The research centre for inclusive access to outdoor environments
In association with Landscape Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art
and the School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University.
Welcome to OPENspace:
OPENspace research centre focuses on inclusive access to outdoor environments – our work covers all types of landscape, in urban or countryside contexts, the benefits it can offer and the barriers to access.
Good design for inclusive access is central to a number of policy areas: health and wellbeing; social inclusion; tourism; countryside access; urban renaissance and sustainability; environmental justice; safety and crime; and the implementation of Disability Discrimination Act and Race Relations legislation.
Our work is cross-cutting, drawing on multidisciplinary expertise to explore how public open space, urban parks and squares, green spaces and rural areas can contribute to quality of life. Background information ...
Current Research Projects
Not so green and pleasant?
Measuring and mapping the state of English urban green space (CABE Space)
The Contribution of Green and Open Space in Public Health and Wellbeing (Scottish Government)
Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors,
phase 2 (I'DGO TOO)
PLUREL: Urban, Periurban and Rural Land Use Change (PLUREL)
SPARColl (Scottish Physical Activity
Research Collaboration) (NHS Scotland)
Woods in and Around Towns (WIAT) - Baseline Survey (WIAT)
Latest Publications
Innovative Approaches to Research Excellence in Landscape and Health. Edited by Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter Aspinall and Simon Bell
Participation in outdoor recreation by WAG priority groups
Greenspace and Quality of Life Literature Review Aug 2008
Open Space: People Space. Edited by Catharine Ward Thompson and Penny Travlou
DCLG/ODPM Green and Public
Space Research: Mapping Exercise
Natural England: Free-Range Teenagers: the Role of Wild Adventure Space in Young People’s Lives
Cost Action E33 - Research Project
Cost action E33 (Forest Recreation and Nature Tourism)
Latest News:
The final Cost Action E33 conference was held on 28-31 May in Hameenlinna,Finland
News & events
April 2010 - OPENspace announces the launch of its new book:
Innovative Approaches to Research Excellence in Landscape and Health
Open Space: People Space 2
This book addresses the growing interest in salutogenic environments - landscapes that support healthy lifestyles and promote well-being - and the need for innovative methods to research them read more
Royal Society of Edinburgh Visiting Research Fellowship Award.
Penny Travlou has been awarded a Visiting Research Fellowship in Arts, Humanities and Societies by the Royal Society of Edinburgh/Caledonian Research Foundation.
This prestigious funding scheme supports research in Scotland which aims to establish a two-way flow of scholars between Scotland and Europe.
Open Space People Space Book. Landscape Institute Award 2008
OPENspace has received a highly commended award in the Landscape Institute Awards
more about our book
Ongoing Project
The Contribution of Green and Open Space in Public Health and Wellbeing
Site Finder: Assessing the countryside visitor's wayfinding experience.
OPENspace Research Centre is pleased to announce the publication of the Site Finder Toolkit.
previous news & events
Conference 2007
Open Space : People Space
Innovative Approaches to Research Excellence in Landscape and Health.
"For three days in late September, researchers and professionals from landscape architecture, urban design, public health and
environmental psychology were brought together in Edinburgh to debate the links between landscape and health."
Conference searchable database
Search database for conference papers
download conference
report
(RTF Doc file, 999KB)
download conference
proceedings
(PDF file, 1.25mb)
Our Book
(PDF document, 109 KB)
