© Florian Schmetz
Call for Abstracts: Global Conference “Environments by Design: Health, Wellbeing and Place”

Docomomo International is pleased to share the global conference “Environments by Design: Health, Wellbeing and Place”, which will be held between 1st and 3rd December, 2021. This international event is organized by Syracuse University, Chalmers University of Technology, Northumbria University, and the Italian Society for the Sociology of Health. Coordinated by AMPS.

Dates: 1-3 December, 2021
Place: Virtual

Call
On January 1st, 2020, the world woke to news that a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, had been identified as a strain of coronavirus. By March, the World Health Organization would define it as a pandemic and the most serious global health threat on the planet. Under lockdown conditions the relationship between health and the spaces we inhabit became central.
The response from professionals and academics was immediate. Public health officials became consultants on ‘healthy buildings’, infectious disease specialists advised on planning codes, mental health experts became advisors on design strategy. Environmental psychologists collaborated on adapting homes for lockdown, sociologists re-examined behaviour in public space; teachers critiqued new spatial uses of the classrooms and, by extension, interior work environments of every type.
It is tempting to see this recent global concern about health and environments as new. The reality is, it has a long history. The public health profession was born from the housing conditions of the 19th century urban poor. ‘Sick building syndrome’ has been a concern for years. Demands for walkable neighbourhoods are long standing. Housing for the elderly, accessible design, and the broader healthy cities agenda globally, all pre-date COVID-19.
Seen in this light, this conference seeks to bring recent experiences and responses into dialogue with these longer standing areas of research into health, wellbeing and environments.

KEY DATES

25 June 2021: Abstracts [Round One] | 25 July 2021: Feedback | 25 Oct 2021: Abstracts [Round Two] |  05 Nov 2021 Feedback

Conference: 01-03 December 2021
30 Jan 2022: Full Paper Submissions (where applicable) | 30 March 2022: Feedback for publication | 30 June 2022: Publication begins

Abstract Submission form: Name_Surname_Summary-Title_Abstract_Health-2021-2

For more information, please visit AMPS website.