Parks and Places for Socialization and Well-being
by Brad Smith, PLA, ASLA, AICP
Just when I thought that things were getting back to normal, this Delta Variant is cropping up its ugly head. Several friends are sick with it; two are hospitalized and facing serious challenges.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the course of the past year and a half, it’s the wonderfully restorative nature of being outdoors. There’s a marvelous re-set that comes from going outside to get a breath of fresh air. It clears your head. And, who doesn’t enjoy dinner or a glass of wine together with friends in a lovely outdoor garden setting?
With this in mind, my friend Leah Diehl and I submitted a speaking proposal for last year’s Environments for the Aging conference (which was cancelled due to COVID). Our idea was to present research findings that reinforce the benefits of biophilic design, and how being outdoors does indeed have a positive impact on well-being. The good news is that we’ll be presenting our talk in person this year in Chattanooga on August 31st. Introducing therapeutic horticulture into senior living will be one aspect, but we also want to cast a compelling vision for re-energizing outdoor areas of the campus setting.
As Leah and I have been working to finalize our presentation, I came across two great sources that seemed to be very applicable for senior living communities who want to maximize the benefits of the outdoor area development:
A publication by the Urban Land Institute outlining Five Characteristics of High-Quality Parks. Here are some key takeaways:
The closer people live to a park or green space, the less likely they are to experience stress and the more likely they are to walk or bike to that park and use it for physical activity.
Combine park planning with stormwater management – green infrastructure absorbs stormwater while increasing park attractiveness, augmenting recreational opportunities, protecting water quality, providing wildlife habitat, and reducing maintenance.
Historic 4th Ward Park by DeepRoot; flickr
An article in The Journal on Active Aging on Embracing Nature, Parks and Outdoor Spaces to Age Well, by Pazit Levinger, PhD, and Kieth Hill, PhD:
The last year has reinforced the health and wellness benefits of being outdoors, including for physical activity, yet the design of parks, campuses, and outdoor built environments may inhibit use by older adults.
My business partner, Scott Girard, spent much of his career in and around the Walt Disney organization, eventually becoming the Company’s chief landscape architect globally. Scott likes to tell the story of Walt’s use of the bricks and mortar analogy when addressing outdoor area development in the theme parks:
Walt Disney understood the importance of Outdoor Area Development; Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Archives
Hence, Walt’s insistence that the entire area outside the walls of the buildings was the domain of the landscape architect (not the architect or the engineer). He understood how these outdoor spaces reinforced the story being told, and the impact that they had on the guest experience.
Pandemic or not – Parks and outdoor areas do have a positive impact on well-being, and provide opportunities for people to enjoy being together socially.I hope that more owners and operators of senior living campuses will begin to explore ways to apply the research, and begin to re-activate some of the leftover spaces they have, so that residents and staff can begin to reap the benefits.
Top 3 Ways We Can Help
We can work to address the problems posed in the blog posting above by:
Creating a memorable experience and positive first impressions for those visiting your property. Also, increasing resident referrals by meeting their felt needs through targeted planning and design.
Exploring avenues for outdoor dining, food truck events, and even on-site food production. Reclaiming areas formerly devoted to vehicles, transforming them into vital “people places”.
Re-purposing forgotten or underutilized outdoor spaces, bringing vitality and opportunities for safe interactions in open-air environments.
Planning in the Midst of the Pandemic: Rediscovering the Role of the Outdoors
This is part of an ongoing series focusing on The Outdoor Antidote: re-energizing outdoor spaces to solve these common COVID-related problems:
Loss of revenue, and the need for new entry fees.
How to pivot operationally, discovering new ways of safely meeting needs?
How to overcome the sense of isolation and loneliness resulting from new protocols?
Premise: While targeted toward the perspective of the Aging Services Industry, which has been hard-hit and has had to face a variety of challenges, many of the ideas and solutions we offer for them can also be applied on a broader basis for the multi-family residential sector, and even at your private residence.
Move Ahead
Ready to consider implementing some new ideas for outdoor area development? Download many of our helpful resources found at the Resources tab at the top of the page.
Reach out to schedule an initial Zoom Consultation. We’re eager to learn more about you and your needs.