The influence of the quality of the built environment on social cohesion in English neighbourhoods

High quality built environments are promoted in urban planning and design in the UK on the grounds that they support positive social activity and behaviour. There is a severe lack of empirical evidence examining these concepts holistically, and there is little evidence to support such claims made in theory, policy and practice in the UK. Therefore, the aim of this research is to determine the relationship, if any, between the quality of the built environment and social cohesion in English neighbourhoods. As quality seems to be a multi-faceted concept, a further aim is to identify those features of quality of the built environment most likely to support social cohesion in English neighbourhoods. The methodology adopted in this research is primarily quantitative and takes the form of a large-scale multivariate investigation of the influence of quality of the built environment on social cohesion, both of which were operationalized as a series of indicators. The data were collected using a number of different methods including a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview, and the nature and extent of relationships were investigated through statistical analysis. The findings show that a number of features of quality of the built environment are • significantly associated with dimensions of social cohesion, however the nature and extent of the associations vary from feature to feature. There is consistent evidence to suggest that features of quality of the built environment, on the whole, do positively contribute to residents' sense of community, feelings of trust and reciprocity, feelings of safety, and sense of place attachment. These findings support existing policy to varying degrees and, on the whole, support claims made in the current UK government's 'sustainable communities' plan and associated policies. This research provides tools for further empirical investigation which include a set of indicators which express the abstract concepts of quality and social cohesion in operational terms and a method of neighbourhood delineation which takes into account residents' perceptions of neighbourhood boundaries. It makes a contribution to the extensive body of theoretical, and to a lesser extent, empirical evidence to shed light on the relationship between the physical environment and social activity and behaviour

A cost-efficiency analysis of European air navigation service providers

Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) as the third major component of the aviation industry have been less of a focus in research than their airline and airport counterparts. In this paper we analyse European ANSPs cost structures using a stochastic frontier analysis approach within a Bayesian estimation framework in order to incorporate regularity conditions. Our results show that ownership is not directly impacting neither the ANSPs cost structures nor their cost efficiencies and that the European ANSPs are operating on the increasing return to scale part of the technology, hence supporting the choice of ANSPs agglomeration

Examining the Concept of Liveability in Urban Neighbourhoods in Iskandar Malaysia

Liveability is a critical concept in urban planning and geography. It is well-used in planning policy with different geographical contexts; however, there are limitations in understanding this concept in the Malaysian context. This research examines the relationship of liveability between people and places in their daily lives in urban neighbourhoods through residents' perceptions. Quantitative data collected in 5 urban neighbourhoods in Iskandar Malaysia suggests that liveability must correspond to residents' requirements for good quality facilities and services, good neighbourhood conditions and positive community engagement.   Keywords: Liveability Dimensions; Policy Interpretation; Urban Neighbourhood; Iskandar Malaysia eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i18.308

Place-keeping for health? Charting the challenges for urban park management in practice

There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the health and well-being benefits of urban green spaces. There is less evidence on the effect of the management of such spaces on our health and well-being. This paper attempts to address this gap in knowledge by calling on empirical evidence collected in the United Kingdom (UK) city of Sheffield. Interviews conducted with professionals and community groups involved in the management of six district parks are analysed using the place-keeping analytical framework. The results highlight the overriding importance of local and national policy regarding how they inform the availability of funding, which is increasingly dependent on partnerships, and governance arrangements to contribute to a park’s maintenance, which is monitored through evaluation. The findings show how policies without funding can jeopardise the effective management of parks and how the concept of making park management a statutory service might have more traction if we consider its contribution to people’s health

Working out what works: The role of tacit knowledge where urban greenspace research, policy and practice intersect

Policymakers and practitioners working in urban greenspace management want to know what kind of interventions are effective in promoting mental wellbeing. In practice, however, they rely on multiple forms of knowledge, often in unwritten form. This paper considers how such knowledge is interpreted and used by a range of stakeholders to identify greenspace interventions to support residents' health and wellbeing in one UK city. It examines the interface between academic research, policy and practice, drawing on the findings of a three-year study in Sheffield, UK. The Improving Wellbeing through the Urban Nature project investigated the links between 'urban nature' and mental health. One strand of the research sought to influence policy and practice, and this article presents findings and reflects on some of the processes of this exercise. It highlights the role of tacit knowledge in practice and its influence on practitioners' choice of greenspace interventions and the challenges in drawing on such knowledge to influence policy. The findings affirm practice-based knowledge as socially situated, interpretively fashioned and politically weighted. This paper concludes by demonstrating the importance of considering the local context when devising policy prescriptions for greenspace provision and management

The development and acceptability of an educational and training intervention for recruiters to neonatal trials : the TRAIN project

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