Outdoor Spaces

This paper proposes a novel radiative passive system for hot and dry climates to improve outdoor thermal comfort. The solution consists in a curtain, characterized by two different finishing surfaces, one is waterproof and the other one is absorbent, immersed in a water tank by means of a mechanized system and subsequently used as a radiant surface with reduced temperature thanks to evaporative cooling effect. The effectiveness of the proposed system is verified by means of CFD simulations carried out on a sample application in outdoor space and supported by experimental measurements carried out on a small sample of curtain. The results showed that the proposed system can reduce the operative temperature up to 6°C with respect to the testing conditions (air temperature of 28.5°C and relative humidity of 50.5%) ensuring higher comfort levels and a limited water consumption to keep the curtain constantly wet (25 l/h for 130m 2 of wet curtain).

This paper challenges the traditional focus on indoor spaces in Neolithic archaeology by examining the role of open-air areas in daily life. It approaches open-air spaces as active zones of Neolithic daily life in northern Greece and contributes to an updated narrative of community formation in the region. The study examines 37 excavated sites and explores how localized, socio-cultural assemblages exhibit significant diversity, pointing to varied forms of collective structures rather than unified community groups. The results of this study do not suggest marked contrasts in spatial expressions between the earlier and the later phases of the Neolithic, indicating that social coherence was achieved through various communal quotidian and special, individual and collective performances, in both the domestic-private and communal-public spheres. The study looks at the location of combustion features, such as hearths, ovens, fire pits and kilns in the settlements as a proxy to understand the dynamics of openair spaces and their contribution to the formation of social life. The evidence discussed in this paper suggests that open-air spaces were actively manipulated by people and constituted significant social arenas for everyday routines, workshops, communal gatherings, and social interactions, all of which played a key role in the formation of community traditions, collective identities, and social cohesion.

Outdoor spaces, which are often designed with a focus on visual perception, have their barriers towards certain people with different capabilities, especially the visually impaired, who find it difficult to deal in such visually biased spaces. Addressing the visually impaired at an early age can help them face struggles and spatial barriers to be able to integrate normally into the society. Kindergarten outdoor spaces are important as they provide these children with concrete experiences from which they can learn about the world. They need to go beyond focusing on visual sense by being inclusively designed using the multi-sensory approach, which is used to increase spaces’ experiential values, allowing children to use them freely and independently. The study seeks to shed light on the importance of incorporating multi-sensory approach in developing kindergarten outdoor spaces for visually impaired children. The proposed methodology involved analyzing and linking aspects, such as visual bias in architecture, kindergarten outdoor space design, visually impaired children’s perceptions and difficulties and multi-sensory approach, to better understand inclusive design concepts. A rubric was then compiled from these theoretical aspects to link outdoor space elements with the five human senses. Hence, exploring the Case Study of “Hazelwood School for the Blind”, using the rubric, was made to examine how its elements were utilized to create optimum sensory outdoor spaces experienced through all senses. Results showed that it is extremely important to utilize multi-sensory approach to help architects develop optimal design strategies for inclusive kindergarten outdoor spaces. The resulting holistic spaces, designed specially to address visually impaired children, can act as great means of introducing them to richer experiences. They additionally help them overcome their barriers and difficulties, and enhance their senses, spatial perceptions, navigation and cognitive mapping processes.

As a growing part of the global population lives in cities, green spaces are an essential asset for improving quality of life. This study aims to address the role of green spaces in providing favorable thermal comfort conditions for the use of outdoor spaces. The research methodology consisted of a structured experiment where a defined set of individuals from different age groups was exposed to differentiated microclimate conditions. Four nearby locations were considered, ranging from a stone-paved surface without shade to high tree canopy coverage over grass. This experiment took place in three different days in summer and early autumn conditions, with a total of 432 questionnaires. Results show a wide range of thermal sensations found during this experiment, while more favorable thermal sensations were found in shaded locations. To investigate the role of prevailing meteorological and personal conditions on thermal sensations, multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied. ...

ABSTRACT: Green Spaces are regarded as elements that can help to provide thermal comfort inside cities. To evaluate this influence both climate and personal variables must be investigated and evaluated taking into account different spatial layouts. Trying to address this complex ...

