Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes

Abstract

A collection of 18 articles inspired by the Meristem 2007 Forum, "Restorative Commons for Community Health." The articles include interviews, case studies, thought pieces, and interdisciplinary theoretical works that explore the relationship between human health and the urban environment. This volume is a joint endeavor of Meristem and the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station as they work to strengthen networks of researchers and practitioners to develop new solutions to persistent and emergent challenges to human health, well-being, and potential within the urban environment.

Titles contained within Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes

• Introduction
• Foreword
• Landscape designers, doctors, and the making of healthy urban spaces in 19th century America
• Biophilia, health, and well-being
• Cultivating resilience: urban stewardship as a means to improving health and well-being
• Re-naturing the city: a role for sustainable infrastructure and buildings
• Urban gardens: catalysts for restorative commons infrastructure
• Creating restorative settings: inclusive design considerations
• The benefits of community-managed open space: community gardening in New York City
• Environmental and community health: a reciprocal relationship
• From front yards to street corners: revitalizing neighborhoods through community-based land stewardship
• Creative uncertainty
• Restoring lives, transforming landscapes: the greenhouse program at Rikers Island jail
• Memoryscape
• Youth empowerment through urban agriculture: Red Hook Community Farm
• Adapting the botanical garden into a sustainable, multicultural resource
• The re-greening of public housing

Citation

Campbell, Lindsay; Wiesen, Anne. 2009. Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-39. Newtown Square, PA : U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 278 p.  https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-39.