M a y Ts a n gEmErgEnt Urbanism

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UrbanHull’s

Playground

" H e a l t h i s a s t a t e o f c o m p l e t e p h y s i c a l , m e n t a l a n d s o c i a l w e l l - b e i n g a n d n o t m e r e l y

t h e a b s e n c e o f d i s e a s e o r i n f i r m i t y " .T h e W o r l d H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W H O )

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yThere are currently many health deprived areas within Kingston-upon-Hull, residents generally stay indoors for safety purposes as the city is faced with acts of vandalism, anti-social behaviour and other general security problems. The city also heads a new “fat league” compiled from research which links being overweight to a chip shop culture in working class communities. Details were compiled from hospital admission records, which identify sufferers of Type 2 diabetes - seen as a key indicator for obesity. Mr Prescott himself has this form of diabetes, which is linked to poor diet and a lack of exercise.

Physical activity is an essential component of any strategy that aims to seriously address the problems of sedentary living and obesity among children and adults in the city of Hull. active living contributes to individual physical and mental health but also to social cohesion and community well being. Opportunities for being physically active are not limited to sports and organised recreation. They exist everywhere – where people live and work, in neighbourhoods and in educational and health establishments. The way we build our cities, design the urban environment and provide access to the natural environment can be a great encouragement or a great barrier to physical activity and active living. Other barriers exist in the social environments within which people work, learn, play and live. Many of the people suffering the greatest negative health effects relating to obesity and chronic diseases are those experiencing poverty and social disadvantage. addressing the needs and contributions of all citizens in different settings of everyday life is essential for ensuring equity and comprehensiveness in efforts to promote physical activity and active living.

The design of a city determines how its residents use it. although parks are good places for fun, we shouldn’t let play be isolated. By breaking out of these designated recreation zones and into the parts of the city we actually live in, urban play integrate more fully into our experience of our environment and increase our ownership of our surroundings. by reminding people to visit and use areas of the city they might never otherwise pass through, such play can be useful in helping people to think of their home consisting of not only their private dwelling or neighbourhood, but the city as a whole. It can encourage us to bravely strike out from our neighbourhoods to see and use parts of the city in fun new ways, giving new angles and fresh perspectives on city planning and the borders between public and private realms.

The aim is to revitalise the city, change its unwelcoming appearance and neglected grounds by promoting physical activity by designing spaces to re-imagine the urban landscape and change the perception of urban space through play and fun but within a secure environment. The focus is to incorporate incidental play in the public realm not by having separate play equipment that dictates the users, but by using existing furniture and architectural elements that indicate playful behaviour for all. Incorporating design components that encourage a change of behaviour through interactivity can allow the urban environment to be safer and inviting, as well as encourage people to be more active by engaging in healthier lifestyles.

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Cycling demonstration town Walking for health regeneration of a run-down area into a sports centre

Pedestrian friendlyenvironments

exercise equipment and walkways built into local parks

Walking school bus

W h at i s a h E a lt h y c i t y ?

K E y c o n c E p t s

a healthy city is not one that has achieved a particular health status. rather, it is a city that is conscious of health and striving to improve it. What is required is a commitment to health and a process and structure to achieve it. a healthy, active city is one that is continually creating and improving opportunities in the built and social environments and expanding community resources to enable all its citizens to be physically active in day-to-day life.

P h y s i c a l a c t i v i t yPhysical activity is defined as any force exerted by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure above rest. This includes walking or cycling for transport, dance, traditional games and pastimes, gardening and housework as well as sport or deliberate exercise. sport usually involves some form of competition, and exercise is usually deliberately taken to improve health.

A c t i v e l i v i n gactive living is a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines. The goal is to accumulate at least 30 minutes of activity each day. Individuals may do this in a variety of ways, such as walking or cycling for transport; exercise for pleasure and fitness; participating in sports (both organised and informal); playing in the park; working in the garden; taking the stairs; and using recreational facilities.

