First published to in English in 2013, Socially Restorative Urbanism, which argues for a re-introduction of person-centred design in urban placemaking, was translated by Dr Yuhan Shao and Dr Yuting Yin, both formally of the Department of Landscape Architecture and now of Tongji University.
Focusing on the interplay between people and the built environment, the authors – who also include Drs Alice Mathers and Ian Simkins – develop two new concepts: the transitional edge – a socio-spatial concept of the urban realm; and Experiemics – a participative process that acts to redress imbalances in territorial relationships, defined in terms of the awareness of mine, theirs, ours and yours (MTOY).
Socially Restorative Urbanism shows how professional practice and community understanding can be brought together in a mutually interdependent and practical way. It will be of interest to readers in the social sciences and environmental psychology, as well as the spatial planning and design disciplines.
The concepts explored in Socially Restorative Urbanism form the basis the Department of Landscape Architecture’s Urban Design Project, in which postgraduate students transform a site in Kelham Island, Sheffield, using the needs of local residents as the driver for their designs.
The Department is also home to the Socio-Spatial Urbanism Unit, which brings together academics, teachers and practitioners from across disciplines and universities to advance understanding of the human-environment relationship.
On the publication of Chinese language version of his book, Kevin notes that the work undertaken by Dr Yuhan Shao and Dr Yuting Yin further strengthens the links between the Socio-Spatial Urbanism Unit and Tongi University, where it is now used as a key text in their module Studies of Human Inhabitation and Settlement.
Dr Yuting Yin says: “for us, the translation of this book is not only a relearning and absorption of the accumulation and understanding of Dr Kevin Thwaites, in his decades of practical and teaching experiences, but also a valuable opportunity to convey his theories to Chinese readers through our voices.”
“It is hoped that this book can provide scholars, practitioners and students in related areas with a new perspective to understand the relationship between people, space and place, and provide some inspiration for the human-oriented urban regeneration process.”
Socially Restorative Urbanism: The theory, process, and practice of Experiemics