Current & recent projects
GreenHealth
In brief: A four-year collaborative study exploring public and individual perceptions of the environment, as well as objective measures of its character and quality, specifically as they relate to people’s health and well-being.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Lynette Robertson, Jenny Roe, Peter Aspinall, Affonso Zuin and Simon Bell.
Client / funding body: Scottish Government Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate (RERAD)
FREE resource: Official project website
News: New OPENspace findings at GreenHealth conference
I'DGO TOO (Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors Phase 2): Pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods
In brief: A longitudinal study into the effects of living in ‘shared space’ residential streets on older people’s activity patterns, wellbeing and quality of life.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Susana Alves, Peter Aspinall, Affonso Zuin, Lynette Robertson, Angela Curl, Archie Young, Catherine Millington and Jenny Roe.
Client / funding body: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
FREE resource: Summary findings leaflet, published May 2012, 4 pages, full-colour, pdf download
News: I'DGO awarded diploma in major international prize
Woods in and Around Towns (WIAT): influences on psychological wellbeing in deprived urban areas
In brief: A four-year, collaborative assessment of the effectiveness of Forestry Commission Scotland’s Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme to improve quality of life in deprived communities along Scotland’s ‘central belt’.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Eva Silveirinha de Oliveira
Client / funding body: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
FREE resource: Full project profile on the NIHR website
News: You really should get out more!
Going Outdoors: Falls, Ageing & Resilience (Go Far)
In brief: A year-long pilot study taking a multi-disciplinary approach to exploring the relationship between older people, outdoor falls and the design of the external environment
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter Aspinall, Angela Curl
Client / funding body: Lifelong Health and Wellbeing: a major cross-council initiative led by the Medical Research Council
FREE resource: Introductory poster, published December 2011, full-colour, pdf download
News: OPENspace Director at LLHW Showcase
Community green: using local spaces to tackle inequality and improve health
In brief: The largest study of its kind in England, the collaborative Community Green project investigates the inter-relationship between urban green space, inequality, ethnicity, health and wellbeing.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Jenny Roe, Peter Aspinall, Affonso Zuin, Penny Travlou and Simon Bell.
Client / funding body: CABE Space, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
FREE resource: Research summary, published July 2010, 12 pages, full-colour, pdf download
News: CABE publishes Community Green - a ground-breaking study by OPENspace
PLUREL, Peri-urban Land Use Relationships
In brief: A project to develop the strategies and planning and forecasting tools essential for developing sustainable rural-urban land use relationships in the EU.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter Aspinall, Simon Bell, Susana Alves, Affonso Zuin and Alicia Montarzino.
Client / funding body: 6th Research Framework Programme of the European Union
FREE resource: Synthesis report, published May 2011, 148 pages, full-colour, pdf download
News: Springer publishes Peri-urban futures
Developing a Network-Based Creative Community: Electronic Literature as a Model of Creativity and Innovation in Practice (ELMCIP)
In brief: A three-year collaborative investigation of how creative communities of practitioners form within a transnational and transcultural context in a globalized and distributed communication environment.
OPENspace research team: Penny Travlou.
Client / funding body: Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) Joint Research Programme for Creativity and Innovation
FREE resource: Official project website
News: OPENspace Research Fellow participates in inaugural ELMCIP meeting
SPARColl, Scottish Physical Activity Research Collaboration
In brief: A project to assess the effectiveness of interventions to increase people’s physical activity, particularly through walking.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Catherine Millington and Lynette Robertson.
Client / funding body: Scottish Government through NHS Health Scotland
FREE resource: Official project website
News: OPENspace researcher speaks at 43rd annual EDRA conference
European COST Action E39: Forests, Trees and Human Health and Wellbeing
In brief: A project to increase the knowledge about the contribution that forests, trees and natural places make, and might make, to the health and wellbeing of people in Europe.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson and Simon Bell.
Client / funding body: European Cooperation in Science and Technology (EU COST)
FREE resource: Official project website
Resource to buy: Forests, Trees and Human Health (ISBN: 978-90-481-9805-4)
News: Forests, Trees and Human Health book launched
European COST Action E33: Forests for Recreation and Nature Tourism (FORREC)
In brief: A four-year project to assess how forests are currently managed for socio-recreational purposes across Europe and to identify and promote good practice in this area.
OPENspace research team: Simon Bell.
Client / funding body: European Cooperation in Science and Technology (EU COST)
FREE resource: Official project website
Resource to buy: Management of Recreation and Nature Based Tourism in European Forests (ISBN: 978-3-642-03144-1)
News: Management of Recreation and Nature Based Tourism in European Forests launched
Wild Adventure Space: its role in teenagers’ lives
In brief: An exploration of what contribution the natural environment can make in relation to current debates about young people today.
OPENspace research team: Catharine Ward Thompson, Penny Travlou, Jenny Roe and Anna Orme.
Client / funding body: Natural England
FREE Resource: Full report, published May 2010, 70 pages, colour diagrams, pdf download
News: Natural England publishes OPENspace research on wild adventure space and young people’s needs
