Examining green space characteristics for social cohesion and mental health outcomes: A sensitivity analysis in four European cities

Introduction: In recent decades, there has been a rise in mental illnesses. Community infrastructures are increasingly acknowledged as important for sustaining good mental health. Moreover, green spaces are anticipated to offer advantages for both mental health and social cohesion. However, the mediating pathway between green space, social...

Location-Based Games For Social Interaction In Public Space

This thesis broadens current understanding of how location-based games can promote meaningful social interaction in citizens' own neighbourhoods. It investigates social cohesion and the role of social interaction to its promotion, delves into which requirements users have for playing in their neighbourhood and with its citizens, and takes a...

Empowering community volunteers through matchmaking services

In Rotterdam, the participatory turn has spurred various bottom-up communities around public parks. These communities aim to take care of the parks in their neighbourhood and search for ways to demonstrate the societal value of their initiative. The current work explores how digital matchmaking services can strengthen community relationships. A...

Social cohesion revisited: a new definition and how to characterize it

This paper provides a general overview on different perspectives and studies on social cohesion, offers a definition of social cohesion that is deeply rooted in current literature, and provides a framework that can be used to characterize social cohesion and help support resilient cities. The framework highlights the factors that play a...

Diversity and social cohesion: the case of Jane-Finch, a highly diverse lower-income Toronto neighbourhood

Diversity has increasingly emerged as the core focus of many studies concerning factors impacting on social cohesion. Various scholars have concluded that diversity is detrimental to cohesion. Most of this research, however, draws generalisations based upon quantitative data and fails to account for the impact of inequality, segregation and...

Q board interviews: An effective method to research user opinions

Q board interviews can be applied as an effective method to get insight in the opinions of participants. Q board interviews form the interviewing part of Q methodology. Q methodology can be used to identify typical sets of opinions. However, in many studies, the research goal is to order opinions and see which ones play the most important roles,...

Sociaal duurzame wijken, zoektocht en uitdaging?

Sociale-cohesie in wijken krijgt in Nederland veel aandacht. De focus richt zich op excessen en ook veel wetenschappelijk onderzoek volgt die koers. Ontwerpers richten zich meer op kansen, op de duurzaamheid van onze samenleving, dit in het belang van bewoners maar ook omdat de fysieke herstructurering van wijken veel kost. Om tussen die twee...

Housing policy and community: A Dutch perspective

It is widely acknowledged that housing conditions have an enormous influence on the health of residents. Poor housing is consistently associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity, specifically with an increase in infectious and chronic diseases, stunted development in children and poor mental health (Krieger and Higgins, 2002). The...