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THE 2021 FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
RUNNING 1-30 NOVEMBER 2021
FoSS and ESRC logos

Re-Imagining Our City Streets for Health and Sustainability

Environment Themed

What’s on offer?

This interactive online event gives audiences an opportunity to think about how they would re-imagine their local neighbourhood to be healthier and more sustainable.

Despite our hopes, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted movements outside the home for a significant portion of yet another year. It is a time when we changed a lot of our behaviours and spent a lot of time close to the home, walking on our local streets or maybe taking up cycling for the first time in many years. As we make this move back to normality, it is a perfect time to reflect on how our relationship with our neighbourhood streets has changed and how we can learn the lessons of this pandemic to build back better.

You’ll hear about short talks about the various ways city streets can influence our health and contribute to environmental sustainability from members of the Environmental Psychology Research Group at the University of Surrey. After this, you will engage in an online workshop activity where, in groups, you will design the most healthy and sustainable neighbourhood you can imagine.

What’s it about?

The event will discuss the design of our city streets and how it influences our day-to-day experiences and behaviours. Some streets may discourage health behaviours that would benefit the person and the environment, like walking and cycling.

The event will begin with four short talks from members of the Environmental Psychology Research Group at the University of Surrey. The talks will be followed by an interactive workshop activity online. In small breakout groups online, attendees will be asked to create the most healthy and sustainable neighbourhood they can imagine using an online whiteboard tool.

To facilitate this group work, attendees are asked to bring (and share) an image of the most [and least] restorative, sustainable or healthiest streets in their neighbourhood.

Who’s leading the event?

Professor Birgitta Gatersleben, University of Surrey

Professor Ian Walker, University of Surrey

Dr Eleanor Ratcliffe, University of Surrey

Dr Melissa Marselle, University of Surrey

Open to

Open to everyone

Of particular interest to

General public, young people, local government, policy makers, anyone interested in wellbeing, environment, urban design, city planning, and sustainability.

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