Co-Design Approach for Climate-Sensitive Green and Blue Spaces with Disadvantaged Urban Populations

Description

Blue and green spaces provide benefits for human well-being by mitigating the effects of climate extremes such as heatwaves and floods. They also promote mental, social, and physical health. These benefits are fundamental in urban areas where disadvantaged groups, such as children, older adults, and those with low socio-economic status, face limited accessibility to quality green and blue spaces while often being excluded from planning decisions. This project aims to counteract these barriers by addressing the needs and preferences of disadvantaged groups and including them into urban planning processes supported by geoinformation systems (GIS) and advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Focusing on Enschede, a medium-size city in the Netherlands, this interdisciplinary project uses a participatory co-design approach to bring together diverse perspectives from disadvantaged groups and decision-makers to foster collaborative and inclusive urban planning. The work is organized into four Work Packages (WP). Based on a scoping literature review we synthesize knowledge on the role of blue and green spaces in enhancing well-being for disadvantaged populations, particularly in the context of extreme weather events (WP1). Second, a case study in Enschede will gather data on the needs, perceptions, and barriers faced by disadvantaged residents using mixed methods (WP2). Third, participatory workshops will engage disadvantaged residents and decision-makers to collaboratively develop and evaluate urban planning solutions supported by GIS and AI tools (WP3). Finally, the knowledge gained throughout this process will be shared with lecturers as an optional resource to incorporate into their teaching materials (WP4). Preliminary results provide knowledge on the current state of the art in science, practical insights into the needs of disadvantaged residents, and an evaluation of the co-design workshop. These findings will inform educational initiatives and contribute to the development of climate-sensitive blue and green spaces co-designed to enhance inclusivity and well-being for disadvantaged urban populations. This project was funded by the collaboration of VU Amsterdam-University of Twente awarded to the impact program Creating Responsible Societies.

Period	2025
Event title	ISQOLS Winter Virtual Conference 2025: Advancing Well-Being and Quality of Life Studies
Event type	Conference
Location	VirtualShow on map