Design for Health & Wellbeing - Week 4
I have been hit with the typical first-few-weeks-back-at-uni cold which I saw coming as I haven’t been back here for the past 3 years and my uni days go pretty late.
Which means I haven’t been to any of my classes this week.
But I have read over the slides and have given the Auckland City Mission project a lot of thought.
In my opinion, the biggest challenge is not creating a sense of community within the street whanau because from what Jacqui said, they already have that to a degree. The challenge is creating a sense of community between the street whanau and the rest of central Auckland. Majority of the reason being that there is a stigma towards the street whanau that causes a division in the city.
The two main topics that this project wants to cover is:
What makes a community can be defined by different factors. A sense of community can happen via:
Location (e.g small rural towns)
Hobbies (arts, film, gaming)
It is usually a common interest/trait that creates a community, and how these communities bond is through community events. Such as; going to church, going to a sports game/playing sports, cultural festivals, community fairs (e.g Kumeu Show).
Although the street whanau have created a sense of community by the lifestyle they are currently in and the struggles they face, it is not a ‘community’ that those of CBD can become a part of and vice versa. Putting someone in a house does not mean they are automatically a part of the ‘outside‘ community again.
Realistically I don’t believe there is ‘one community’ in CBD apart from living in Aotearoa. It is many different communities that contribute to this diverse way of NZ life and I think this project building has a great opportunity to encompass that.
For us as designers to try to instil this community sense in this building is almost impossible without talking to the street whanau and also the rest of Auckland CBD. What are these communities that both parties are a part of and how can we include that in this project? How can we include this overarching NZ diversity community into this space?
Some ideas that came into my head around this were having activities/workshops on a range of things such as;
Cooking workshop (different cuisines every month)
A community garden on the rooftop
To name a few. Activities that engage both communities and teach new skills.
Our wellbeing encompasses factors such as;
For the street whanau, the majority of these factors are on the decline.
Our physical health can be affected by many factors as well, such as; our environment (warm, dry shelter with good ventilation), nutrition (eating a balanced diet), exercising (30 mins a day), genetic problems (common family health problems passed down).
Our mental health is an area that has been on the rise to address it more seriously and take better care of ourselves. And with mental health, everyone is different in what makes them happy and makes them mentally happy. Some like to have luxury items, some like living with the bare minimum. Factors such as; our environment, the relationships we’re in, our jobs, our living situation etc. all contribute to it. Communication with the street whanau on their mental wellbeing will be crucial.
Relationships also come under “a sense of community” as it is the aspect that is solely based on human connection. Many of the street whanau have lost relationships with their loved ones but have gained new relationships through the street community and those at ACM. This project not only has a chance to increase the relationships within those communities but also with those in Auckland CBD.
Currently, the solution to homelessness is to put them in a house. This addresses the physical health point of creating a better environment of warm, dry shelter. But it doesn’t address the other factors of our mental health and relationships. To create a sense of wellbeing in this project activities such as; group workouts, yoga/meditation, counselling, team building workshops, healthy cooking lessons, could all help towards this goal.
In conclusion, I believe the greatest way to create a sense of community and a sense of wellbeing is through different activities/events. Activities that invite different communities into the space, encourage new relationships and engage in new ideas.
