In our latest issue of City Limits, we looked at why making cities easier places to live is a blueprint for all our futures…
City Limits Volume 11 – download it here.
The 11th issue of City Limits – our regular exploration of what’s happening in cities around the world – we wanted to celebrate the spaces where people feel welcome. Where marginalised groups don’t feel fear, the places to escape noise and clutter (to avoid sensory overload), and where barriers to participation are fewer.
We describe it as Enabling Spaces – the search for ways to make cities more pleasurable, for more people.
One of our articles was a roadmap for why inclusive urban planning should enable more of us to live with ease tomorrow: to bring more support in old age, healing spaces and play into our childhoods…
Physical Access: The Aging Population
Almost all of us at one time or another will need to have specific needs met as we age, whether that’s due to deteriorating eyesight, hearing or memory, or from experiencing intellectual, sensory or physical challenges. We will need homes that cater for these life events, and the housing industry is starting to plan — and build — for enabling a better future for seniors.
By 2050, the global population of people in
(World Health Organization, 2022)
their 80s will be three times what it is today
Case Study
New York, Sol on Park
A building that aids social inclusivity
Moving from… the insular layout of traditional senior living housing, the latest projects in this area focus on improving the walkability of the community, both in terms of the layout and paths but also its accessibility to the kinds of amenities and places people want to go.
Sustainability: Our Need For Nature
Building with nature — a green infrastructure — is one route to mitigate for cities surviving in hotter, wet, less predictable climate. But it is also being incorporated to help inhabitants feel connected to the outside world. In our built-up cities, biophilic design can feel healing; our cities as a place where the human and the natural can coil together.
Living near green spaces could add 2.5 years
(Science Advances, US, 2023)
to your life
Case Study
Singapore, Enabling Village
A biophilic design that fosters connection
Moving from… being disconnected in the city, the Enabling Village is a hub for retail, lifestyle, and community with a biophilic design. The spacious layout features in and outdoor areas and allows for room for everyone to enjoy the space with buildings that are seamlessly connected by ramps, landings and lifts.
Everyday Freedoms: Play & Curiosity
Children have lost door-step play, especially in our cities. But levelling up access to urban play space is gaining momentum. And it’s not just children who benefit — cities that integrate elements of play and curiosity will foster conversation and community for all ages.
Play should be prescribed for parents
(American Academy of Paediatricians and the UK Children’s
and their children
Commissioner, 2018)
Case Study
Bhubaneswar, Child-Friendly Smart City
City planning for play
Moving from… play as a separate space, the ancient city is aiming to be the country’s first official ‘child-friendly city’ within the fast-growing Urban95 global network: an initiative that asks city planners: “If you could experience a city from 95 centimetres high – the height of a three-year-old – what
would you change?”
City Limits Volume 11 – download it here.