Brief
Monday, 27 January 2014
Choose any city in the world; and develop and present a design proposal which will improve the lives of its citizens.
World Happiness Report
Monday, 27 January 2014
Below are the top 20 happiest countries, apparently.
The UK is nowhere to be seen.
Safety and aesthetics are more important to residents than more direct routes to destinations or an increase in the number of streets and parks. If we want people to walk more, it is a matter of the quality, not the quantity, of routes.
Pace Of Life
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Londoners also walk pretty fast.
— Adapted from the Quirkology Pace of Life Project
Cutting The Corner
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Looking at the routes we take to/from the office and the preference to avoid the major arteries of the city.
What about providing areas to slow Londoners down? Little “eddies” along their routes? Diversions? Whatever it is, it mustn’t feel forced or heavy-handed.
Traffic calming for the soul.
Having researched the impact of cities on mental health and well being, we have decided to explore the possibility of creating shared experiences with both friends and strangers in day to day life. This is being done by developing “Street Escapes”: interactive or unusual streetscapes that encourage discussion, thought and play. We are focussing in particular on the area surrounding the Ramboll London office and are integrating the concepts we have into the construction phases of inner-city projects to improve safety and relations with the public.
Tracing Routes
Friday, 14 February 2014
A little side-study using public data from RunKeeper to map movement by bike and by foot through Fitzrovia and the surrounding areas.
It’s clear from this (and from standing in the street!) that lots of people pass through this area every day. That’s a large number of lives that we can affect with our proposals.