OBJECTIVE: A discussion of the challenges to completing participatory social research with children and adolescents in a hospital setting. BACKGROUND: Beginning with the dominant medical culture of hospitals, coupled with a persistent skepticism of social and in particular qualitative research and its contribution to knowledge in medical circles, restrictive contextual challenges also include attitudinal, methodological, and logistical considerations. Together, these challenges hamper good participatory research practice and the capacity to maintain quality data, as well as impede children's participation in research, which has the capacity to contribute to healthcare design, policy, and planning processes. METHODS: Two studies in pediatric settings in Australia, one of which was completed in 2008 and the other which was discontinued in 2011, provide the basis for this research discussion. The discussion addresses the issues that persist in inhibiting the completion of participatory social research and the resulting impacts on research, children's right to participate, and the volume of evidence that is ultimately available from children's perspectives to support and inform healthcare design, planning, and policy in pediatric settings. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for changes that could strengthen and improve this research experience include building awareness of the potential value of this research; increasing its influence; building the capacity and knowledge of gatekeepers, ethics committees, and researchers working in this context; and recognizing and valuing children's competence and participation.

Artwork is now regularly stipulated as a requirement in design briefs for hospitals. The resulting artwork can be a collection of commissions, or a seamless extension of the interior design concept. In the case of paediatric hospitals ‘art’ which is simply a graphic treatment applied to key surfaces throughout the hospital environment, is unlikely to function in the ways that children and young people have identified as being valuable in their experience of hospitalisation. This environmental feature will be used to reveal some of the key components of a hospital environment involved in children's feeling of well-being from their perspectives

Urban planning has long pursued the improvement of health and wellbeing through the rapidly evolving scholarship and practice of health-supportive environments, underpinned by the seminal World Health Organization’s Healthy Cities Framework. Although a much more recent development, technology has been informing urban planning, as well as advancing healthcare and personal wellbeing monitoring and assessment. Known as the Smart City movement, it has much to offer regarding life in towns and cities, as well as how they are managed, maintained, and developed. There is also a growing appreciation of the potential for smart city technology to enhance human and environmental health in the context of urban planning and public place making. This has been reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic with its reawakening of community interest in health and wellbeing, including mental illness, a greater awareness of the importance of local environments, and an explosion of technological knowhow in the embrace of remote working, online shopping, and education. Using the example of the authors’ “Smart Social Spaces” project, this entry discusses the potential benefits of an evolving integrative concept called “Smart Healthy Social Spaces”. The aim is to support community wellbeing as part of everyday living, especially associated with social connection, in densely populated and culturally diverse urban environments, where locally situated public spaces are increasingly important for all citizens.

© 2017 The Authors. Published. Sustainability assessment tools aim to promote high sustainability outcomes in residential buildings, ensuring less consumption of water, energy and less emission of greenhouse gases. However, existing literature often presents variations between the estimated outcomes from the assessment tools and actual outcomes after building occupation. Research suggests that actual energy consumption could be significantly influenced by resident behaviour in addition to the dwelling conditions and the energy efficiency of appliances. This qualitative study explores the nature of resident behaviour in achieving thermal comfort and how these influence the actual energy performance of BASIX-affected dwellings in NSW. A preliminary evidence-based behaviour model is developed to support the behavioural analysis. The model positions the heating and cooling effects of the dwellings' design, the behaviour of residents in space heating and cooling, hot water consumption, etc. as well as multiple influential attributes such as resident's perceptions, preferences, attitudes and knowledge towards energy efficiency in relationship to energy efficiency outcomes. The model not only identifies the key drivers that trigger energy consumption behaviour, but also investigates the potential inter-relationships among all the key influential attributes. The findings of this research will inform the BASIX assessment tool, sustainability policy, building designs and government educational programs on sustainability

Behavior mapping is the systematic observation of people using their environments. The Smart Social Spaces research project, recently completed in Sydney, Australia, is used as a vehicle to illustrate the usefulness of this method for understanding the relationships between people and public spaces in cities. Behavior mapping was the central method used to establish what impact the inclusion of smart technology and street furniture had on people’s use of two public spaces. Using this method, it is possible to record real-time patterns of people’s use of public space, enabling local authorities to better support the social use of public space and the management of its infrastructure.