Experts at Harvard University have released a collection of articles focusing on healthy living. The collection identifies and examines seven core precepts: ‘what we eat’, ‘how we move’, ‘what we feel’,‘how we rest’, ‘what we moderate’, ‘how we live longer’ and ‘how we find joy’.
In one article they recommend to “spend time outdoors, it’ll improve your health.” This may be an obvious statement though we can easily forget this wisdom in our increasingly time-poor lives.
Professor of nutrition and epidemiology Heather Eliassen says that some of the benefits include “improvements in sleep, blood pressure, cognitive function and physical activity, as well as reduced risks of chronic disease, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.”
Whether it’s a picnic in the park, kicking around a soccer ball or a hike into the wilderness, there are so many health benefits to spending more time outdoors. Read the Harvard article.
“Cities should not just build green transport but actively dismantle car infrastructure”
No one likes traffic congestion and no amount of horn honking is going to get us moving. Dezeen’s writer, Phineas Harper shares how we may be able to solve this problem in an unconventional way.
Harper says, rather than building new roads we should reduce road space. He suggests “narrowing roads, replacing car lanes with bus and bike routes, removing car parking spaces from streets”. According to reports by French planner, Paul Lecroart, across 60 cities the removal of lanes has reduced traffic by 14 per cent.
“No amount of new roads will ever eliminate congestion because the more roads get built, the more people drive.”
Harper says sustainable travel activists think encouraging green transport options will reduce car addiction and congestion. He feels this idea is ‘critically flawed,’ as “car-based urbanism, electric or not, is inherently unsustainable.”
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Street Furniture Australia is donating $40,000 worth of furniture from breakout spaces from the 2022 Festival of Landscape Architecture: COUNTRY to The Murri School, an Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School in Brisbane. The collection of Linea Seats, Cubes, Curved Benches, Sun Lounges and Picnic Settings includes a pair painted by artist Casey Coolwell-Fisher, a Quandamooka, Nunukul woman of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island, Queensland) – commissioned by Street Furniture Australia and Blaklash Creative. Director of Blaklash Creative and member of the Festival Creative Directorate Troy Casey says, “A huge part of the festival was about how we can ensure that community gets something from it. We spent two days sharing our culture, our experiences, and the responsibility to positive impact. We can’t really do that without giving back to mob, …
In rapidly urbanising Seoul, the next battle is saving green spaces: “Korea is a country that does not value greenery,” professor of landscape architecture at Pusan National University, Hong Suk Hwan, told Bloomberg CityLab. It “only acknowledges the value of property.” Samgmi Cha writes about South Korean local, 34-year-old Baik SooHye inspiring the shift of devaluing green spaces in South Korea to saving these spaces. SooHye’s ‘Plant Kindergarten’ project encourages the protection of hundreds of plants that are often destroyed at construction sites across Seoul. Cha meets SooHye in her outdoor garden in western Seoul with the many plant species that she’s saved from these sites. The rescued plants are ‘adopted’ out to others who are also passionate about green spaces in Korea. SooHye says, “I see ‘Plant Kindergarten’ as my …
Gardens and public spaces can be funny as well as beautiful: Patch Adams said, “Humor is the best antidote to all ills.” And I strongly agree. Life’s lighter with more laughs. Sydney Morning Herald’s Robin Powell writes about Canadian architect Claude Cormier’s exploration with humour in Toronto’s gardens and public spaces. Claude Cormier et Associes launched in Montreal in 1994, and now has international recognition for his exclusive works in public spaces. Cormier’s projects explore the history and ecology of a place, its contemporary context and sometimes add in a little funny element too. Powell writes, “Cormier believes that not just our parks but our streetscapes can do a better job of telling stories and bringing human relationships into public space, using colour, light and a sense of humour.” Powell …
In rapidly urbanising Seoul, the next battle is saving green spaces: “Korea is a country that does not value greenery,” professor of landscape architecture at Pusan National University, Hong Suk Hwan, told Bloomberg CityLab. It “only acknowledges the value of property.” Samgmi Cha writes about South Korean local, 34-year-old Baik SooHye inspiring the shift of devaluing green spaces in South Korea to saving these spaces. SooHye’s ‘Plant Kindergarten’ project encourages the protection of hundreds of plants that are often destroyed at construction sites across Seoul. Cha meets SooHye in her outdoor garden in western Seoul with the many plant species that she’s saved from these sites. The rescued plants are ‘adopted’ out to others who are also passionate about green spaces in Korea. SooHye says, “I see ‘Plant Kindergarten’ as my …
What a ‘sponge city’ designed to withstand extreme flooding looks like: After extreme flooding in cities of China in 2012, urban designer Yu Konjian coined the term ‘sponge city’ as one solution to climate change. Lisa Abend writes for Time: “Instead of paving over the land with impermeable concrete and asphalt, he proposed adding green spaces that could act like sponges and absorb excess rain water.” Abend writes that cities aren’t built for extreme weather conditions; that building with asphalt and concrete increases heat and gives water nowhere to go. Konjian’s alternative would allow the natural flow of water in green spaces. In Australia the term ‘water sensitive urban design’ is more commonly seen than ‘sponge city’, associated with techniques to ease flooding or “filtering and storing rainwater so that …