This paper proposes a novel radiative passive system for hot and dry climates to improve outdoor thermal comfort. The solution consists in a curtain, characterized by two different finishing surfaces, one is waterproof and the other one is absorbent, immersed in a water tank by means of a mechanized system and subsequently used as a radiant surface with reduced temperature thanks to evaporative cooling effect. The effectiveness of the proposed system is verified by means of CFD simulations carried out on a sample application in outdoor space and supported by experimental measurements carried out on a small sample of curtain. The results showed that the proposed system can reduce the operative temperature up to 6°C with respect to the testing conditions (air temperature of 28.5°C and relative humidity of 50.5%) ensuring higher comfort levels and a limited water consumption to keep the curtain constantly wet (25 l/h for 130m 2 of wet curtain).

Public open spaces are essential for residents’ social interactions and recreational activities, improving wellbeing as well as offering economic and environmental benefits. Saudi Arabia is aiming to enhance the quality of life in all its cities through different national programs and projects. One of the key performance indicators is increasing public open space per capita from 3.47 m2 to 3.9 m2 by 2020. This study measured the current public open space per inhabitant in Jeddah by using a geographic information system to identify the types of public open spaces that make up the per capita value in the city. Jeddah is located in a rapidly developing country, and it is a re-planned city where the current status of public open spaces falls short of users’ expectations and does not meet international standards. This study suggests that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and municipalities should adopt a systematic approach to tackling the spatial distribution of open spaces in...

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking to enhance the quality of life in its cities by making the cities livable places. This study focuses on the changes that need to be made to the street design in Saudi Arabia to achieve the goals of the 2030 vision. This paper highlights the importance of aesthetics, accessibility, security and safety and walkability, which needs to be considered during street design. The analytical study uses examples from around the world of applying the basic principles of streetscape design in order to develop the streetscape approaches and recommendations in Saudi Arabia. The research emphasizes the importance of developing the urban environment visual image in the country to enhance the quality of life of both people and the city. Approaches include directing urban planners and designers to the important role of the well-designed streetscape and identifying methods of applying sustainability to streetscape design and making street pedestrian-oriented.

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its extensive variants have caused drastic changes to people’s habits and routines in many countries worldwide, including Aotearoa—New Zealand. The levels of lockdown and/or movement limitations affected how people used outdoor spaces, often keeping them away from nature’s benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to control it provide an interesting experiment investigating the links between nature exposure, recreational use of outdoor spaces, and people’s health and wellbeing under extreme conditions. Using an online survey distributed during lockdown and based on 212 responses, this article explores the different typologies of the outdoor spaces that people had access to during lockdown and the associated physical activities practised. It investigates how outdoor space affects our emotional response and how such space and related activities can help us cope with confinement. The results of this study enable us to better...

More than half the world's population lives in cities that were designed with a complete disregard for nature. Then, it is vital that nature should be present in these spaces to provide ecological support for urban areas. Natural elements that are in these spaces should be designed with people's comfort in mind. This research explores the application of the PET and UTCI biometeorological comfort indices in urban microspaces, where the general environmental parameters of the city are not valid and each space must be measured individually. The research looked into the influence of the design of natural elements on improving comfort. The results show that in the children's playing spaces, the absence of thermal comfort and considerable thermal stress were detected in summer. This effect is more easily seen in the PET values. The benefits to comfort of having double layers of vegetation in the gardens have also been shown. The micro-droplets of water from the jets in the fountains are carried by the breeze and modify the human-biometeorological conditions around the fountains and reduce thermal stress. This improvement needs an appropriate design of the fountains and an awareness of the breeze patterns in these spaces.

Residual spaces are defined as a category of open spaces that exist in our urban context but are rarely considered by urban designers. They have other terminologies, such as leftovers, loose spaces, lost spaces, neglected spaces, and neglected urban land. However, residual spaces can be used to serve in community problem-solving such as children's needs in outdoor spaces. Using landscape design as a tool, residual spaces in an urban context can be used to consider children's activities and their different needs. In this sense, this paper highlights the main aspects of the two main factors of the study, which are the landscape design elements and components of residual spaces and the different types of child needs. This research explores the relationship between these two main factors and their components to define the most suitable landscape design elements that can respond to the different children's needs in outdoor spaces. To achieve this goal, the research proposes a matrix based on a literature review and analysis of two case studies, one international and another local, that combine the two main factors of the study, which are the landscape design elements and components of residual spaces, and several types of child needs. It also proposes an inferred matrix that comes from the main matrix, which will provide a tool that helps the landscape designers evaluate the projects oriented to the child and contribute with the main matrix to design better and more responsive outdoor spaces for children in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought enormous casualties and huge losses to cities around the world, causing urban planning to reflect on its serious inadequacy in public health crisis management. Looking back at the pandemics of modern history, urban planning has been dedicated to enhancing disease prevention capacity as well as improving the wellness of human beings. By systematically comparing the urban planning response between COVID-19 (2019) and its predecessor H1N1 (2009) in the literature, this paper seeks to explore how urban planning theories evolved through the pandemics and whether COVID-19 has led to possible new implications and directions for urban planning in the future. A total of 3129 related results with overlapping themes of “city”, “pandemic”, and “planning” in the database were narrowed down to 30 articles published between 2009 and 2019 on the topic of H1N1 and 99 articles published between 2020 and 2022 on the topic of COVID-19 after careful extraction and integ...

