Loneliness is gradually becoming a contemporary urban problem In 2022, 49.63% of adults (25.99 million people) in the UK reported feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always [1]. Approximately 7.1% of people in UK (3.83 million) experience chronic loneliness, meaning they feel lonely often or always [2]. This has risen from 6% (3.24 million) in 2020, indicating that there has Read the full article…

In the realm of urban planning and community development, the pursuit of excellence has given rise to a rare breed of public spaces – the 5-star destinations that transcend functionality to become vibrant hubs of social, cultural, and recreational. These spaces serve as the beating heart of our communities, fostering connections, promoting well-being, and contributing Read the full article…

Health is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (WHO, 2023). Through urban design, a well-designed neighbourhood can improve the health and wellbeing of its residents through strategic design choices. Introduction The impact of neighbourhood design Read the full article…

To begin with, the way a neighborhood designed has big impact on how healthy and happy its people are. Over the years, there have been a lot of studies carried out regarding the effects of neighborhood design on health and well-being. Meanwhile, major health challenges including premature death, poor physical and mental health and health Read the full article…

Public spaces are the beating heart of our communities, serving as essential hubs for social interaction, leisure, and contemplation. Not to mentioned the well-designed public spaces. Figure 1. Domino Park is a privately-owned public space in Brooklyn, developed by real estate firm Two Trees Management. (Harrouk, 2019) They are more than just physical objects; they Read the full article…

A city’s quality of life is directly reflected in how sensitive its urban design is to public health. And why? As it would eventually by all means have an impact on the general public during a crisis. Certainly, this claim is supported by a number of historical events. So, let’s start from its origins. (Kuvar, Read the full article…

More people are living in cities now than ever before. However, the urban lifestyle can often come at the detriment of mental health, brought on by the rapid, often chaotic, and stressful nature of the metropolis and everyday work-life. Today, we see mental health conditions soaring and become one of the main contributors to the Read the full article…

Photograph by Luke Leung In the recent decade, community planning has been rising in popularity as planners and local authorities, architects and other practitioners can all benefit from social discussion into shaping their local environment. Wates (2014) suggested, growing numbers of residents and communities are getting involved with professionals in shaping their environment. These involvements Read the full article…

Housing standards are rising thanks to collaborative housing concepts.  Also, these strategies prioritize inhabitants’ needs over private profit. But what does it mean by collaborative housing? Firstly, several words are used to denote different characteristics or types of community-led housing. These terms include concepts like ‘cohousing, social production of housing, and self-construction,’. As well as Read the full article…

In a time of increasing material abundance, more and more people are beginning to realise that mental health also plays an important part in everyday life and has a significant impact on the quality of life. In response to this phenomenon, as an urban designer I think we can think about the following questions： What Read the full article…

Play and freedom Many spaces planned for play offer truly little. This is because their designs are often limiting the spirit of play as a part of our human condition. According to Lefaivre (2007), the design of our urban spaces has replaced freedom in discovery by over-emphasizing anxieties about safety. As a result, many areas Read the full article…

Nowadays, more and more people own their own cars, which at first we may think is convenient, but is it really? What does it do for us? Do we really need so many cars? A sustainable community is a place where people want to live and work now and in the future, it meets the Read the full article…