Sitting outside: conviviality, self-care and the design of benches in urban public space

The urban bench has been romanticised as a location of intimacy and benign social serendipity and problematized with regard to perceptions of unwelcome loitering. In this paper we explore embodied practices of sitting on benches, within an urban context characterised by corporate-led regeneration and impacted by austerity urbanism, imperial history and ongoing racisms. Our schizocartographic methodology enables us to attend to the differentiated and shifting subjectivities and temporalities of bench users, and to emerging counter histories of space. The research is based on the case study of a central square in Woolwich, south-east London. This involved an eclectic combination of methods, including film-making, ethnography and interviews, and a cross-sectoral team of activists, academics and artist. The paper starts by conceptually framing public space with respect to lived experiences of marginalisation, arguing that architectural design is intrinsic to understanding micro-geographies of conviviality and care. The case study material is used first to provide a visual sketch of sitting and watching others in the square and then to address conviviality and the value of visibility and relative proximity in framing a mostly un-panicked multiculture. Thirdly, we discuss agentic, yet critically aware, acts of self-care. Finally, our focus shifts to the design of the benches and the ‘touching experiences’ of bodies sat in various ways, impacted by structural inequalities, yet differentiated by the particularities of individual or collective priorities. In conclusion we argue that attending to the precision of sitting on a bench can illuminate multiple temporalities of urban change in relation to both individual subjectivities and hegemonic structures. Further, the counter histories that emerge can inform policy and practice for inclusive urban design

Landscape Experience and Migration: Superdiversity and the Significance of Urban Public Open Space

This thesis examines how first generation migrants experience urban outdoor places, detailing significant findings and methodological development relating to two research projects. The research is located in Sheffield, England. The first research project (Viewfinder) focuses on young refugees and asylum seekers exploring citywide greenspaces and parks. The second project (Walking Voices) addresses a neighbourhood scale of interest, working with first generation migrant residents to communicate their own stories and experiences of their local area. Creative and participatory research methods were developed for on-site work, using photography and independent audio recording. The research found that spending time outside is an important means by which first generation migrants feel a sense of agency and belonging in a neighbourhood context. Though the research supports use of urban greenspace as beneficial to individual and collective wellbeing, it underlines the critical importance of understanding cultural dimensions – motivations and barriers - to visiting parks and other types of greenspace. Evaluation of a local environment is often shaped by migrants’ experiences of past places, and previous expectations of life in the UK. Place attachment is strengthened by participation and familiarity in a local located community, and often by recognising transcultural connections. The overlapping use of public space by people from different ethnic communities offers opportunities for gradual informal contact and gives a visual shared recognition to the diversity of a neighbourhood. However, the ability to make choices about when to engage with one’s own ethnic group, and when to retreat from the expectations of this ‘public gaze’ was also valued. The thesis examines the implications of these findings for landscape architecture practice, and emphasises that the profession needs to become more culturally literate in responding to the superdiversity of urban contexts, and to difference in social and cultural values with regard to recreation, socialising, and natural places

Design for Diversity: Intercultural Outdoor Places

This publication is a report on the Design for Diversity: Intercultural Outdoor Places symposium that was held on 13th May 2015 at the Showroom in Sheffield, UK. The symposium was organised by the Transnational Urban Outdoors (TUO) research group based at the Department of Landscape, The University of Sheffield. Six speakers from both practice and academia addressed topics related to the value of parks as places of shared leisure, the importance of central locations and how sitting outside can both reflect ethnic diversity and support local cohesion. The publication also includes discussion summaries and links to audio recordings of all talks

Participation and wellbeing in urban greenspace: ‘curating sociability’ for refugees and asylum seekers

This paper examines how asylum seekers and refugees experience urban greenspaces. Whilst often overlooked in a focus on support services and integration, we argue that critically exploring the importance of urban greenspaces has wider implications for understanding how asylum seekers and refugees navigate experiences of displacement and resettlement. Drawing on empirical work foregrounding refugee experiences in Berlin, London, and Sheffield, we found that spending time outdoors in local recreational spaces such as parks, can have positive outcomes for wellbeing and inclusion, with the potential to support respite and the beginnings of belonging. However, though there were multiple positive accounts, especially of busier parks and of appreciating nature, many participants were uncertain or anxious about using parks. The interviews highlight the multiple barriers faced by asylum seekers and refugees, regarding information, legibility and in gaining the cultural capital and confidence needed venture out. The varied experiences reflect the diversity of greenspace typologies in Northern European cities, and also how individuals weight up public perceptions and, for some, the insecurity of their legal status. In unpacking the interaction between these barriers, we define and propose ‘curated sociability’ approaches as possible frameworks for supporting egalitarian participation and offering pathways to greater engagement. We conclude by highlighting a range of interventions that offer situated opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees to engage with urban greenspaces, and which provide insights into how the expectations and rules of urban greenspace are actively negotiated and may be rewritten

