Designing a psychologically healthy outdoor environment

The outdoor environment has an essential role in promoting a psychologically healthy lifestyle.

Designing and executing outdoor spaces that promote an active lifestyle, inclusivity, aesthetics & sustainability is one of our primary duties as architects and designers.

Every design target of these probably requires an entire course. But for some quick hints:

Inclusivity: Ensuring that the #design accommodates all ages, genders, and abilities, especially considering the requirements of people with special needs (Beautifully called in #UAE #peopleofdetermination).

Active lifestyle & aesthetics: The design should promote activities like #cycling, #jogging, and exercising towards #walkability & #bikeability of cities, where cities should be designed for humans, not cars. The designers should develop their skills to design aesthetically, incorporating natural elements like plants, water features, etc., with other design elements.

Sustainability: Simply applying the “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle” concept. Not just in encouraging the users of the space to apply it. But to consider it in every single aspect of the design, specifically in the used material. There are tons of recycled outdoor materials which could be specified and incorporated into the designs.

#Urban #Psychology #UrbanPsychology #Design #Urbanplanning #Sustanability #Cities #Architecture #Landscape  

Palestine and Israel once and for all

Written by: Mohammad Hasan Algarhy

May 29, 2021.                    

Fact #1:

We have approximately 8.7 million carrying Israeli passports: some 6.5M Jews & 2M Arab Muslims. We have around 5.2 million Palestinians in the West Bank & Gaza. We have more than 3M Palestinian refugees outside the Palestinian territories. These statistics do not include individuals of Palestinian origins or Jews who do not carry an Israeli passport.

Fact #2:

It is a sort of madness to think that one group can kick out or get rid of the other group. Especially since both groups have historical ties to the land regardless of who came first.

Fact #3:

None of the 14M individuals living inside the Israeli & Palestinian territories can freely travel, invest, or trade with most Arab & North African countries (some 400M). The 5.2M Palestinians suffer from apartheid and lack basic human rights. In Gaza, they live in an open-air prison.

Fact #4:

For decades the two-state solution has not brought peace. It has been used by American & Arab politicians basically to maintain the status quo and delay the explosion of the situation. Israel is ignoring it, building illegal settlements and occupying Palestinian lands.

The two-state solution does not resolve the root causes of the conflict.

We know this is not sustainable.

We know we cannot let extremists from both sides lead the scene and fuel the conflict.

We know that a “religion-based state” is apartheid-generating.

The solution is simply one secular/civil state that acknowledges Palestine. With equal rights for Israelis & Palestinians, Jews, Christians, Muslims, and other beliefs and ideologies.

This should be a grassroots solution. And it starts by ending the hate speech.

Both Israelis & Palestinians should have the courage to acknowledge the facts and the reality.

Politicians should stop using extremists and the far right to achieve political wins. This game is leading the situation to a disaster.

The name of the state could be Palestine (as many Orthodox Jews are demanding, and based on the historical name), Israel-Palestine, or Palestine-Israel. This could be decided through public voting or something.

This is not science fiction. Technically, we have 2M Arab Muslims living in peace in the Israeli territories. We have millions of other Palestinians who are willing to live peacefully in a state that acknowledges them, and their identity and gives them equal rights.

The conflict is not ideological; many lessons from history confirm this. The Israelis & Palestinians would benefit a lot from such a solution. In addition, of course, to equal rights:

·         They will both feel acknowledged in a land they have historical ties to.

·         Many lives would be saved, and many threats would go away.

·         They will travel, invest, and trade freely with the Arab & North African countries. This opens markets worth billions of dollars.

·         Jews from all around the world will feel more comfortable and safe living in this state.

·         Individuals of Palestinian origins will feel more comfortable and safe living in this state.

·         Muslims from around the world will have access to one of their holy sites.

·         Jews & Christians from all around the world will have access as well to their holy sites.

Peace requires Courage, Compromise, and Compassion. 

Flag design copyright © Mohammad Hasan Algarhy