Health, Diversity, and Temporary Appropriation in Public Space

List of figures

List of abbreviations

Glossary

List of contributors

Preface

1.         Temporary Appropriation as Urban Theory

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

1.1       Introduction

1.2       Understanding Public Space and Temporary Appropriation

1.3       Theoretical Foundations of Temporary Appropriation

1.4       Spontaneous Appropriation in the Contemporary City

1.5       Psychological and Social Impacts

1.6       Conclusion

References

2.         Temporary Appropriation and the Dynamics of Place-making

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

2.1.      Introduction: Re-humanising the City in an Age of Flux

2.2.      Methodological Approach: Narrative Review and Comparative Mapping

2.3.      Theoretical Landscape: Five Concepts in Conversation

2.2.      Approaches to Space, Temporality and Agency

2.5.      Practices in Context: Five Illustrative Cases

2.6.      Comparison and Practical Implications

2.7.      Towards Flexible, Regenerative and Just Urbanism

2.8.      Re-humanising Public Space through Conceptual Clarity

References

3.         Temporary Appropriation, Care, and Health in Transit

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Greg H. Mews, and Iuliana Rodinciuc

3.1.      Theoretical Framework: Temporary Appropriation, Emotional Health, and Co-Regulation

3.2.      Case Study: A Long-Haul Journey as Care Infrastructure

3.3.      Synthesis

3.4.      Discussion

3.5.      Conclusion

References

4.         Unveiling the Invisible City: Temporary Appropriation as Urbanism from Below

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

4.1.      Introduction: Beyond Formal Urbanism

4.2.      Theoretical Perspectives on Temporary Appropriation

4.3.      Temporary Appropriation as a Hidden Urban System

4.4.      Visualising Appropriation – Complexity and Softness as Analytical Lenses

4.5.      Toward a Grammar of Temporary Appropriation

References

5.         Play, Health, and Childhood Appropriation of Public Space

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Elisa Sacco

5.1.      Introduction

5.2.      Children, Public Space and Urban Segregation

5.3.      Temporary Appropriation and Urban Identity

5.4.      Post-qualitative Inquiry and the SPIRAL Framework

5.5.      Case Studies: Venice and Auckland

5.6.      Auckland: Islands of Play in a Car-Oriented City

5.7.      Safety, Exploration, and the Double-Edged Playground

5.8.      Towards Regenerative, Child-Inclusive Urbanism

5.9.      Design Principles and Speculative Interventions

5.10.    Conclusion: From Playgrounds of Segregation to Cities in Common

References

6.         Designing for Unpredictability: Public Space and Mental Health

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

6.1.      Introduction – Reclaiming Health through Public Space

6.2.      Physical Activity and Spatial Improvisation

6.3.      Mental Health, Belonging, and Place Attachment

6.4.      Case Snapshots – Global Insights into Appropriated Health

Street Play in Nairobi, Kenya

Impromptu Fitness in San Francisco de Campeche, Mexico

Watching Football Match on the Street in Palermo, Italy

Skateboarding in Auckland, New Zealand

Informal Green Corridors in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

6.5.      Design and Policy Blind Spots

6.6.      Toward a Health-Sensitive Urbanism of Appropriation

6.7.      Limits, Risks, and Contradictions of Temporary Appropriation

References

7.         Informal Interventions and the Regulation Dilemma

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

7.1.      Introduction

7.2.      Universal design, flexibility, and the risk of over-design

7.3.      The right to the city beyond access

7.4.      Arguments for Hybrid, Fluctuation-Aware Regulation

7.5.      Regulation in Practice: Comparative International Cases

7.6.      From regulation to everyday urban life

7.7.      Practical Implications

7.8.      Challenges and Critiques

7.9.      Conclusion

References

8.         Inclusive Cities Through the Lens of Temporary Appropriation

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

8.1.      Introduction

8.2.      From Practice to Process: The Emergence of Health in Space

8.3.      Relational Urbanism: Beyond Individual Acts of Appropriation

1.12     Embodiment and Difference: Who Can Appropriate Space?

8.4.      Temporality and Urban Rhythms

8.5.      From Temporary Appropriation to Performative Healthscapes

8.6.      Implications for Design and Research

8.7.      Transition: Toward More Nuanced Understandings of Urban Health

8.8.      Conclusion

References

9.         Performative Health: Gender, Everyday Spatial Practice, and Temporary Appropriation

Barbora Melis and J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez

9.1.      Introduction

Relational Health, Gender, and Everyday Urban Life

9.2.      Relational Determinants of Health in Public Space

9.3.      Gendered Spatial Practices and Everyday Negotiation

9.4.      Temporary Appropriation and Performative Health

9.5.      From Performative Health to Performative Healthscapes

10.       Healthscapes in Practice: Everyday Appropriation, Care, and Public Space in the South Bronx

Barbora Melis and J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez

10.1.    Healthscapes and Urban Context

10.2.    Everyday Experiences of Public Space

10.3.    Appropriation, Care, and Social Infrastructure

10.4.    Implications for Urban Health and Planning

References

11.       Fluctuating Bodies: Temporary Appropriation, Public Space, and the Limits of Access

Nicole Thorpe and Barbora Melis

11.1.    Introduction: Fluctuating Bodies and Urban Rhythms

11.2.    The In-Between Body

11.3.    Experiencing Instability in Public Space

11.4.    Stress, Adaptation, and Spatial Negotiation

11.5.    Rethinking Inclusion: From Access to Empowerment

References

12.       Conclusion

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez and Barbora Melis

12.1.    Implications for Theory, Practice, and Policy

12.2.    Limitations and Future Research Directions

12.3.    A Vision for the Future of Inclusive Cities

References

Index

Biography

Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez is a Senior Researcher and Research Coordinator at Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand. A member of the curatorial team for the Italian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale, he is a prolific scholar whose work on temporary appropriation, urban informality, and inclusive cities has been published and exhibited internationally. With over twelve years’ experience as a registered architect and urban designer, he is a Chartered Member of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Mérida (Mexico). His research spans Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

Barbora Melis is an urban planner and researcher specialising in inclusive and gender-sensitive urbanism. She graduated in Urban Planning from Technische Universität Berlin (with studies at IUAV Venice) and has over ten years of international experience working for public institutions (including the Veneto Region) and in professional practice across Italy, Germany, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA. She teaches and researches at the University of Portsmouth (UK) and the New York Institute of Technology (USA), focusing on inclusion, diversity, and urban resilience from a feminist perspective.