ASLA Healthcare & Therapeutic Design Professional Practice Network
host.asla.org/groups/tgdpigroup/
Acer Institute
www.acerinstitute.org
Founder / Director: P. Annie Kirk, BSW, MLA, ASLA
The Acer Institute unites professionals regionally to facilitate dynamic, patient-focused, multidisciplinary design processes; facilitate conferences and education services; sponsor on-going research and knowledge community repository; and conduct post-design evaluations.
The Center for Health Design
www.healthdesign.org
A good source for information on architectural as well as landscape healthcare design. They publish an excellent journal called Health Environment Research Design (HERD).
The Children & Nature Network
www.childrenandnature.org
Design for Health
www.designforhealth.net
Design for Health (DFH) is a collaborative project between the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and the University of Colorado that serves to bridge the gap between the emerging research base on community design and healthy living and the everyday realities of local government planning. Design for Health (DFH) focuses on how planners and other related occupations can play a role in changing the built environment in ways that may influence human health.
Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA)
www.edra.org
An international, interdisciplinary organization founded in 1968 by design professionals, social scientists, students, educators, and facility managers. The purpose of edra is the advancement and dissemination of environmental design research, thereby improving understanding of the interrelationships between people, their built and natural surroundings, and helping to create environments responsive to human needs.
The “Ask EDRA” section is a great resource for people with specific questions.
Hope in Bloom
www.hopeinbloom.org
Roberta Dehman Hershon, Founder and Director
Hope in Bloom is a non-profit organization that provides gardens free of charge at the homes of women and men who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer (yes, men get it, too). They are currently focusing on gardens in Massachusetts only, but hope to expand to other states in the future.
“Hope in Blooom gardens offer people a beautiful, tranquil place to sit, reflect and escape from the world of doctors, hospitals and sickness. We create life-affirming indoor or outdoor gardens (container, patio or in-ground) for any breast cancer patient who requests one while in active treatment (the garden may be planted after treatment is over, but must be requested during treatment). All have symbols of life including color, texture, fragrance and sound incorporated into their design. Each garden is tailored to the recipient’s residential situation and lifestyle.”
Human Flower Project
www.humanflowerproject.com
The Human Flower Project is an international newsgroup, photo album and discussion of humankind’s relationship with the floral world. We report on art, medicine, society, history, politics, religion, and commerce. Written and photographic submissions are welcome.
Human Issues in Horticulture (HIH)
An International People-Plant Interaction Resource Center
www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hiih
Dr. Candice Shoemaker, Chair, and Dr. Andy Kaufman, Director
HIH looks at the influences of plants on people in all aspects of their lives. The focus is beyond the obvious environmental benefits that plants provide such as replenishing oxygen supply, preventing soil erosion, cooling neighborhoods and filtering dust to mention a few, but how plants affect people in social and aesthetic dimensions…HIH is to facilitate the mission of the People Plant Council (PPC), an international group of various individuals and professions, which is to document and communicate the effect that plants have on human well-being and improved life-quality.
InformeDesign: Where Research Informs Design
www.informedesign.umn.edu
Excellent research and communication tool for designers. Research Summaries are added weekly.
Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD)
Founded in 1978 as Adaptive Environments, the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD), as it is now known, is an international non- profit, NGO educational organization located in Boston, whose mission centers upon “advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities through excellence in design. IHCD’s work balances expertise in legally required accessibility with promotion of best practices in human-centered or universal design."
Many thanks to Amy Wagenfeld for this description
Meristem
www.meristem.org
Meristem is an educational non-profit organization based in New York City. We promote nature’s role in the improvement of human health and well-being through the development of resources for Restorative Gardens in healthcare environments and Restorative Commons in urban public spaces.
The National Academy of Environmental Design
www.naedonline.org
The National Academy of Environmental Design is being established by a coalition of education and professional organizations focused on the built environment. The academy, which is proposed to be housed within the the existing National Academies, would share their mission of addressing critical national issues and providing advice to the federal government and the public.
Open Space
www.openspace.eca.ac.uk
The research centre for inclusive access to outdoor environments.
In association with Landscape Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art and the School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University.
Research Design Connections
www.researchdesignconnections.com
An excellent source for people and place research, exploring “the way physical environments can be designed to reduce stress, increase creativity, improve health, and support people’s welfare.”
Information is presented, via the website and a quarterly print edition, in “straightforward prose, tables, and photos.”
Though a subscription is necessary to gain access to all information, the website offers a “free trial,” and Landscape Architecture Magazine publishes several of the articles every 2-4 months. ASLA members receive a 20% suscription discount.
SULIS – Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series
www.sustland.umn.edu/design/healinggardens.html
University of Minnesota
Information-packed page on healing gardens, including a nice definition; notes on general design and design for specific uses; many useful links and references.
TKF Foundation
www.tkffdn.org
Providing the opportunity for a deeper human experience by supporting the creation of public greenspaces that offer a temporary place of sanctuary, encourage reflection, provide solace, and engender peace…
Urban Ecology
www.urbanecology.org
Vibrant neighborhoods are the building blocks of healthy cities and thriving regions. Urban Ecology uses urban design, land use planning, and policy reform to help communities plan and build neighborhoods that are ecologically healthy, socially just, and economically fair.
