Mathew - Frith- Peabody Well Being

1. decent spaces, greener places
the impact of green spaces on well-being

3. • relationship between lack of greenspace and stress
levels, which rise as greenspace diminishes;
• greenspace enhances psychological health and mental
well-being;
and therefore;
• all health, social care and criminal justice institutions should be
required to ensure access to green space;
• designing for mental well-being should be recognised as good
practice for [landscape design], architecture and
planning ;
green space and well-beinggreen space and well-being

4. spaces that
people avoid if
possible…
but for many,
they can’t

5. • 17% households, 8.2 million people in England
• 1 in 10 people in London
• over 1400 Registered Providers, and over 150 local
authority housing landlords
• 1.8 million local authority dwellings, trend for transference
to RPs
• radical reforms and austerity in train
the context…the context…

6. • green space has a proven track record in reducing the
impact of deprivation, delivering better health and well-
being, and creating a stronger community;
• simple presence of green space is related to a reduced risk
of serious problems, like depression and lung disease;
• living close to a green space reduces mortality, which can
help reduce the significant gap in life expectancy between
rich and poor;
the premise…the premise…

7. inequalitiesinequalities
People in deprived areas, wherever they live,
receive a far worse provision of parks and green
spaces than their affluent neighbours.
The most affluent 20% of wards have 5X
more public green space (excluding gardens)
per person than the most deprived 10% of
wards.
Wards that have almost no BME residents (<2%
of ward population) have 6X as many parks as
wards where more than 40% of the population
are from BME groups. They have 11X more
public green space – significant disparity?

8. resident focusedresident focused

9. quality homesquality homes

10. landscape?landscape?

11. but all too invisiblebut all too invisible
on the doorstepon the doorstep

12. • significant legacy of poorly-designed and under-managed
spaces
• accumulative disinvestment over many decades
• high fragmentation (‘bitty’ compared to parks)
• significant contrasts in scale/layout
• ambiguous ownership for users
• increasing complexity of tenure
• isolation and ghetto-isation
• development pressure (blight)
psychogeographypsychogeography

13. fragmentationfragmentation

14. public? private?public? private?

15. leaseholder
leaseholder
general needs
general needs general needs
general needs
general needs
short-life
key worker
key worker
market rent
sheltered
market rent
sheltered
short-life
general needs
sheltered
tenure mixtenure mix

16. territoriesterritories

17. hidden cornershidden corners

18. • tensions between private and communal needs
• competition for use (e.g. car-parking)
• competition for resources
• complex resourcing models
• lack of qualitative standards
• spaces viewed as liabilities rather than assets
• low aspirations in terms of design and use
• and
• a lack of recognition of landscapes’ power and potential
psychogeographypsychogeography

19. room for manoeuvre?room for manoeuvre?

20. mugger shrubsmugger shrubs

21. it’s a right messit’s a right mess

22. landscape improvementslandscape improvements

23. works well?works well?
perspicacityperspicacity

24. get what we pay for?get what we pay for?

25. the great unknown…the great unknown…
• scale of social housing
landscapes at national
and regional level
unknown
• quantitative and
qualitative surveys
required to better identify
social landlords’ role and
responsibilities as
greenspace providers

26. almost blank canvasalmost blank canvas

27. Peabody and Notting Hill Housing, 2003…
•raise awareness within social landlords
of the importance of green spaces
•research practices, the level of skills
and status
•provide training and guidance for key
staff and trustees
•advocate for policy changes within
housing and Government agencies
•secure resources for the future
Neighbourhoods GreenNeighbourhoods Green

29. • Commit to quality landscapes - at the highest level possible within the
organisation
• Know the bigger picture – take a strategic approach to the planning and
management of spaces
• Maintain high standards - ensure the long-term care of landscapes is
treated as an essential service
• Make neighbourhoods greener – deliver higher quality standards of
design
• Involve residents of all ages - to play an active role in deciding what their
landscapes look like, how they’re used and looked after
10 principles10 principles

30. • Enhance skills and confidence - motivate staff and residents through
open space training
• Improve character and design of places to change user behaviour and
improve personal safety
• Encourage people to be more active to secure individual well-being and
community ownership of spaces
• Prepare for climate change - provide increased protection for residents
through green infrastructure
• Make the best use of resources - secure and co-ordinate different
sources of funding by making most of partnerships
10 principles10 principles

31. • Photo simulation in a high rise setting: addition of trees and grass
increased residents’ preferences (Kuo, Bacaicoa and Sullivan, 1998);
• Residents more likely to be satisfied with neighbourhood environments
when containing large connected tree patches with a high degree of
complexity in shape and variable sizes (Lee et al., 2008);
• Some preference for more formal settings with well maintained
vegetation over woodland setting (Talbot and Kaplan, 1984);
• Increased neighbourhood satisfaction when looking out onto more
natural, rather than built up environment (Kaplan, 1983; Talbot and
Kaplan, 1991);
resident satisfactionresident satisfaction

32. • Some preference for more formal settings with well
maintained vegetation over woodland setting (Talbot and
Kaplan, 1984);
• Increased neighbourhood satisfaction when looking out
onto more natural, rather than built up environment
(Kaplan, 1983; Talbot and Kaplan, 1991);
resident satisfactionresident satisfaction

33. Residents with more green space within 1 kilometre of
their home had:
•better self perceived health with those than less green space
•fewer health complaints in previous 14 day
•lower self-related propensity for psychiatric morbidity (Maas et al., 2009);
Use of green space in 3 km radius of home decreased the
relationship between a stressful life event in the past 3
months and a person’s number of health complaints and
perceived mental and general health (den Berg et al.,
2010).
healthhealth

34. • Three times as many residents
observed in spaces with trees than
those without trees (Coley, et al.
1997);
• Density of trees linked to the strength
of social ties within the neighbourhood
(Kuo, Sullivan et al., 1998);
social interactionsocial interaction

35. • view from a window to green space contributes to
resident satisfaction;
• green space needs to be visibly managed;
• importance of green space proximity to home or ‘nearby
nature’ – 5/10/15 minute walk;
• clear network of footpaths;
• poor quality of outdoor space leads to negative attitudes
and behaviours . . .
research conclusionsresearch conclusions

36. art of the possible?art of the possible?

38. future resilience?future resilience?

39. austerity?austerity?

40. Neighbourhoods GreenNeighbourhoods Green
• A Cool Pace to Live; the use of green infrastructure
to aid climate change adaptation;
• Green Flag Award being rolled out over 2013
• food-growing guidance;
• clients guide for social landlords wishing landscape
management and landscape design services
• www.neighbourhoodsgreen.org.uk