H e a l t h - e n h a n c i n g p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t yWhile all forms of physical activity can be beneficial, the goal is to enjoyhealth enhancing physical activity, defined as “any form of physical activity that benefits health and functional capacity without undue harm or risk”. This is best achieved by incorporating physical activity of at least a moderate intensity (such as brisk walking and other activities that makeyou breathe harder and feel warmer) into daily life.

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h E a lt h y, a c t i v E c i t y f r a m E W o r K

P o p u l a t i o n G r o u p s

H e a l t h y , A c t i v e C i t y

S o c i a lE n v i r o n m e n t

L o c a lG o v e r n m e n t

I n t e r v e n t i o n sP a r t n e r s

B u i l tE n v i r o n m e n t

S e t t i n g s

all residents Children & youth Older people People with disabilities

People & neighbourhoods with low socioeconomic status

Other minority & high-risk groups employees

schools Workplaces Health care

Opportunities for physical activity and active living for all

equity, income, social support, social

cohesion, cultureElected officials,

urban planners, sport and recreation,

health, transport, education, law

enforcement, tourism

long termshort term

- Policies- Programmes- Plans- Infrastructure strategies- Communication

residents, civil society,

voluntary sector, private sector

Communityparticipation

Transport, land use, urban design, green

spaces

Leisure time & sport settings neighbourhoods

T h e I n a c t i v i t y p r o b l e m- Two thirds of the people older than 15 years in the european union are not physically active at

recommended levels for health.- less than one third of school children appear to meet recognised physical activity guidelines.

- Physical inactivity increases the risk of many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer.

- Overweight affects 30 - 80% of adults in the european union. about 20% of the children, are overweight and one third of these are obese.

- Physical inactivity causes an estimated 600,000 deaths per year in the european union. This leads to a loss of 5.3 million years of healthy life expectancy per year.

- The economic consequences of physical inactivity have been shown to be substantial for health care costs but even greater on indirect costs, which include the value of economic output lost

because of illness, disease-related work disability and premature death.

T H E S I T u AT I o n I S T ’ S n E w B A B y L o n

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The idea behind new babylon was to investigate the kind of city that might emerge to support ‘man the player’, the society that would exist when increasingly sophisticated forms of production process eventually reached a point where work was no longer necessary. It was a way of working out the situationist idea of unitary urbanism, “the complex, on-going activity which consciously recreates man’s environment according to the most advanced conceptions in every domain”, in particular including the collapse of the art and the city into a single vast expanse of electronic and physical modular structures that could be continually built and rebuilt according to the whims of its inhabitants.The spaces of new babylon were intended to be spaces of disorientation and of reorientation, from rational, functionalist society to one that is liberated and self-inventing. It was supposed to replace capitalist exploitation of human labour. Its architecture was to provide a complex armature on which could be woven endlessly new, unpredictably personal urban experiences, determined by ever-changing desires of individuals. In the end, the architecture of the new babylon overwhelmed such playful, radical spontaneity by its sheer weight and monumental scale.

Classic play is the activity where a playful mind-set is used in a playful context. Playing basketball or Monopoly are typical examples. going to a rock concert and watching a movie also fit in.

classic play

classic play

When a serious mind-set (work most often) takes over a playful setting, we are faced with instrumental play. examples include activities where the context of play is utilised for an external purpose and bring serious attitudes like professional sports and professional gambling.

instrUmEntal play

instrUmEntal play

The simplest and most straightforward category is that of ordinary, everyday life. While engaged in this activity, a serious mind-set is employed in an ordinary context. Work done in the workplace is a clear example of a goal-oriented pursuit. Cleaning up at home, shopping for groceries, and commuting to work are other examples.

orDinary lifEorDinary lifE

In pervasive play, ordinary contexts are appropriated for playful activities. bringing play to city streets, daily routines, and social environments is exactly what pervasive gaming is about. This is also where the street culture factors in, lending its influence to pervasive games. Parkour, graffiti and skateboarding are obvious examples of pervasive play.

