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The call for submissions for the themed issue on “Healthy Urbanism” of The Plan Journal (TPJ), vol.5 [2020], no.2 [Fall] explains:
The public health crisis of historic proportions caused by the COVID-19 virus has uncovered the fragility not only of health care systems and public health policies world-wide, but also of the very nature of our urbanistic and habitat models. Dense metropolitan mega-cities, overstressed public transportation systems, work environments and housing designed and built without a proper concern for the health and well-being of people, have certainly been hindrances in tackling this global emergency. Without superficial dismissals of the value of dense and connected urban organisms and an equally superficial embracing of de-urbanization theories, it is reasonable to question whether to re-think widely accepted urban models, building typologies and infrastructure systems, as well as co-habitation dynamics between formal and informal settlements, in view of the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, TPJ’s call for submissions for the Healthy Urbanism issue asked:
How do we reconcile density with healthy social distancing without inducing social isolation? How can we make public transport safer? How do we re-balance priorities between public and private transportation infrastructures? What are the strategies to seek the help of healthier natural ecologies within our cities? How do we push the envelope of sustainability, at the urban and the building scale, beyond energy, to include standards for public health? What strategies can help address urban inequality to uphold “the right to the ‘healthy’ city”?
In his editorial “Out of the Crisis by Design,” Maurizio Sabini, Editor-in-Chief of The Plan Journal wrote:
The kind of radical thinking that marked the affirmation of Modernism as the shaping of the built environment interpreting and representing the promise of Modernity is what is also needed at this juncture as we battle our exit from the COVD-19 crisis and related emergencies. This pandemic has also exposed the inadequacies of our infrastructures, cities and human settlements world-wide. The social and human toll, also in terms of unequal impact of the outbreak across sectors of society, is also unprecedented. (185)
MASS Design Group, GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2015. Photo © Iwan Baan.
We are presenting some of the ideas and visions contained in the Healthy Urbanism issue of the journal that resonated with us. In “Imprints of an Invisible Virus: How Airborne Diseases Change Cities,” the author Aki Ishida considers COVID-19 and asks “… once a clinical cure is found, which infection prevention practices – both social and spatial – might remain, and what long-term impacts will they leave?” The authors Emily Moss, Alison Mears and Cristina Handal of “New Urban Paradigms: Healthier Futures,” present “innovative propositions from three Parsons School of Design architectural design studios that address issues of public and environmental health and social justice.” In “Open-Air-Space: Inclusive Involvement within a Public Health Crisis,” the author Ulysses Sean Vance “conceptually revisits the open-air spaces of hospitals.”
Luca Maria Francesco Fabris, Federico Camerin, Gerardo Semprebon and Riccardo Maria Balzarotti’s article “New Healthy Settlements Responding to Pandemic Outbreaks: Approaches from (and for) the Global City” “proposes a transdisciplinary approach in dealing with city renewal-regeneration and the safer use of its spaces.” In “Healthy Inner-City Communities: Toward an Integrative Framework,” the author Joongsub Kim asks “How can disadvantaged communities of color become healthier”? Finally, we share some thoughts about “Intentional Living.”
>> We encourage you to browse The Plan Journal and explore its issue dedicated to Healthy Urbanism for yourself.
In “Imprints of an Invisible Virus: How Airborne Diseases Change Cities,” the author Aki Ishida explains, “spatial practices to prevent infection, such as clear physical barriers and car-free streets for socializing, must be implemented with a close examination of impacts on the mental, social wellbeing of both individuals and the broader community.”
In Dresselhuys Pavilion of Zonnestraal Sanatorium, patients’ beds pulled out from their rooms to take in fresh air and light (1950-74).
Ishida warns us that “as cities make design and policy changes to protect their citizens from the invisible virus, they must be mindful of the imprints the physical, social, and policy changes have on comprehensive wellness and equity for all people.”
>> To learn more about Ishida’s health-driven urban strategies, check out this article in TPJ (in English)
In “New Urban Paradigms: Healthier Futures,” the authors Emily Moss, Alison Mears and Cristina Handal discuss “primary and secondary research in New York City, USA, and Lagos, Nigeria, where the studios are sited, design projects are used as research platforms to investigate public and planetary health and, alongside faculty research, to formulate new fundamental architectural principles for design that prioritize health.”
