This book explores new forms and modalities of relations between people and space that increasingly affect the life of the city. The investigation takes as its starting point the idea that in contemporary societies the loss of our relationship with place is a symptom of a breakdown in the relationship between ethics and aesthetics. This in turn has caused a crisis not only in taste, but also in our sense of beauty, our aesthetic instinct, and our moral values. It has also led to the loss of our engagement with the landscape, which is essential for cities to function. The authors argue that new, fertile forms of interaction between people and space are now happening in what they call the ‘intermediate space’, at the border of “urban normality” and those parts of a city where citizens experiment with unconventional social practices. This new interaction engenders a collective conscience, giving a new and productive vigor to the actions of individuals and also their relations with their environment. These new relations emerge only after we abandon what is called the “therapeutic illusion of space”, which still exists today, and which binds in a deterministic manner the quality of civitas, the associative life of people in the city, to the quality of urban space. Projects for the city should, instead, have as their keystone the notion of social action as a return to a critical perspective, to a courageous acceptance of social responsibility, at the same time as seeking the generative structures of urban life in which civitas and urbs again acknowledge each other.

Responds to current need for guidance on inclusive design in outdoor environments Deals with all situations, urban and rural Highly visual presentation Includes contributions from leading names in landscape, architecture and design

This book is an edited collection of seven chapters on the theme of ‘people and space interactions in different settings’. Using a variety of problems, it showcases a rich set of solutions to the global challenges of functional, sustainable and responsive habitats in both urban and rural environments. The book deals with cultural landscapes, sustainable housing settings, the environment and human response, spatial epidemiology, neighbourhood and health, and the subjectivity-objectivity continuum in man-environment research. The studies apply a variety of social research methods and strategies relevant to the study of human interaction with its environment. Collectively they serve as templates for direction in modern social science research methodology built on evidence-based scientific inquiry of the built environment. It can guide both young and seasoned researchers in considering appropriate responses to various social research problems, including assessing various options in research process innovation. A recurrent lesson from the individual studies, and significant contribution of the volume, is that each research endeavor needs to be based on a firm philosophical grounding as this goes a long way in determining the type of data to be collected, and the ways that they are analysed and interpreted. Taking a cross-disciplinary perspective, this edited collection should be of interest to scholars of geography, anthropology, sociology, epidemiology, urban planning, architecture, and above all environment-behaviour studies.

A small number of countries, regions, cities, and localities are powerful gatekeepers and generate the bulk of creative and innovative ideas, while the majority is largely excluded. This book looks at neglected, but emerging innovation centres analysed from various spatial and organizational perspectives; ranging from entire countries and regions to individual firms and small neighbourhoods. Bringing together leading scholars from various disciplines, it examines a variety of economic sectors including biotechnology, agrotourism, and the food retail industry. The authors employ various, often contradictory, concepts, ranging from local buzz and the global pipeline, through an analysis of collective learning processes to geographical embeddedness, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The purpose of the book is twofold: investigating changes occurring in the regions and cities under transformation and attempting to find common and unique mechanisms behind these changes. Consequently, the authors shed light on the scale and scope of the innovativeness of selected economic and social processes.

In this volume, academics and researchers across disciplines including education, psychology and health studies come together to discuss personal, political and professional narratives of struggle, resilience and hope. Contributors draw from a rich body of auto/biographical research to examine the role of narrative and how it can be constructed to compose a life story, considering the roles of significant others, inspirational, educational and fictional characters, and those in myth and legend. The book discusses how personal narrative, often neglected in social and psychological enquiry, can be a valuable resource across a range of settings. Reference is made to the evolving role of narrative in education and health care, medicine and psychotherapy. This includes how particular narratives are hardwired into culture in ways that stifle personal and social understanding. Rather than providing a ‘how to’ guide, the book illustrates the range and power of narrative, including poetry, to re-awaken senses of self and agency in extremis. Each chapter draws on specific research, describing the context, explaining the methodology, and illuminating important findings. Discussing implications for research and practice, this book will be key reading for postgraduate and doctoral students in auto/biographical and narrative studies, and across a range of disciplines, including education, health and social care, politics, counselling and psychotherapy. It will be of interest to academics teaching research methods, and those developing biographical and auto/biographical narrative research.

Designing Public Spaces in Hospitals illustrates that in addition to their aesthetic function, public spaces in hospitals play a fundamental role concerning people’s satisfaction and experience of health care. The book highlights how spatial properties, such as accessibility, visibility, proximity, and intelligibility affect people’s behavior and interactions in hospital public spaces. Based on the authors’ research, the book includes detailed analysis of three hospitals and criteria that can support the design in circulation areas, arrival and entrance, first point of welcome, reception, and the interface between city and hospital. Illustrated with 150 black and white images.