The Built Environment and Wellbeing: An International Symposium University of Warwick March 2009
Why a Symposium? Much interest in built environment and wellbeing from policy makers and practitioners, but relatively little research has been carried out Overall objective of Symposium is to explore how we can support, promote, facilitate and raise the profile of research in this emerging field
Why research needed Need to build/create sustainable developments and communities Push for higher-density, urban development, for environmental reasons but people don t want it. How do we make it more attractive? Sustainability now embraces social and health aspects so development needs to optimise quality of life and wellbeing Need to encourage more sustainable lifestyles, e.g. walking and cycling more. How can we do this? Can neighbourhood design make a difference?
Why research needed We know that built environments have significant impacts on people on their health, wellbeing and quality of life Environments are being designed and built all the time without an understanding of how they will affect their users
Why research needed Huge government investment in built environment through Sustainable Communities Plan Eco-Towns and regeneration provides opportunities for change Shift in emphasis within health disciplines to creating healthy communities and prevention of illhealth (renewed interest in built environment within public health, esp. because of obesity)
Why research needed Focus on inclusive design, with Disability Discrimination Act and social model of disability Evidence would enable funders and clients to decide on the most effective health/wellbeing interventions, whether built environment or medical Growing gap between designers and users
Why research needed Even a good designer can get it wrong no architect knows intuitively what would suit everyone Environments are for lots of different people and future generations so it s not enough just to satisfy immediate client s needs (or to have participatory design)
Why so little research? Architectural education and practice is not evidence- or research-based Value placed on originality rather than tried and tested models Architecture seen mostly as an art, with little consideration of users wellbeing Students encouraged to think about buildings as sculpture What the masses like is despised!
Why so little research? Architectural quality based on abstract theories, e.g. architectural honesty, geometric patterns Prizes and awards reinforce architecture as art Fear of architectural determinism and of repeating the failures of 60s/ 70s Modernism
What challenges? Research on people and built environments is very difficult to do Environments are very complex Many aspects are subjective and difficult to measure (e.g. beauty) We have only a limited language for describing our environments and people are not used to articulating their feelings about them
What challenges? Likely that effects of the built environment vary with individual characteristics and circumstances but need to design to suit everyone Almost impossible to carry out controlled trials or experiments Need to understand how individual design elements work together There are many factors other than the built environment that affect people s wellbeing
What challenges? Difficult to distinguish between associations that are due to selection bias and those that are causal in origin Need to take into account other requirements e.g. budget, environment Need to allow for creative and imaginative solutions? Recognising that the influence of the built environment might be very small
What challenges? Difficult to get it funded doesn t fall neatly into one area of responsibility Not a well developed research tradition so few tried and tested methods Tends to be cross-disciplinary Is there such a thing as architectural research?
Symposium aims To provide the opportunity to step back and consider progress in this emerging field of research To find out more about other people s research in this area To examine the role and focus of different disciplines engaging in the field To explore the potential of different methods and approaches for carrying out this research
Symposium aims To explore perceptions of barriers and problems in trying to carry out this research To identify possible solutions and strategies for increasing capacity in the field To foster collaborations To consider the creation of an international research network
More... We want everyone to enjoy themselves! We are aware that participants may feel wary about sharing ideas we expect everyone to act with integrity so there can be open discussion We value the contribution of every participant We would like as much informal interaction and participation as possible
Introductions Please tell us: Who you are Where you come from What discipline/s you represent Where you are in your academic career What type of research in this area you have and want to be involved in THANK YOU!