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Space Syntax Analysis of Gated Communities in Jordan: Examining Urban Connectivity and Social Impact
Get PDFThe trend of gated communities is becoming the new alternative housing for the high-end residents of Jordan, reflecting global patterns of urbanisation. However, their emergence on the outskirts of Amman on vacant lands requires an early proactive planning approach to ensure their development in response to the growth of the surrounding areas, fostering an integrated urban fabric. This article examines whether gated communities contribute to urban discontinuity and lead to social segregation. The study employs a space syntax analysis on two cases in Amman to assess their integration, accessibility, and navigability to address the study’s key questions related to its integration, design implications, and spatial layout. Findings reveal significant spatial segregation, with low levels of integration and high step depth values, indicating potential challenges in navigation, connectivity, residents’ mobility, accessibility, and safety. The article suggests the importance of re-evaluating the design and planning approaches for these developments to promote organic townscape growth to ensure smooth integration with the surroundings
Tensorial and Hadamard product integral inequalities for convex functions of continuous fields of operators in Hilbert spaces
No full textRecreational Spaces: How Best to Design and Cater for Older People’s Safe Engagement in Physical Activity
Get PDFRecreational spaces, such as local parks, are important public spaces for the community to engage in various activities. With the global ageing population, the concept of multigenerational recreational spaces has become popular in recent years with the aim to design active spaces to cater for all age groups, including older people. However, designing multigenerational spaces that enable safe usage by older people can be challenging due to the competing interests and needs of different age groups. This paper is a reflective narrative describing four case studies of multigenerational outdoor spaces in Melbourne, Australia with the inclusion of age-friendly equipment and analysing parks layout and design using aerial imagery data. Factors impacting safe usage of the space by older people were identified and discussed. The main challenges identified in the recreational case study areas included: proximity of the seniors’ exercise area relative to children’s play-spaces, accessibility, layout of the area, and surrounding features which can pose potential safety risks for older people or be a deterrent for visiting the parks. The information described in this paper provides practical learnings relating to park layout, proximity of different spaces, and strategies that may be required to be implemented to facilitate safe usage of the space by older people for better multigenerational design. A national recreational age-friendly policy is also needed to provide overarching guidelines to assist local governments in the design and delivery of inclusive multigenerational recreational spaces
Elucidating the role of mind–body connection profiles in emotional reactivity and regulation amongst typically developed adults
Get PDFInnovation at the nexus of technology and sustainability: CEO leadership and digital transformation in China
Get PDFCommunication needs and support for children and adolescents with complex communication needs requiring hospitalization in Hong Kong: an explorative study
Get PDFPurpose: Children with complex communication needs face particular challenges during hospitalization. This study aimed to understand the situation for hospitalized Hong Kong Chinese children with complex communication needs. Methods: Six group interviews were conducted with 23 participants, including nurses, doctors, adolescents with acquired brain injury, parents of children with acquired brain injury or cerebral palsy, and community-based therapists. Results: Parents and children reported unmet physical and emotional needs due to lack of communication. Healthcare providers felt that direct communication with children was not essential, expecting that parents serve as proxy in conveying needs. The passive interaction mode of Chinese parents, and their increased vigilance in protecting their children, further reduced opportunities for direct child-healthcare provider interaction. Limited patient communication protocols were reported, while tight hospital space discouraged bedside communication activities and tools. Community therapists who knew these children were not involved in pre-admission handover. Conclusion: To address the communication barriers, changes in the healthcare, education, and community systems are proposed. Empowerment of the children and parents to promote direct patient-healthcare provider communication, dissemination of simple protocols and bedside communication tools, time allowance for staff to interact with the children, pre-/in-service staff training, and collaboration with community healthcare providers are recommended
Between flood vulnerability and watery pedagogies: A critical review of children and young people’s voices and experiences
Get PDFGated Urbanism in the Middle East: Expert Insights from Jordanian Case Studies
No full textAcross the Middle East, gated communities have become a defining feature of contemporary urban development, raising urgent questions about spatial inequality, public access, and social cohesion. This study examines the socio-spatial impacts of these developments by combining qualitative perceptions from regional expert interviews with in-depth analysis of two case studies in Jordan: Al Andalucía and Green Land. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with urban planners, architects, and policy experts from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, the study employs thematic analysis to investigate expert perspectives on gated communities as a regional planning phenomenon. Findings reveal four dominant themes: (1) gated communities intensify spatial fragmentation and disconnection from surrounding urban fabric; (2) private sector dominance leads to unregulated, market-driven development that weakens strategic urban planning; (3) the erosion of inclusive public space and social cohesion is widely perceived as a social cost; and (4) gated living is framed as an aspirational lifestyle associated with security, prestige, and socio-economic distinction. The article concludes by calling for more inclusive urban policies that balance private development with inclusive planning strategies to mitigate the long-term impacts of fragmentation and exclusivity in Middle Eastern cities
