Active Design

Active design is a set of building and planning principles that promote physical activity.[1] Active design in a building, landscape or city design integrates physical activity into the occupants' everyday routines, such as walking to the store or making a photocopy.[2] Active design involves urban planners, architects, transportation engineers, public health professionals, community leaders and other professionals in building places that encourage physical activity as an integral part of life.[3] While not an inherent part of active design, most designers employing "active design" are also concerned with the productive life of their buildings and their building's ecological footprint.[4]

History

Recognizing that physical inactivity was a significant factor in decreased life spans, notably because it promoted obesity, high blood pressure and high blood glucose, all precursors of early death, those responsible for planning in New York City developed a set of guidelines that, inter alia, they hoped would promote health by promoting physical activity. They released these guidelines in January 2010.[5] The guidelines were also based on concerns about building longevity and ecological costs, which is generally known as "sustainable design".[6] Impetus for the guidelines began in 2006 with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) who then partnered with the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter to hold a series of conferences known as the "Fit City" conferences.[3][5]

Four key concepts came out of this process:[2]

  1. Buildings should encourages greater physical movement within them for users and visitors
  2. Cities should provide recreational spaces that are accessible and encourage physical activity for a variety of ages, interests, and abilities[7]
  3. Transportation systems in cities should encourage physical activity and should protect non-motor vehicle use
  4. Cities, market areas and buildings should provide ready access to food and healthy eating environments [8]

From New York City the active design movement spread throughout the United States[9] and the world.[10]

Goals

Sickness can lead to not working efficiently and effectively. Ineffective workers in the work force cause harm to the company and the people in the community. Active design strives to impact public health not only physically but also mentally and socially. For example, active design in transportation supports a safe and vibrant environment for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders. It creates buildings that encourage greater physical movement within a building by both users and visitors. The active design of recreation sites shapes play and activity spaces for people of different ages, interests, and abilities. Also, improved food accessibility can improve nutrition in communities that need it the most.

Effects

There are few studies of the effects of implementing active design concepts, but they are in general agreement that the physical activity of occupants is increased. Moving to an active design building seemed to have physical health benefits for workers, but workers’ perceptions on productivity about the new work environment have varied. A study reported that staff moved into an active design building decreased the time spent sitting by 1.2h/day.[11] There was no significant increase in self-rated quality of work or work related motivation but there was no negative feedback in these areas.[12]

Implementation

Active design concepts may be applied in remodeling or repurposing existing buildings and landscapes. Some elements include widening sidewalks and crosswalks; installing traffic calming elements that slow driving speeds; making stairs that are accessible, visible, attractive, and well-lit; making recreation areas, such as parks, plazas, and playgrounds, more accessible by pedestrians and cyclists.[13] People would be more likely to be active if places for recreation were within walking distance.[14]

There are a number of concerns with the adoption of active design programmes. Developing communities are not always accepting of new forms of architecture and living. Integration of active design may come in conflict with making sure historical culture survives. Vernacular architecture may be abandoned due to it being considered insufficient or uncomfortable.[15]

Future

The future of active design may be to further incorporate requirements into law, as in the city of New York which set active design guidelines to improve public health in the city.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Active Design". Sport England.
  2. 1 2 Lacasse, Marieke; Nienaber, Suzanne (November 2015). "Get Active: Implement Active Design in Your Neighborhoods and Open Spaces" (PDF). The American Society of Landscape Architects. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 "FitCity 10: Promoting Physical Activity Through Design". American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Fit-City 2: Promoting Physical Activity through Design" (PDF). American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. 2007. pp. 10–11. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Karen K. (2012). "Developing and implementng the active design guidelines in New York City". Health & Place. 18 (1): 5–7.
  6. ↑ "Active Design". New York City Department of Design and Construction. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016.
  7. ↑ Thompson, Catharine Ward (2013). "Activity, exercise and the planning and design of outdoor spaces". Journal of Environmental Psychology. 34: 79–96. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.01.003.
  8. ↑ Huang, Terry T. K.; et al. (2013). "Peer Reviewed: Healthy Eating Design Guidelines for School Architecture". Preventing Chronic Disease. 10. PMC 3592783 Freely accessible. doi:10.5888/pcd10.120084.
  9. ↑ Millard, Bill (2010). "Active Design Approaches Critical Mass". Oculus. Vol. 72. New York.
  10. ↑ Millard, Bill (2012). "Active Design - urban bones, human muscles: in Spain, Italy, NYC, and elsewhere, architects and their multidisciplinary partners are reshaping the built environment to improve health using research, outreach, and site-specific, scale-specific creativity". Oculus. Vol. 74 no. 4. New York. pp. 24–27. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016.
  11. ↑ Wang, Zhe (2014). "Nearby outdoor environments and seniors physical activities". Frontiers of Architectural Research. 3 (3): 265–270. doi:10.1016/j.foar.2014.04.002.
  12. ↑ Engelen, L.; et al. (2016). "Do active design buildings change health behaviour and workplace perceptions?" (PDF). Occupational Medicine. 66 (5): 408–411. doi:10.1093/occmed/kqv213. (Subscription required (help)).
  13. ↑ "Our approach to Active Design". Center for Active Design.
  14. ↑ Haider, Jawald; Aeschbacher, Peter; Bose, Mallika; Rivera, Danielle (2013). "Active living in small town America: an approach to parks and recreation planning and design". Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes. 33: 345–359. doi:10.1080/14601176.2013.820922. (Subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ http://0-eds.a.ebscohost.com.ignacio.usfca.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f05c2c1b-356f-4bce-800d-13c3aeecda9e%40sessionmgr4010&vid=1&hid=4210 (Unknown document)
  16. ↑ City of New York (2010). "Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Actitity and Heath in Design" (PDF). New York City: Center for Active Design.

Further reading

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