pErvasivE play

pErvasivE play

o r D i n a r y c o n t E x t

p l ay f U lc o n t E x t

p l ay f U l m i n D s E t s E r i o U s m i n D s E t

classic play

instrUmEntal play

pErvasivE play

orDinary lifE

Exploratoryplay

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focUs on compEtition anD ExErcisE

high rEplayability

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contain an athlEtic componEnt

gEarED toWarDs crEating fUn throUgh pErforming, playing

anD crEating a spEctaclE

crEatEs fUn for thE participants anD an EnjoyablE ExpEriEncE for thE aUDiEncE

ExamplE: pac manhattan

QUicK to taKE Up

sMarT sTreeT sPOrTs urban

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combinE storiEs & pUzzlEs With city spacE

taKEs playEr to arEas With historical or cUltUral

significancE

city is UsED as a stagE to proviDE an important part of thE aEsthEtics anD movEmEnt

throUgh thE spacE

rElaxED pacE of playing

PlayFul PublIC PerFOrManCes

vEry visUal

P a r k o u r i s a n a r t o f m o v e m e n t f o c u s i n g o n t h e a d a p t a b i l i t y o f

t h e h u m a n b o d y t o o b s t a c l e s i n

t h e m o s t e f f i c i e n t m a n n e r p o s s i b l e .

E x p l o r a t o r y P l a yParkour is also a movement

that relies greatly on the human senses. In understanding one’s environment, the traceur uses

mostly the sense of sight and the sense of touch.

The city in essence is controlling and confining. Parkour allows a person to change the city into an open space, giving no limitation or direction to any sort of movement. I collaborated with the northern Parkour group and experienced the unusual exposure of environments along with the traceur’s graceful movements, providing a humanistic feel that brings out appreciation of architectural structures. The Parkour philosophy supports a mindset of playful calculation, something we could integrate with communal appreciation and interaction with the outdoors.

Parkour is a great form of exercise and those who are just getting into parkour, indoor gyms and workshops can provide a safe and supervised environment for mastering the sport’s techniques and becoming comfortable with new movement and improving fitness. It provides a great sense of wellbeing through its philosophy, greater sense of freedom and overcoming life’s challenges. However if philosophy isn’t your cup of tea, it is a gratifying way to get fit and stay in shape.

w h y d o P a r k o u r f o r h e a l t h ?

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rIn general, aerobic exercise is one performed at a low to moderate level of intensity over a long period of time. For example, running a long distance at a moderate pace is an aerobic exercise, but sprinting is not. Playing singles tennis, with near-continuous motion, is generally considered aerobic activity, while golf or doubles tennis, with their brief bursts of activity punctuated by more frequent breaks, may not be predominantly aerobic. Parkour covers both the bases with a mixture of running, sprinting jumping and climbing mean that both energy pathways are thoroughly challenged.

a e r o b i c / a n a e r o b i c F i t n e s s

We hear a lot about how to keep our heart and lungs healthy, but not so much about how to keep our balance in check. Our balance system includes all the senses in our body that tell us how we are moving. This complex system needs plenty of regular practice. as children, we develop good balance by practicing balancing activities - walking along walls, jumping and climbing. Too many adults give up these activities, but Parkour maintain and look to build such skills. Climbing, scaling and positioning on top of objects requires great balance. When practitioners are moving through space, climbing or moving, the feeling of effortless technique is achieved over time through a combination of coordination, balance and proprioception.

b a l a n c e

Today’s sedentary lifestyles mean that over time people lose mobility and flexibility. A lot of today’s modern back and joint complaints are a result of bad posture, lack of regular movement and sitting in one place for too long. The process of learning to stretch and move around over and under objects involves the body working to give the necessary mobility to allow such movements. The fluid movements in Parkour teach a person how to utilise their mobility to overcome obstacles. By starting small and working up mobility and flexibility are improved. The effortless movements we see are achieved by working on progressive movement and build on mobility and flexibility.

