mental health sufferers engage with our urban environments. The approaches considered could be a building block to creating better, smarter cities; especially when recognising the critical need for mental health services as highlighted in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (UN, 2015).
Read the full report below.
ABSTRACT
For the first time in 2016, it was established that an estimated 54.5 percent of the world’s population lived in urban environments (UN, 2016). The trend of urbanisation is only set to increase with a projected raise to 60 percent by 2030. It is widely agreed that our cities need to address new and growing challenges (Adli, 2011); these challenges will range from economic to environmental, including and potentially most concerning many social matters. Of these social matters the most pressing of our age is how we manage the needs of people, including the 450 million suffering from mental health disorders worldwide. (WHO, 2003)
The spectrum of mental health disorders is extremely large, with the American psychiatric association (APA) classifying over 450 definitions of mental illnesses (APA,2013). It is estimated that 1 in 4 people in the United Kingdom report suffering from a mental health disorder every year. (McManus et al, 2009). In recent years there has been a widely accepted change of perspective regarding mental health. It has become a regular subject of discussion in many different forums, with the subject and those who suffer from the associated conditions becoming less stigmatised. New avenues of research and methodologies that formulate the treatment patients receive have begun to open and garner support from many sources. Due to the wide range and nature of disorders, many conventionally ‘unconnected’ professions are starting to consider the impact of their work and how it could benefit people suffering from mental health disorders.
The aim of this report is to show how public space, within our urban environments, can be utilised in order to help alleviate difficulties associated with mental health disorders. The disorders that will be focused upon are those categorised as anxiety based illnesses. Conceptual proposals have been generated and shown throughout this text to illustrate potential elements and approaches, designers of public space could use, to help alleviate the difficulties those suffering with mental health disorders experience in our urban environments. It is hoped that these proposals or ‘Headplaces’ could go on to influence the design of areas within our cities, as a series of elements or approaches that utilise public space and help to mental health sufferers engage with our urban environments. The approaches considered could be a building block to creating better, smarter cities; especially when recognising the critical need for mental health services as highlighted in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (UN, 2015).
Read the full report below.
