The magic of the mundane: the vulnerable web of connections between urban nature and wellbeing
Name:
Publisher version
View Source
Access full-text PDFOpen Access
View Source
Check access options
Check access options
Authors
Dobson, JulianBrindley, Paul
Birch, Jo
Henneberry, John
McEwan, Kirsten
Mears, Meagan
Richardson, Miles
Issue Date
2020-10-23
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Cities are sites of human, ecological and institutional stress. The elements that make up the city – its people, landscapes and processes – are engaged in constant assemblage and disassembly, joining and pulling apart. Reporting the findings of a three-year multi-disciplinary deep case study, this paper examines the role of urban nature in mediating the relationship between stressed humans and stressed places. It applies assemblage theory to show how such relationships can be understood in contexts of multiple pressures. From empirical findings it shows how urban nature contributes to mental wellbeing, but also how institutional stresses linked to austerity policies shape efforts to reconnect humans and nature. Across five strands of research, this article foregrounds the importance of multiple everyday experiences of urban nature and practices of care and maintenance. It calls on researchers, policymakers, planners and practitioners to pay closer attention to the ‘magic of the mundane’ in supporting human wellbeing; in caring for spaces and places; and in providing the services that link people and the natural environment.Citation
Dobson, J., Brindley, P., Birch, Jo, et al. (2020). ‘The magic of the mundane: the vulnerable web of connections between urban nature and wellbeing’. Cities, 108, pp. 1-11.Publisher
ElsevierJournal
CitiesDOI
10.1016/j.cities.2020.102989Additional Links
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275120313378#!http://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27499
Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0264-2751ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.cities.2020.102989