M o b i l i t y & F l e x i b i l i t y

Parkour involves great expression of strength and power. Jumping, landing and climbing require both of these and doing Parkour will improve both. When starting from scratch, it is necessary to prepare the body for the more strenuous demands to come by first giving it a relatively light period of adaptation. Tudor bompa calls this phase anatomical adaptation, in which the main objective is to strengthen the body as whole, correct muscular imbalances, and prepare the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments for the prolonged training to follow.

S t r e n g t h & P o w e r

The ability to think and move quickly.

The ability to distribute weight equally.

Harmonious combination or interaction.

The measure of precision or exactness.

A g i l i t y

B a l a n c e

A c c u r a c y

C o o r d i n a t i o n

The ability or strength to continue or last.

The ability to be adaptable.

relative rapidity in movement.

The quality of bodily or muscular power.S t r e n g t h

E n d u r a n c e

F l e x i b i l i t y

S p e e d

Engaging in a physical activity like Parkour can tip the balance of a person’s calories consumed versus calories burned, with this kind of exercise, it’s certainly possible that it will have a significant effect on your body composition. Due to the nature of the discipline, a person’s strength-to-body-weight ratio is a good predictor of success, slighter-built people do better than more overweight ones, so as soon as a traceur starts to lose some excess weight, they find out that they’re more agile and making better climbs, jumps and so on. Fat will quickly be seen as excess baggage to be carried around and with this mindset, weight management becomes important to practitioners.

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M o v e m e n t

E v e n t

S p a c e“Architecture is not simply about

space and form, but also about event, action, and what happens in space.”

Bernard Tschumi

The Manhattan Transcripts propose to transcribe an architectural interpretation of reality. They use a particular structure indicated by photographs that either direct or ‘witness’ events with functions or programmes. Their explicit purpose is to transcribe things normally removed from conventional architectural representation, mainly the complex relationship between spaces and their uses, objects and events.The Transcripts try to offer a different view of architecture where space, movement and events are independent, but stand in a new relation to one another, so conventional components of architecture are broken down and rebuilt along different axis within the Manhattan framework.

The design aspect of an object which suggests how the object should be used; a visual clue to its function and use. Norman defines affordance as something of both actual and perceived properties, this is also independent of the actor’s experience, knowledge, culture or ability to perceive.

D o n a l D n o r m a n E r r o r o f A f f o r d a n c e

an action possibility available to an individual in the environment, independent of the individual’s ability to perceive this possibility. an affordance according to gibson exists relative to the action capabilities of the particular actors.

j a m E s j g i b s o nFor a cat it offers the

affordance of hiding prey.

throW

UsE as tool

hiDE prEy

hUrt toE

The rock offers different affordances to different animals.

For an adult, it offers the affordance of throwing it or to use it as a tool.

For a mouse, it offers the affordances to hide behind it or to climb on top of it.

hiDEclimb

The glass Door opens in one direction, but identical looking “pull” handles were installed

on both sides of the door, making it extremely unclear whether to push or pull the door open.

Norman’s proverbial glass door shows how the error of affordance can lead to a piece of art that

stimulates conversation. a lack of affordance leads to low learnability, but in the eyes of this thesis, an error of affordance can lead to new

knowledge when rewarded through play.

Another coherent interpretation of Gibson’s conception of affordances states that,

“affordances, or clues in the environment that indicate possibilities for action, are perceived

in a direct, immediate way with no sensory processing. examples include: buttons for

pushing, knobs for turning, handles for pulling, levers for sliding, etc.”

Taking Gibson’s theory, the idea of the railings show that the affordance will vary based on an individual’s ability and capabilities to perceive various possibilities. Using Norman’s theory, design elements will be integrated to suggest how a particular obstacle or component is to be used, creating new affordances and giving a visual clue based in the Parkour mindset.The project aim is to change the affordance of the cityscape through the art of Parkour. by giving the citizens a new mindset of the urban environment, they can begin to view everyday street furniture with a new, fresh perspective.

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M i n d s e tP a r k o u rM i n d s e t

Designed for security and provide protective limitation of a boundary.

What can I do with this? Can I balance on it?

Can I jump, swing, flip or roll off it?

