Tosti Talks: Re-Imagining campus public spaces, 15 minute campus

This talk explores the notion of the 15-Minute Cities (15MC) and brings it to a less researched field of the "15 min campus". I will reflect on a workshop we recently developed at the DesignLab where we used explored how to use geo-citizen science to redesign our campuses environments in support of walkability. The 15MC advocates rethinking our mobility systems and the way cities are built to encourage sustainable mobility and support sustainable, climate-neutral, livable, and inclusive cities. The goal is for citizens to meet most daily needs within a 15-minute radius, by walking and cycling. The campus of the University of Twente hosts good quality roads and cycling infrastructure connecting main spaces and functions. However, it is less suitable for walking or moving around for people with disabilities or, for cultural or other reasons, prefer not to use a bike. Building an inclusive, vibrant and livable campus implies that equity of access for pedestrians should be considered in the design of public spaces (streets, squares and open green spaces) on campus. Public spaces are essential infrastructures underpinning the vibe and social fabric of the University and promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of its users. In this workshop we 1. identified bottlenecks in access and use of public spaces on campus, with focus on walkability, resourcing to a geo-citizen science approach and 2. redesigned these public spaces, with the identified stakeholders and in line with a 15MC campus idea. The main stakeholders involved included the UT students and campus managers, the municipality, sustainability organizations on campus, and researchers. The Tosti Talk reflects on how geo-citizen science can be used to support the provision (quantity/ quality) of public spaces to promote walkability on campus.

THE SPEAKER

am currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), in the department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management (PGM), of the University of Twente. I am also a researcher at PLUS - People, Land and Urban Systems, at ITC. I received my PhD in Urban Planning in 2014, from the Blekinge Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Circle - Center for Innovation, Research and Learning in the learning Economy, at Lund University, in Sweden. I hold a bachelor in Geography from the University of Porto, in Portugal, and a master in European Spatial Planning and Regional Development, from the Blekinge Institute of Technology, in Sweden.

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