Designing Urban Areas to Improve Wellbeing: Design to Connect with Our Future Foyle
Derry/Londonderry in the North West of Northern Ireland has been named one of the UK’s most disconnected cities. Physically distanced from major infrastructure and other urban areas together with low economic prosperity and a divided history has led to increased challenges for mental wellbeing in the city. Our Future Foyle is a design-led project that aims to change this, through timely codesigned social, cultural and physical urban interventions.
— — —
Introduction
No reader of this blog will need reminding of the impact of the places we live in have on our mental health. At their best, our cities can be diverse, collaborative, vibrant and social places that support connection, growth and opportunity. At their worst, they can be lonely, scary and overwhelming filled with deprivation, disorder and desperation.
Sadly, Whilst the economic benefits of urban areas are clear (cities such as London account for nearly half of the UK’s GDP), this often comes at a social cost. Loneliness, social tensions, congestion, pollution, crime and other environmental stressors of city life can heighten the risk of developing mental health issues. Indeed, city dwellers have a 40% increased risk of depression, 20% higher risk of anxiety, and double the risk of developing schizophrenia than people who live in more rural areas.
In its most serious form, the consequences can be severe. Over the last 50 years, global suicide rates have increased by 60% to the point where, globally, a person dies by suicide every 40 seconds. In the UK, suicide is the leading cause of death amongst 20–34 year olds.
The city of Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland is facing similar mental health challenges. The city lies on the banks of the river Foyle, which historically has acted as a natural divide between two communities. Despite considerable progress in the last two decades, including being named the UK city of culture in 2013, the city was for a long time dominated by ‘The Troubles’ of the last century, which still impacts the community today.
Northern Ireland has a 25% higher prevalence of mental health issues than England. Of 28 countries taking part in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, Northern Ireland has the highest rate of posttraumatic stress disorder that is continuing to be experienced by those who were not born during the conflict period (the ceasefire babies). Many of the risk factors associated with suicide, including history of trauma, unemployment, drugs and alcohol misuse, social isolation and deprivation are all prevalent in the city of Derry/Londonderry.
The river Foyle plays a huge role in the story of poor mental health in Derry/Londonderry. Areas around the riverfront and bridges have become synonymous with mental health issues and suicidal behaviour. The negative stigma has grown to such a degree that the phrase “I’m ready for the Foyle” is used amongst local people as a way of portraying stress or hardship in daily life.
Project Aims
The Public Health Agency (PHA) in Northern Ireland teamed up with the Royal College of Art (RCA) and urban design studio Urban Scale Interventions to develop a community centred approach to tackling the negative stigma and mental health issues around the river Foyle.
The aim was to use design to create social and cultural interventions around the banks and bridges of the River Foyle that improve wellbeing, reduce suicide and create more positive associations with the riverfront. Suicide is a very personal behaviour, tackling the public spaces around the riverfront was seen as an important step to improve overall community wellbeing and reduce isolated locations where suicidal incidences may occur.
The project has pioneered new forms of community-centred design, with more than 15,000 residents involved in the design process. Engagement to understand perceptions of the riverfront and develop potential solutions have included temporary pop-up art installations such as a wooden whale based on a local folklore, cinema events, concerts and community events all to bring local people in to the re-design of the riverfront.
The Solutions
The research insights were distilled down into key opportunity areas around community, economy, interaction, experience and awareness and interpreted into necessary areas for interventions across the city. These were:
1. Foyle Reeds: A physical barrier and interactive light art installation
2. Foyle Bubbles: A series of portable satellite spaces along the riverfront that house community arts groups and local entrepreneurs, whilst also providing mental health awareness training.
3. Foyle Experience: A range of sensory behavioural interventions to influence how people experience the space.
The Foyle Reeds
The Foyle Reeds were created by building on the insight that the local flora and fauna surrounding the river Foyle are a source of inspiration and pride for local people. The Foyle Reeds is an interactive light installation and physical barrier that spans the length of the bridge. The lights change in colour and intensity as people walk over the bridge. The increased illumination ensures the area feels less secluded, whilst also aiding with surveillance through the CCTV cameras. Alongside capital and private investment, a sustainable economic model has been developed that allows local people to ‘adopt a light’ for a small fee — being able to change the colour and intensity of their light through a mobile app, whilst larger organisations and companies can light up the bridge to support a specific event for a larger fee. This new art installation can also be used for city wide events such as the Maritime Festival or Halloween Festival, to act as a beacon for the city in celebration of community events.
Foyle Bubbles
A second architectural intervention, the Foyle Bubbles, named after a local saying ‘Do I look like I came up the Foyle in a bubble?’, aims to increase the footfall and ‘eyes and ears’ along the riverfront and reduce isolation and disconnection. These have been designed as a series of portable public spaces or pods, that house community groups, arts organisations and local businesses and entrepreneurs.
Responding to the insight that many areas of the riverfront are either too dark, secluded or uninviting, the ‘Bubbles’ are designed to reimagine the riverfront as a place for socialising, working and shopping. Community engagement workshops showed a need for public services and destinations along the riverfront. Individuals said they felt that ‘there is nothing to walk to…there is just nowhere to go (at the river)’ and ‘there are not enough shops and cafes along the riverfront’. Further interviews showed there was a real need for cafes and shops, weather shelters, public toilets, mental health therapy spaces, youth zones and activities along the riverfront — thus the bubbles respond to this community need.
Occupancy is temporary and they can be moved along the riverfront to either bring services and activity to an area of the riverfront that may be isolated or neglected, or can be moved into positions where community events are being hosted, to act as ‘pop-up’ venues.
However, as well as designing the physical public spaces that increase activity along the riverfront, a social operational model has been developed to ensure the original aims of the project are being adhered to. In the model, the rent of the ‘Bubble’ is offered at a reduced rate, encouraging people who would otherwise find it hard to finance or lease public spaces in the town centre a step onto the business ladder. However, this reduced rent is on the proviso that all ‘Bubble’ occupiers undergo suicide prevention training. This professional mental health training educates people on how to identify and support people who may be at risk along the riverfront. This enables occupiers of the ‘Bubbles’ to have everyday engagement with the community whilst at the same time providing mental health support and counselling without stigma or a clinical setting.
The Foyle Experience
In certain locations it is not possible to provide an architectural intervention, for example on listed infrastructure or large expanses of space. In this instance the Foyle Experience has been developed as a range of light projections and soundscapes programmed by local artists and community groups. The installations help to connect people with the space through programmed content, but also offer a cognitive distraction that may be enough to deter or prevent harm. The intervention can help to provide a sense of connection and activity at times or places that are isolated and secluded.
Final Thoughts
Mental health within our urban areas is a pressing social challenge that only looks set to grow as the stressors of city living continue. We therefore need to find ways to engage with communities and experts, to develop interventions that aim to reduce the mental stress of city living and improves connection to and across our cities.
The Our Future Foyle project shows that creative interventions can be used to help tackle the most serious consequences of mental health challenges in our cities. The interventions discussed above aim to reduce isolation and connect people to their city as well as other people. In this way, design can be a powerful tool to design out loneliness and design in connection to the places we live, work and play.
For further information in this, and other design-led projects with social impact, visit www.urbanscaleinterventions.com
