Salus journal

Healthy Planet. Healthy People.

Cities / Healthy Cities

Healthy City Design 2017

Tranquil City

By Julie Godefroy, Grant Waters, Diana Sanchez and Ben Warren 23 Oct 2017 0

Amid the growth in urban living, an often-forgotten need is for respite from stress, congestion and pollution. Indeed, the notion of tranquility is often associated with escaping from the city. This poster presents the work of Tranquil City, a non-commercial initiative exploring the meaning of tranquility in London, promoting its incorporation so that cities can respond better to human needs.

Abstract

Amid the growth in urban living, an often-forgotten need is for respite from stress, congestion and pollution. Indeed, the notion of tranquility is often associated with escaping from the city. This poster presents the work of Tranquil City, a non-commercial initiative exploring the meaning of tranquility in London, promoting its incorporation so that cities can respond better to human needs.

Tranquil City is based on a crowdsourced approach using the Instagram social platform, engaging citizens to post images and videos of “their” tranquil spaces via the tag #tranquilcitylondon. The collated spaces then create the Tranquil Pavement Map, freely accessible online.

Information on noise and air pollution has also been added to the map, which uses large public datasets but with information prioritised and simplified. Visually, it focuses on positive appeal, highlighting areas of low noise and pollution. This approach is being tested through early adopters and dissemination events.

An initial analysis was carried out on the characteristics of crowdsourced tranquil spaces. A large majority show strong design and soundscape elements related to nature. The city is not necessarily absent though, as the majority of spaces also include built structures. Interestingly, many spaces are not “flagship” green London areas but rather small and disseminated. Many are routes rather than destinations, highlighting the opportunity to contribute to the promotion of low-impact transport and active lifestyles.

An initial analysis was also conducted on noise and air pollution levels. On average, tranquil spaces offer (unsurprisingly) lower exposure levels, although in some contexts relatively high noise levels still seem to allow tranquility (at least for some users). A comparison was made of sample A-to-B routes with alternative routes through tranquil spaces, identifying potentially significant reductions in exposure levels.

Overall, Tranquil City can support existing environmental and health and wellbeing initiatives on transport and urban design; it also adds layers and highlights further opportunities for citizen engagement through its crowdsourced and open approach, inclusive of subjective aspects. 


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