Fellow: Dr Joshua Kearney; Partner: J49; School/Dept: Birmingham Business School
There is a housing crisis in the UK where the government have committed to both building 1.5 million new homes and also improving health. On top of this, there is an issue of affordability, particularly in London. Partner organisation and housing association J49 have set out to develop affordable housing that also promotes, as they call it, “creative community living”. There is a need however, to understand the ways in which design cultivates behaviour by residents that is conducive to social and healthy lifestyles. Along with the academic mentor, Prof John Bryson in Birmingham Business School, Joshua has already developed a neuroplasticity-informed approach termed urban plasticity approach, which analyses the city through a lens that recognises the ability of people and place to undergo change in response to each other and events. The fellowship will see the fellow work closely with J49 Ltd to understand and shape the design and development process behind their projects, while also interviewing design professionals and residents with the ultimate aims of using behavioural research to inform design and also to understand the behaviours that the design process comprises and leads to.