Cities, as places of social interactions and human relationships, face new challenges, problems, and threats, which are sources of stress for residents. An additional cause of stress in recent years has been the COVID-19 pandemic; it was urban dwellers who were most exposed to the virus and most affected by it. Chronic stress has led to the serious erosion of physical health and psychophysical well-being among urban dwellers, and so there is a need to seek new solutions in terms of building the resilience of cities and their residents to stress. This study aims to verify the hypothesis that greenery reduced the level of stress among urban dwellers during the pandemic. The verification of this hypothesis was achieved based on a literature analysis and the results of geo-questionnaire studies conducted involving 651 residents of Poznan—among the largest of Polish cities, where the share of green areas in the spatial structure is more than 30%. According to the analysis, the interviewe...

Greenspaces, including parks, provide various socio-ecological benefits such as for aesthetics, temperature remediation, biodiversity conservation, and outdoor recreation. The health benefits of urban greenspaces have received particular attention since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered various movement restrictions and lifestyle changes, including regarding the frequency of people’s visits to greenspaces. Using mobile-tracking GPS data of Kanazawa citizens, we explored how citizens’ behaviors with respect to outings changed before and during Japan’s declaration of a COVID-19 state of emergency (April–May 2020). We also examined citizens’ greenspace visits in relation to their travel distance from home. We found that Kanazawa citizens avoided going out during the pandemic, with a decrease in the number, time, and distance of outings. As for the means of transportation, the percentage of outings by foot increased on both weekdays and holidays. While citizens ref...

ABSTRACT: Green Spaces are regarded as elements that can help to provide thermal comfort inside cities. To evaluate this influence both climate and personal variables must be investigated and evaluated taking into account different spatial layouts. Trying to address this complex ...

This paper evaluates the potential of creating a green infrastructure – more specifically, an urban greenway – and its contribution the students’ campus experience, with emphasis on the outdoor university activities. To achieve best value for money – particularly in the current financial climate, with severe budget cuts constraining universities – justifying investments on campus outdoor spaces such as greenways, relies on a clear demonstration of their link to the overall success of the campus. Attempts of quantify the benefits from investments on such spaces are challenged by the scarcity of studies on the relationship between students’ experience and design (and related cost) of different types of campus landscape settings. This paper fills this gap by offering a thorough examination of a variety of extant campus developments and by measuring the performance of some selected open spaces against a ‘price-tag’ mechanism. The case study of the San Diego State University has been cho...

Greenspaces, including parks, provide various socio-ecological benefits such as for aesthetics, temperature remediation, biodiversity conservation, and outdoor recreation. The health benefits of urban greenspaces have received particular attention since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered various movement restrictions and lifestyle changes, including regarding the frequency of people’s visits to greenspaces. Using mobile-tracking GPS data of Kanazawa citizens, we explored how citizens’ behaviors with respect to outings changed before and during Japan’s declaration of a COVID-19 state of emergency (April–May 2020). We also examined citizens’ greenspace visits in relation to their travel distance from home. We found that Kanazawa citizens avoided going out during the pandemic, with a decrease in the number, time, and distance of outings. As for the means of transportation, the percentage of outings by foot increased on both weekdays and holidays. While citizens ref...