Modelmaking with found materials and without adhesives.
“In a direct response to the isolation imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, students consider innovative ways to create new ecosystems, cohabitate and connect communities, to be “alone together,” and to shift human health, building health, and urban health to the center of design proposals.”
>> Moss et al. provide a global perspective of healthy living models. You can find the abstract for their article here in TPJ (in English)
In “Open-Air-Space: Inclusive Involvement within a Public Health Crisis,” the author Ulysses Sean Vance explains that “since the eighteenth century, the healing arts have included open-air treatments, with the field hospital at the Royal Sea Bathing Infirmary near London being one of the earliest medical care facilities on record to successfully treat patients in this manner.” Based on Le Corbusier’s Maison Dom-Ino system, Vance describes how the Open-Air-Space Project is structured.
Weiss Hall anxiety clinic interventions at 13th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, northeast entrance. Daytime curbside check-in highlighting augmented reality projections. Digital implants in the pedestrian right of way of 13th Street would be closed to vehicle traffic.
Vance’s research concludes that “if there is anything that the pandemic rectifies, it should be that architecture is as much about access as it is process or product.”
>> The abstract for this article can be found here in TPJ (in English)
Luca Maria Francesco Fabris, Federico Camerin, Gerardo Semprebon and Riccardo Maria Balzarotti’s article “New Healthy Settlements Responding to Pandemic Outbreaks: Approaches from (and for) the Global City” tests the power of small-scale tactical urbanism within the multifaceted infrastructures of Barcelona, Beijing and Milan.
The Tactical Urbanism intervention in Spoleto Street, Milan.
Fabris et al. state that “the contemporary debate that embraces planning and architecture has long denounced how the Global City has particularities that make it a common factor at all latitudes: it is time to rediscover the importance of neighborhoods, of sociability, and of the interaction that takes place in the open spaces.”
>> To learn more about the authors’ work, read this article in TPJ (in English)
Joongsub Kim’s article “Healthy Inner-City Communities: Toward an Integrative Framework” asks, “How can marginalized African American communities become healthier places?”
An example of a place-making design concept (proposed for a block with large or extensive vacant properties; a large multi-purpose bike park, greenhouses, and urban agriculture are proposed).
Kim’s study is “useful in addressing some COVID-19 related challenges facing marginalized communities, such as lack of access to green and open space that could help residents build social capital and improve their health.”
>> The abstract for this article can be found here in TPJ (in English)
“Covid-19 has now accelerated the importance of community.” Elizabeth Edwards, Contributor for Forbes adds “…the next chapter in our lives is going to be more purpose-driven and the long-term impact from 2020 will be a focus on Intentional Living. Two of the hallmarks of this shift to Intentional Living can be seen in where and how we work—and new attention to mental health and wellbeing.”
Edwards shares some survey results.
EY found:
PWC found
So, what does this mean for the design fields? If there is an increase in valuing community and health/wellness, how will that impact our professions? It seems to us that this positive change will make our efforts toward a healthy urbanism supported by a majority of the population— a good result of the pandemic.
>> To learn more, check out the reference
Why support + read TPJ?
The Plan Journal is intended to disseminate and promote innovative, thought-provoking, and relevant research, studies, and criticism related to architecture and urbanism. The journal grew out of an awareness that academia is all too often engaged in research that’s disconnected from the real-world challenges that face different professions, and that research is only possible for a small number of professional organizations, and, even then, with limited platforms for its dissemination. The overarching aim of TPJ is therefore to enrich the dialogue between researchers and professionals so as to foster both pertinent new knowledge and intellectually driven modes of practice.
How does it work + why does it matter?
Prospective contributors are encouraged to submit proposals or complete manuscripts to the Editor-in-Chief. Subject to positive feedback, proposals can then be developed into complete manuscripts and submitted for review, using the dedicated portal on the TPJ website.
After preliminary approval, manuscripts will be forwarded to suitably qualified people for commenting. TPJ is committed to following a rigorous double-blind peer review process using at least two reviewers. The Editor-in-Chief may also occasionally invite recognized academics, critics, or professionals (including members of the editorial board) to contribute to the journal without going through the peer review process, if warranted by the author’s reputation.
