Istanbul Şişi Etfal Hospital: Evaluating hospital's Outdoor Space and its Effect on the User’s Health

Hospitals are widely accepted as environments full of stress not only for the patients but even for the workers who spent long hours there. In this respect environmental quality plays an important role in understanding the relationship between the people and such kind of buildings. This research will be conducted to find out the Sisli Etfal hospital user’s point of view on the outer space that surround the hospital building which by the time has changed dramatically. These rapid changes have been the driving force to establish the main aim of this research. Weather are these environmental conditions that influence significantly stress and what are the circumstances of the coping process are two issues that got answer by the end of the research. Conducted with the help of the questionnaires directed to the hospital’s users who were randomly selected, the study emphasizes the importance of the outer space to the patient health. The evaluation of the found data from the survey together with researcher’s observations of the spatial physical aspects of the outer space it is stressed the urgent need for intervention in the hospitals’ outdoors in Istanbul

Report on SHAFE policies, strategies and funding

The objective of Working Group (WG) 4 of the COST Action NET4Age-Friendly is to examine existing policies, advocacy, and funding opportunities and to build up relations with policy makers and funding organisations. Also, to synthesize and improve existing knowledge and models to develop from effective business and evaluation models, as well as to guarantee quality and education, proper dissemination and ensure the future of the Action. The Working Group further aims to enable capacity building to improve interdisciplinary participation, to promote knowledge exchange and to foster a cross-European interdisciplinary research capacity, to improve cooperation and co-creation with cross-sectors stakeholders and to introduce and educate students SHAFE implementation and sustainability (CB01, CB03, CB04, CB05). To enable the achievement of the objectives of Working Group 4, the Leader of the Working Group, the Chair and Vice-Chair, in close cooperation with the Science Communication Coordinator, developed a template (see annex 1) to map the current state of SHAFE policies, funding opportunities and networking in the COST member countries of the Action. On invitation, the Working Group lead received contributions from 37 countries, in a total of 85 Action members. The contributions provide an overview of the diversity of SHAFE policies and opportunities in Europe and beyond. These were not edited or revised and are a result of the main areas of expertise and knowledge of the contributors; thus, gaps in areas or content are possible and these shall be further explored in the following works and reports of this WG. But this preliminary mapping is of huge importance to proceed with the WG activities. In the following chapters, an introduction on the need of SHAFE policies is presented, followed by a summary of the main approaches to be pursued for the next period of work. The deliverable finishes with the opportunities of capacity building, networking and funding that will be relevant to undertake within the frame of Working Group 4 and the total COST Action. The total of country contributions is presented in the annex of this deliverable

A hierarchical definitional framework for a heterogeneous context: housing typologies in Tirana, Albania

Purpose: The proposed definitional framework can be used to define housing typologies of cities in developing countries. It aims to define housing typologies in the capital city of Albania, Tirana, using the proposed hierarchical framework within the dynamics of four political periods: Ottoman, establishment, socialist and postsocialist. Design/methodology/approach: This study proposes a new definitional approach for the housing typologies through a hierarchical framework that defines the typologies based on their political period and legality statuses departing from the case of Tirana, which is featured by a heterogeneous context. Such context is characterized by uncontrollable urban development, making typology definition problematic. Furthermore, beyond the form, spatial and functional features, it presents their exterior distinctiveness as an innovative element. The methodology used in the study includes archival research, image documentation, spatial, functional and exterior distinctiveness analysis of housing typologies and exploration of housing form features in different political periods. Findings: The study identifies urban formal housing typologies in Tirana detached houses, apartments, mass housing, social housing, gated communities, informal detached houses and housing with in/formal additions. Originality/value: This definitional approach can be used to define housing typologies for cities featured by heterogeneous urban context.Publisher's Versio