Residual spaces are defined as a category of open spaces that exist in our urban context but are rarely considered by urban designers. They have other terminologies, such as leftovers, loose spaces, lost spaces, neglected spaces, and neglected urban land. However, residual spaces can be used to serve in community problem-solving such as children's needs in outdoor spaces. Using landscape design as a tool, residual spaces in an urban context can be used to consider children's activities and their different needs. In this sense, this paper highlights the main aspects of the two main factors of the study, which are the landscape design elements and components of residual spaces and the different types of child needs. This research explores the relationship between these two main factors and their components to define the most suitable landscape design elements that can respond to the different children's needs in outdoor spaces. To achieve this goal, the research proposes a matrix based on a literature review and analysis of two case studies, one international and another local, that combine the two main factors of the study, which are the landscape design elements and components of residual spaces, and several types of child needs. It also proposes an inferred matrix that comes from the main matrix, which will provide a tool that helps the landscape designers evaluate the projects oriented to the child and contribute with the main matrix to design better and more responsive outdoor spaces for children in the future.

Residual spaces are defined as a category of open spaces that exist in our urban context but are rarely considered by urban designers. They have other terminologies, such as leftovers, loose spaces, lost spaces, neglected spaces, and neglected urban land. However, residual spaces can be used to serve in community problem-solving such as children's needs in outdoor spaces. Using landscape design as a tool, residual spaces in an urban context can be used to consider children's activities and their different needs. In this sense, this paper highlights the main aspects of the two main factors of the study, which are the landscape design elements and components of residual spaces and the different types of child needs. This research explores the relationship between these two main factors and their components to define the most suitable landscape design elements that can respond to the different children's needs in outdoor spaces. To achieve this goal, the research proposes a matrix based on a literature review and analysis of two case studies, one international and another local, that combine the two main factors of the study, which are the landscape design elements and components of residual spaces, and several types of child needs. It also proposes an inferred matrix that comes from the main matrix, which will provide a tool that helps the landscape designers evaluate the projects oriented to the child and contribute with the main matrix to design better and more responsive outdoor spaces for children in the future.

This study will address the issue of lack of knowledge in convertible outdoor spaces in the limited space university environment in developing countries. The knowledge of convertible spaces is essential to improve the existing and future university landscape for the benefit of university students. The research investigates the significant spatial qualities that make a space a convertible & multi-functional space. It further inquiries, about the time, and gender-based preference of the user. It is assumed that the criteria related to these spatial qualities can be clarified partially using Appleton’s prospect-refuge theory.

Greenspaces, including parks, provide various socio-ecological benefits such as for aesthetics, temperature remediation, biodiversity conservation, and outdoor recreation. The health benefits of urban greenspaces have received particular attention since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered various movement restrictions and lifestyle changes, including regarding the frequency of people’s visits to greenspaces. Using mobile-tracking GPS data of Kanazawa citizens, we explored how citizens’ behaviors with respect to outings changed before and during Japan’s declaration of a COVID-19 state of emergency (April–May 2020). We also examined citizens’ greenspace visits in relation to their travel distance from home. We found that Kanazawa citizens avoided going out during the pandemic, with a decrease in the number, time, and distance of outings. As for the means of transportation, the percentage of outings by foot increased on both weekdays and holidays. While citizens refrained from going out, the percentage change of the percentage in large greenspace visits increased very slightly in 2020. As for greenspace visitation in 2020 compared to 2019, we found that citizens generally visited greenspaces closer to their homes, actually increasing visitation of nearby (within 1000 m) greenspaces. This study of how outing behaviors and greenspace use by Kanazawa citizens have changed underscores the value of nearby greenspaces for physical and mental health during movement restrictions under the pandemic.

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its extensive variants have caused drastic changes to people’s habits and routines in many countries worldwide, including Aotearoa—New Zealand. The levels of lockdown and/or movement limitations affected how people used outdoor spaces, often keeping them away from nature’s benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to control it provide an interesting experiment investigating the links between nature exposure, recreational use of outdoor spaces, and people’s health and wellbeing under extreme conditions. Using an online survey distributed during lockdown and based on 212 responses, this article explores the different typologies of the outdoor spaces that people had access to during lockdown and the associated physical activities practised. It investigates how outdoor space affects our emotional response and how such space and related activities can help us cope with confinement. The results of this study enable us to better...

The response of African countries immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration was rapid and appropriate, with low infections and mortality rates until June 2020. Severe lock-down measures were effective in Africa; however, the reduction in the amount of natural experience influences the quality of life in modern society. This study is conducted as an international comparative study in five African countries on changes in the perception of health recovery and outdoor activities in urban forests during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted with 430 respondents to investigate the relationships between COVID-19 stress, indoor activity, appreciation of greenspaces, perception of health recovery, and use of greenspaces. A structural equation model was used for analysis. The visit frequency and staying time in urban forests after lock-down dramatically decreased, raising concerns about nature-deficit disorder across the target countries after the end of the pandemic...

