Creating Urban and Workplace Environments for Recovery and Well-being

This essential book offers suggestions for how cities and spaces can be planned and designed to reduce the impact of stress, provide opportunities for recovery, and promote the resilience of individuals in urban communities.

Stephan Pauleit is Chair for Strategic Landscape Planning and Management at Technical University of Munich, Germany. Michael Kellmann is Professor of Sport Psychology at the Faculty of Sport Science at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. He is also Honorary Professor in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland, Australia. Jürgen Beckmann is Professor of Sport Psychology, Emeritus of Excellence, at the School of Medicine and Health at Technical University of Munich, Germany. He is also Honorary Professor in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland, Australia.

Part I: Conceptualizing the Problem 1. Urban flourishing: Human recovery and urban resilience as hubs for the city of the future Stephan Pauleit, Jürgen Beckmann, and Michael Kellmann 2. Commuting to work by car: Is travel time leisure time? Achim Elfering and Fabrice Huber 3. Eight days a week: Long working hours, recovery, and breaks K. Wolfgang Kallus 4. Designing urban green spaces supporting health and recovery Anna Bengtsson, Anna Åshage, and Patrik Grahn Part II: Designing Home, Private and Working Environments for Recovery 5. Built recovery: New perspectives on designing office and hospital work environments Gemma Koppen, Mark N. Phillips, Claudia Iovi-a, and Tanja C. Vollmer 6. Natural spaces for stress recovery and mental well-being across the life course Matilda van den Bosch and Ingrid Jarvis 7. Urban densification, access to green space and well-being: Consequences of not owning private green space and crowded public green spaces Sjerp de Vries and Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui 8. A tale of two restorations: Urban biodiversity underpins ecosystem restoration and promotes psychological restoration Monika Egerer and Melissa Marselle Part III: Urban Planning and Management for Recovery 9. Impacts of heat on human well-being: Creating restorative indoor and outdoor thermal environments in a changing climate Amelie Bauer, Hannah Lehmann, Teresa Zoelch, and Stephan Pauleit 10. Urban safety as a prerequisite for reduced stress and recovery opportunities in the city of tomorrow: Reflections beyond gender-neutral planning practices Vania Ceccato 11. Multi-scale urban design and recovery: Strategies, pathways, and implications Lanqing Gu and Martin Knöll 12. Creating urban and workplace environments for recovery and well-being: A concluding summary Jürgen Beckmann, Michael Kellmann, and Stephan Pauleit