The first public interventions in housing in the early 20th century stemmed from the general concern with public health that arose as a result of the mass migration to the urban centres in the wake of industrialization. State housing provision increased as the welfare state was established after the economic recession. Mass construction of public housing took place all over Europe when the need for reconstruction was combined with the housing deficit of the pre-war years. Many of the housing estates that were built, as with others built during the following decades, were located where land was available to enable urgent construction. This land was often in peripheral areas of the city, and agricultural and industrial in nature, with low urban density. By and large, these areas were urbanized in a manner that was less than stimulating, and became in many cases degraded and problematic. With their high population levels combined with socio-economic deprivation, these areas commonly had low levels of connectivity to the city and an uncertain future. Nowadays, cities are rethinking their urban plans in order to reconnect the urban structure that is often fragmented in terms of physical continuity, social integration and environmental quality. To mitigate this effect, new and innovative urban strategies are being developed with a national or international approach, created by networks of cities aiming to develop common methodologies, solutions and practices. These networks are receiving crucial financial investment to support research and innovative solutions that are aligned with the most up to date paradigms and agendas of sustainability and inclusion. Within this perspective, we welcome design practices, reports or policy briefs developed by means of regional, national or international cooperation and partnership between cities, focusing on the following topics: a) urban plans for a more inclusive, sustainable and healthy public space; b) participatory process methodologies and tools for an inclusive public space; c) co-creation and co-governance of nature-based solutions (NBS) for spatial planning.
Urban regeneration practices have been increasingly used in urban development, aiming at reducing the consumption of new land and regenerating already developed urban areas degraded over time. In many cases, the processes of regeneration of urban areas are complex and require high investments, which ends up making it difficult to carry out projects only by public initiative and, as a result, the private sector and public-private partnerships become an alternative option.
Because it is an interdisciplinary area, urban regeneration practices can involve different policies: in addition to urban policies, urban regeneration policies and, in the case of partnerships, PPP policies, these practices are also related to land use policies, housing policies and sustainability policies, for example.
The relationship between urban regeneration practices with housing and sustainability policies can be demonstrated through regeneration projects dedicated to sustainable housing developments, carried out, in many cases, through partnerships. The idea of addressing housing projects in a sustainable way goes through the broader social concept of sustainable communities, through the involvement of the residents' population. Based on this, this paper proposes to identify and study, from a literature review on the theme, case studies concerning urban regeneration of housing developments when these are done through partnerships and aiming at urban sustainability.
The use of the case studies allows us to understand how these projects are inserted into the logic of sustainability, how the concept of sustainability has been adapted to the concrete practices of urban intervention and construction at the housing level, and also how the population of these developments has been incorporated into the concept of sustainable communities proposed by the interventions carried out, if this inclusion is done spontaneously or if there are conflicts and resistance by the residents.
Della Spina, L., Calabrò, F., Rugolo, A. (2020). Social housing: An appraisal model of the economic benefits in Urban regeneration programs. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12 (2), art. no. 609.
Zhan, C., de Jong, M. (2018). Financing eco cities and low carbon cities: The case of Shenzhen International Low Carbon City. Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, pp. 116-125.
Borst, A (2008). Regenerative french urbanism: Sustainable planning strategies in Lille, Lyon, and Montpellier. Journal of Green Building, 3 (3), pp. 79-87.
Lutafali, S., Khoja, F. (2011). Economic and ecological partnership revitalizing urban slums: A case study of Cairo. International Journal of Ecology and Development, 18 (W11), pp. 29-45.
Rossiter, W., Smith, D.J. (2018). Green innovation and the development of sustainable communities: The case of Blueprint Regeneration’s Trent Basin development. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 19 (1), pp. 21-32.
Hudson, A., Evans, T. (2005). Regeneration and sustainability: The new language of planning. Urban Design International, 10 (2), pp. 87-94.
Russell, P., Redmond, D. (2009). Social housing regeneration in Dublin: Market-based regeneration and the creation of sustainable communities. Local Environment, 14 (7), pp. 635-650.
Nzimande, N.P., Fabula, S. (2020). Socially sustainable urban renewal in emerging economies: A comparison of magdolna quarter, budapest, hungary and albert park, Durban, South Africa. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, 69 (4), pp. 383-400.