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its extensive variants have caused drastic changes to people’s habits and routines in many countries worldwide, including Aotearoa—New Zealand. The levels of lockdown and/or movement limitations affected how people used outdoor spaces, often keeping them away from nature’s benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to control it provide an interesting experiment investigating the links between nature exposure, recreational use of outdoor spaces, and people’s health and wellbeing under extreme conditions. Using an online survey distributed during lockdown and based on 212 responses, this article explores the different typologies of the outdoor spaces that people had access to during lockdown and the associated physical activities practised. It investigates how outdoor space affects our emotional response and how such space and related activities can help us cope with confinement. The results of this study enable us to better understand those spatial elements and characteristics of outdoor spaces that are essential to people’s wellbeing, especially in unusual circumstances where access is restricted. View Full-Text

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking to enhance the quality of life in its cities by making the cities livable places. This study focuses on the changes that need to be made to the street design in Saudi Arabia to achieve the goals of the 2030 vision. This paper highlights the importance of aesthetics, accessibility, security and safety and walkability, which needs to be considered during street design. The analytical study uses examples from around the world of applying the basic principles of streetscape design in order to develop the streetscape approaches and recommendations in Saudi Arabia. The research emphasizes the importance of developing the urban environment visual image in the country to enhance the quality of life of both people and the city. Approaches include directing urban planners and designers to the important role of the well-designed streetscape and identifying methods of applying sustainability to streetscape design and making street pedestrian-oriented.

Public open spaces are essential for residents’ social interactions and recreational activities, improving wellbeing as well as offering economic and environmental benefits. Saudi Arabia is aiming to enhance the quality of life in all its cities through different national programs and projects. One of the key performance indicators is increasing public open space per capita from 3.47 m2 to 3.9 m2 by 2020. This study measured the current public open space per inhabitant in Jeddah by using a geographic information system to identify the types of public open spaces that make up the per capita value in the city. Jeddah is located in a rapidly developing country, and it is a re-planned city where the current status of public open spaces falls short of users’ expectations and does not meet international standards. This study suggests that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and municipalities should adopt a systematic approach to tackling the spatial distribution of open spaces in...

Spatial prophylaxis is a term in architecture that appeared after the global pandemic of COVID – 19.  This term will reshape the future of architecture and it is becoming an integral part of the future city resilience. Adapting that term in designs became mandatory for architects in order to endure the current pandemic without further spread of the virus among occupants of the space.

As we are currently preparing ourselves to welcome the new academic year, it is very important to ensure a non-infectious and safe environment between students and faculty members. Therefore, our workshop aimed to discuss and create prophylactic academic spaces within the context of MSA University.

Public open spaces are essential for residents’ social interactions and recreational activities, improving well-being as well as offering economic and environmental benefits. Saudi Arabia is aiming to enhance the quality of life in all its cities through different national programs and projects. One of the key performance indicators is increasing public open space per capita from 3.47 to 3.9 m2 by 2020. This study measured the current public open space per inhabitant in Jeddah using a geographic information system (GIS) to identify the types of public open spaces that make up the per capita value in the city. Jeddah is located in a rapidly developing country, and it is a replanned city where the current status of public open spaces falls short of users’ expectations and does not meet international standards. This study suggests that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and municipalities should adopt a systematic approach to tackling the spatial distribution of open spaces in Saudi cities. In addition, there is a need for the proactive involvement of planners, landscape architects, and designers in the planning process.

The role of public participation and engagement is a very important step before introducing a new public landscape project to any community regardless of the scale and location of the project. Encouraging open participation during the design process of public projects is shown to be important in different examples around the world. It provides understanding to the decision makers about the needs, behaviours, and culture of the community. The involvement of public in making decisions for their environment provides and enhances its value and civic pride. In Saudi Arabia, the involvement of public participation is represented by the municipal councils. The study has examined processes of the municipal council of Jeddah city, and investigated whether the council can represent the engagement of the public in making decisions about their environment. Moreover, the study has overviewed the work processes of the council to gain greater understanding of its involvement. Analytical framework has been established to examine the extent to which the council represents the needs and behaviours of the public. The study has represented a critique of the current limited engagement of the public regarding planning decisions for space creation and impact of outdoor space using patterns in Jeddah.