Contextualised convivialities in superdiverse neighbourhoods – methodological approaches informed by urban design

his paper positions questions of conviviality as situational as well as relational, and describes and reflects on methods which give due precedence to different spatial scales, materialities and timeframes. In this urban design research project our central question focused on the affordances and value of different local outdoor public spaces for supporting conviviality in an ethnically diverse neighbourhood in Sheffield UK. This neighbourhood had become known for tensions, played out in outdoor public spaces, resulting in part from social dynamics between more recent arrivals and relatively settled communities. We built trust by embedding responsiveness and shared benefit as key ethical commitments in our practice alongside learning about spatial and temporal dimensions of encounter across difference. Building on our urban design professional skills relating to place enquiry and understanding, we tested walking, photography, drawing, making and mapping methods including collaborating with local groups. These allowed us to develop theoretical understandings of conviviality as a pluralistic construct, fundamentally informed, shaped and responsive to the complexities of context – including socio-economic place-based histories, physical environments and ongoing social negotiations

Ethnographic understandings of ethnically diverse neighbourhoods to inform urban design practice

The aim of this paper is to inform urban design practice through deeper understanding and analysis of the social dynamics of public outdoor space in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. We hypothesise that findings from ethnographic research can provide a resource that improves cultural literacy and supports social justice in professional practice. The primary method is a meta-synthesis literature review of 24 ethnographic research papers, all of which explore some dimensions of public open space use and values in UK urban contexts characterised by ethnic and racial diversity. We summarise thematic understandings and significance of neighbourhood places of shared activity, parks, spaces of passing-by and of retreat. We evaluate the implications for intercultural social dynamics, exploring the spatial and temporal dimensions of conviviality and racism in public open space. We then argue that it is possible to develop principles for urban design practice informed by this work, and propose four for discussion: maximising straightforward participation, legitimising diversity of activity, designing in micro-retreats of nearby quietness and addressing structural inequalities of open space provision. We conclude that ethnographic research can provide detailed insights into the use of the public realm and also inform a more nuanced understanding of outdoor sociality relevant for an increasingly diverse society. The challenge is two-fold: for ethnographers to become less cautious in engaging with decisions and priorities regarding how cities change, and for urban designers to explicitly embed informed understandings of difference into their broad desire for inclusive public space

Conviviality by design : the socio-spatial qualities of spaces of intercultural urban encounters

This paper presents findings from a mixed-method research project which explored use of outdoor spaces and social connections in Bradford, a post-industrial city in the north of England with a highly ethnically diverse population. Data was collected through micro-scale behavioural mapping of public spaces (analysed using GIS) and both on-site and in-depth interviews. The integration of these methods allows a focus on intersectional identities and social values for everyday conviviality situated in different typologies of public open spaces (parks, squares, streets) in city centre and suburban neighbourhoods. The analysis offers nuanced insights into the socio-spatial aspects of conviviality: patterns of activity by diverse users, situations in which encounters are prompted, and the implications of negotiating differences in relation to perceptions of self, others, and the environment. We discuss the relevance of the urban public realm for shared understandings of diversity, qualities of visibility, lingering and playfulness, and the importance of threshold spaces. We explore racialised and excluding experiences and how these relate to mobility and territorial patterns of use, specifically with relation to gender. The paper highlights connections between intercultural encounters and urban design practice, with implications for well-being and integration in ethnically diverse urban areas

Novelty and nostalgia in urban greenspace:Refugee perspectives

This paper investigates migrants' perceptions and experiences of urban greenspaces. The research used innovative participatory and visual (photography) methods and the 12 week programme included visits to 10 greenspaces in Sheffield. The participants were all asylum seekers and refugees from Asia and Africa. This paper discusses how and why the participants engaged or disengaged with local greenspace in the short and medium term. In particular, the importance of memory and nostalgia in participants' experiences; the significance of plants; the novelty of visiting British 'parks'; and the role of greenspace in enhancing the quality of life of immigrants are explored. The paper concludes that a positive impression of the local environment and meaningful participation in it can be a useful component of integration into a new society. Furthermore, recognition of landscape elements or characteristics can provide a conceptual link between former and new homes. However, for this refugee group many physical and psychological barriers must be overcome if the full benefits of urban public open space are to be realised.</p