This paper intends to present a co-programming path that has seen professionals and non-profit organizations collaborating with the Municipality of Altamura (Italy) in the development of planning tools and urban interventions based on the creation of new public spaces through the strategic use of NbS.
A critical analysis, aimed at detecting the imprinting and the strategic role that empty spaces have assumed in defining urban settlements, is carried out; Altamura is considered a representative city of Alta Murgia’s area and its historical centre is reknown for its dense network of "claustri", collective peculiar alleys and small squares surrounded by the houses of the old town (Massaro&Perrucci, 2020).
This urban imprinting has been pivotal in the drafting of the Integrated Urban Sustainable Development Strategy (SISUS) started by the Municipality in 2017 with the launch of the “Iperurbano” interinstitutional lab. SISUS is based on the creation of materials and immaterial resilient infrastructures, in coherence with the Puglia Landscape Plan, aiming to activate resilience-based urban regeneration (UR) processes in periurban areas coherently with a renewed city-countryside pact (Mininni, 2016). The green infrastructure’s pilot project "IxE-CO2", today under construction since few months within the recent Parco San Giuliano suburban district, is analyzed. It’s the result of a participatory co-design process joined by citizens, students, graduates, practitioners and academics conducted within the neighborhood.
The project addresses localized issues (hydrogeological instability, water bombs, heat islands, biodiversity reduction, CO2 absorption, lack of services) aiming to face such vulnerabilities by introducing new ecosystem services (ES) (Basnou et al., 2015); ESs are key elements of an abacus of solutions and guidelines allowing the incremental implementation of the project within the district (Cottino et al., 2022).
IXE-CO2 is featured in the 2021 ISPRA report on soil consumption (Munafò, 2021) due to ESs and NbS serving as an innovation factor in the governance of the UR process, pushing the limits and weakness of institutional capacity and governance strategies. These experiences aim to draw a collaborative model of intervention for an incisive management of UR processes.
References
Basnou C., Pino J. and Terradas J., 2015. Ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure in the urban environment, CAB Reviews Perspectives in Agriculture Veterinary Science Nutrition and Natural Resources, april, 10(004), 1-11.
Cottino P., Domante D., Franchina A., 2022. Urban regeneration: an “incremental circularity” perspective, Amenta L, Russo M., van Timmeren A. (eds.), Regenerative Territories, Springer, 225-265
Elia A., Conversa, G., 2021. Atti del convegno Biodiversità 2021: Agricoltura, Ambiente e Salute, Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimenti, Risorse Naturali e Ingegneria (DAFNE) Università degli Studi di Foggia, 255.
Massaro S., Perrucci G., 2020. Vuoti nei vuoti. Reti di spazi aperti come matrice di resilienza, Città e storia, XVV, 1-2, 109-130
Mininni M., 2016. Come “produrre suolo” nelle aree periurbane? Politiche agrourbane del piano paesaggistico regionale della Puglia alla scala locale, Ri-Vista. Research for Landscape Architecture, 14(1), 54-67.
Munafò, M. (a cura di), 2021. Consumo di suolo, dinamiche territoriali e servizi ecosistemici. Edizione 2021. Report SNPA 22/21, Ispra, 349-351
www.sit.puglia.it
www.iperurbano.it
Every child has the right to engage in play and recreational activities. Public play spaces offer venues and opportunities for children to have comfortable social interactions with their peers through playful interaction. While children are direct users of play spaces, their caregivers (e.g., parents, elderly relatives, domestic workers) are indirect users who can benefit from using play spaces.
The existing literature on inclusive play spaces design has predominantly concentrated on children-friendly design aspects and factors hindering children's different play experiences. Researchers argued for catering for the needs of children with mind-body-emotional differences. On the other hand, some branches of research on inclusive design have widely acknowledged the importance of older adult-friendly public spaces at the policy and planning level (Loukaitou-Sideris et al., 2014). For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) age-friendly city initiative recognises that inclusive and accessible public spaces are crucial for the wellbeing of older adults and suggests recommendations for promoting public space as a pivotal part of the active ageing concept (World Health (Organization, 2007). In parallel, it is increasingly common to employ caregivers for childcare duties. For example, migrant domestic workers coming from diverse cultural as well as social backgrounds. Thus, inclusive play spaces where the needs of children and migrant caregivers are considered can potentially constitute spaces for social interactions among them and benefit their health and wellbeing. At the same time, play spaces inclusive of migrants can be significant in reclaiming the right to the city for this vulnerable group of workers. However, the possible design considerations and provision of facilities for the caregivers include the implementation of settings consisting of simple benches with or without shelters outside the play spaces (Siu et al., 2018). Much less is understood about the ways to promote the interactions among children with their direct carers, to facilitate the encounters among the caregivers given their diverse ages and cultural backgrounds.