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Major parks

Other parks & playing f ie lds

Myton: Most depr ived area in Hul l

100 m 200 m

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Ona Prospect shopping Centre, brook street

b Paragon street / King edward street

c The Warren, Dock street

D Hull City Council, george street

E george street Car Park, Wilberforce Drive

f Police station, Wilberforce Drive

g Hull College, george street

h Combined Court Centre, Chapel lane

i HsbC bank, Whitefriargate

j Business Offices, Alfred Gelder Street

K Princes Quay, Castle street

l Princes Quay / Primark, Osborne street

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Various sites were selected where there was less need to add additional components on existing buildings to allow for Parkour. Opportunities to climb were based on surface material and building structure. beginner level consists of the most interference, allowing citizens to easily approach the system and take part in Parkour. Intermediate level has minimal interference and finally, expert with no intervention to allow the individual to be independent and create their own affordances with their Parkour mindset.The idea of the guide is to slowly introduce the public to Parkour starting off with exercises for the untrained. as they advance, they are able to move through any environment efficiently and can discover the abilities of their own body, determining what they prefer with their individual movements based on their personal limit.

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u n t r a i n e dParagon street / King edward street

Exercise 04 - The Lunge1) start in a karate-like stance, placing one leg on the bollard and front shoulder facing forward.2) squat down a small amount, bending your knees.3) lean onto your front knee, placing pressure on it and stretching the back leg.4) Keep your body sideways and make sure your front knee is only at a right angle. also keep your front foot facing straight and your back foot outwards.

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B e g i n n e rgeorge street, Wilberforce DriveRoute 10 - Precision1) Jump upward and out, throwing your hands into the air and above your head so that your body forms a straight line that flies head first at a roughly 45 degree angle towards the object you’re trying to precision on. bring your knees as high as you can into a tuck position while you’re in the air.2) Transition from your tuck to stretching out your legs as you get midway through the jump of the precision. angle your body down ward and toward the object so that your feet are closer to it than your head. spot the object at this point and get ready to land.3) Focus on your footing as you land so your feet are centred on the object you’re landing on. Land on the balls of your feet and then bend your knees into a squat and allow your arms to swing out in front of you to absorb the force of the landing.

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I n t e r m e d i a t eCombined Court Centre, Chapel lane

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Route 16 - Tic Tac1) Take a few steps back from the wall and visualize your jump. Be confident that you can clear the obstacle. Take a few seconds to relax.2) Run toward the wall and build as much speed as you’ll need to get good height on your jump.3) Jump off of one leg and lift the other toward the wall, bending your knee as you bring it up. Focus on the spot on the wall where your foot will hit, not on the obstacle you’re trying to clear.4) Place your lifted foot on the wall and push off in the direction of the obstacle you’re clearing. Make this movement quick and efficient.5) lift your other leg and jump over the obstacle.6) land lightly on the balls of your feet and take a few steps to slow yourself down.

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E x p e r tHull City Council, george street

D09

Route 09 - Front Flip1) Position yourself at the top of the stairs, then take a few powerful steps toward the edge.2) Draw your arms up around your shoulders and punch the ground with a two-footed stomp.3) allow your body to rise slightly before beginning the rotation of the flip.4) Throw your arms down as you pull your legs into a tight tucked position. This provides the momentum you need to carry you through the flip.5) land on the balls of your feet, then execute a roll to absorb the extra impact of the drop.

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eThe use of flat roofs as Parkour destinations act as a test bed and propose a new roofscape

for the city of Hull. It allows exploration of the social, spatial and environmental potential of

roofs. Urban rooftop beach refreshes Hull’s tired roofscape, aiming to provide more than just green

roofs. The roofs of the city become destinations for citizens of Hull and potentially tourists from

around the world. The population are able to take in all the sights and sounds as breathtaking

views of beautiful scenery unfold. With a 360o

visibility from a rooftop beach, a model world appears below and familiar landmarks may take

on new perspectives. It can also allow for Parkour to be taken further, permitting beginners a safe

learning zone as well as professionals to train at a demanding level.