This systematic review attempts to bridge this gap by examining recent studies on the needs and design factors of inclusive play spaces from a children-caregiver perspective. With a special focus on one age-based vulnerable group – the elderly, and one cultural-based socially vulnerable group - the domestic workers, we argue for a more in-depth understanding of the "meaning" of play space and play and a more balanced consideration of the needs and preferences of direct and indirect users. Evidence-based practices of inclusive play spaces are reviewed and analysed to generate insights on inclusive play and propose design directions that safeguard children's right to play and cater to the needs of their caregivers.
References:
Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Brozen, M., & Levy-Storms, L. (2014). Placemaking for an aging population: Guidelines for senior-friendly parks.
Organization, W. H. (2007). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. World Health Organization.
Siu, K. W. M., Wong, Y. L., & Lam, M. S. (2018). The needs of children and their caregivers in new urban lifestyles: A case study of playground facilities in Hong Kong. International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics,
Green space accessibility is a fundamental human right, a direct promoter of health and well-being of the urban populations. In Porto, the social housing estates feature a significant area of public green spaces when compared to other residential areas in the city. These neighbourhood green spaces play an important social role, as they provide inhabitants an everyday access to green, in areas with a high residential density that may be observed. Furthermore, in a city-wide context, nearly 12,5% of the inhabitants of Porto live in public municipal housing, a much larger number when compared to any other Portuguese city (INE 2012, INE 2022).
Research started by mapping the municipal housing areas and characterising them in accordance to the area of public green spaces by comparing the ratios between the number of residents and the public green spaces. A second level of analysis was developed by characterising these green spaces in accordance with their typologies and spatial configuration. This was followed by a qualitative approach, reflecting upon the use and function of such spaces, as well as its spatial fragmentation.
Results show that the ratio of public green spaces per inhabitant is 23m2/ha, which is above the average of the city, 7,8 m2 (Farinha-Marques 2018). In particular, the municipal neighbourhoods from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s have the largest densities of green spaces in the context of the residential areas of the city. Moreover, the housing estates built before and by the Plan of Improvements (1957-66) and its five-years extension, despite being carefully designed, had very limited areas, presenting the lowest area standards (and the highest occupancy density rate) of the municipal housing stock (Restivo et al. 2012). Implemented in the “areas of expansion” , a “crown” formed by these public municipal housing estates is still very recognizable nowadays. Once in the outskirts, these estates are part of the city nowadays.
The green space morphology of the social housing areas can be characterised as a highly fragmented group of green spaces. Even though the social function of these spaces is highly conditioned by its fragmented structure, these still represent a total of 64ha. There is a strong ecological potential, as these are highly permeable areas with scale for large trees, that could aid the city in terms of climate and ecological resilience. Looking at its location, it is clear that these can act as key elements for the consolidation of the pedestrian and cycling structure of the city.
This research demonstrates and elicits the potential of the urban green spaces in the context of the social municipal housing of Porto. These have the potential of being developed as a network of (continuous) green spaces to improve the urban social and ecological environment and increase the soft mobility, thus enhancing the connectivity with the city.
REFERENCES
INE. 2012. Censos 2011: XV Recenseamento geral da população. V Recenseamento geral da habitação. Lisboa: Instituto Nacional de Estatística. (https://censos.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpgid=ine_censos_publicacoes&xpid=CENSOS)
INE. 2022. Plataforma de divulgação dos Censos 2021 - Resultados provisórios. Lisboa: Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.ine.pt/scripts/db_censos_2021.html
Restivo, J., Alves, F. B., Mendonça, P., & Ferreira, J. A. (2012). Public housing renovation in Porto: Typology versus occupancy density. International Journal for Housing Science, 36 (1), 9-16.
Farinha-Marques, P. et al (2018). Relatório de caraterização e diagnóstico para o PDM da Cidade do Porto: Estrutura Ecológica e Biodiversidade. https://pdm.cm-porto.pt/documents/51/23_PDMP_ECD_Estrut_Eco_Biod.pdf