HOME 2 | A Lifelong, Dreamed of, Home

HOME 2 A Lifelong, Dreamed of, Home

Editor: Valerie Fox University Writing Program, Faculty Writing Fellow Book and Cover Design: Patty West Editorial Assistant: Lauren Lowe ’17 Alumni Fellow, Writers Room Kirsten Kaschock University Writing Program, Associate Director: Experiential Learning Rachel Wenrick Founding Director, Writers Room With thanks to: Merle Curran-Ackert STAR Scholar Summer ‘19 Hasciya Austin WorkReady Intern Summer ‘19 Mabedi Sennanyana Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships Co-op Fall/Winter ’18-’19

Copyright © 2019 - All rights reserved.

All rights of work included here remain with writers and artists.

PREFACE “You will finish this novel…everything folds in.”

This encouragement was written by Kirsten Kaschock in the Healthy Living Forum symposium, reflecting on the creative use of space. Such messages, with a generous sprinkling of words like “love” and “hope,” were written in postcards to future selves, following the work done on January 26, 2019.

The Healthy Living Forum was designed by D.S. Nicholas, Director of the Design Research MS and leader of the Integral Living Group. Substandard housing and housing insecurity cause great stress in the urban environment. Integral Living Research (ILR) is a novel and collaborative design research group that has developed eight principles for healthy living environments: Privacy, Security, Green Exposure, Food Access, Technology, Health, Water + Mold Reduction, Creativity + Self-Efficacy. The goal is to help remove living stress and create tools that can function as a bridge to improved health in dire conditions.

This book documents the interactive sessions that were created to accompany the lecture from D.S. Nicholas and flash talks from fellow Drexel faculty members Uk Jung, Gina Lovasi, Yvonne Michael, and Rachel Schade in the areas of health and community.

We hope that the words and images in A Lifelong, Dreamed of, Home will inspire your own creative and healthful endeavors.

—Valerie Fox

Photo: Kyle Howey

CONTENTS Introduction to Healthy Living Introduction, D.S. Nicholas…9 Storyboards First I open fridge…16 First I clean my room…18 First I find inspiration…19 I Can Work Anywhere….20 Postcards to Future Selves Dear Denota, Denota Watson…22 Plan Your Revolution, Rosalyn Cliett…24 Future Self, Anonymous…25 Dear Future Me, Jasmine James…26 Dear Future Self, Anonymous…27 Dear Mabedi, Mabedi Sennanyana…28 Future Tash, Natasha Hajo…29 Dear Tana J, Tana J Mayfield…30 To Future LL, Lauren Lowe…31 Dear Gina, Gina Lovasi…32 Dear Rebecca, Rebecca Arthur…33 Dear Future Rachel, Rachel Schade…34 Creativity at Home, Anonymous…35 Amy Gottsegen…36 Kiki the Future, Kirsten Kaschock…37

Photo: Kyle Howey

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INTRODUCTION TO HEALTHY LIVING FORUM D.S. Nicholas Welcome to the Affordable Housing and Cooperative Living Symposium: Healthy Living Forum. I am Dee Nicholas – leader of the Integral Living Research group and Director of the Drexel MS in Design Research, and I am excited to welcome you today.

Improved health and living spaces for underserved communities are a welldocumented area of urgency in our current world (WHO, 2016). Health advocacy and solutions design for equitable urban living are studied by the Integral Living Research Group. This group researches healthy urban living through a novel and collaborative design research method that melds the disciplines of architecture, interior design, public health and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. The group creates environmentally driven solutions that work to reduce the stress of urban families and support their enhanced wellbeing where they are in the housing pipeline. The Integral Living Research Group develops both research strategies and new ideas that can help with this stress reduction in the urban built environment via new service and space-oriented solutions.

We have a lot planned for you this morning–including several talks and activities.

In addition to myself, we are joined by architecture professor Rachel Schade, Yvonne Michael from the Dornsife School of Public Health, Gina Lovasi from the Urban Health Collaborative is here, and architect Uk Jung. I will give each a formal intro later in the proceedings but just wanted to welcome each of them and thank them for joining us!

Photo: Devin Welsh

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Throughout my life I have been considering home in various ways, and as we all know, it defines so much about who we are! The road map for today is a quick intro to the work of our group followed by a storyboarding exercise, four flash talks and then a creative writing exercise. I’d like to start by sharing with you the five main principles of healthy urban living our group has developed.

In order to understand the stress-oriented perspective of the proposed work, we must examine well-being in the urban environment and how it relates to food production, green space, privacy, security and self efficacy. The Integral Living Research Group has developed these principles through a fifteen-year expedition in community and collaborative design practice that built on a concurrent fifteen years of urban built environment experience including housing and residential design expertise. We have partnered across many boundaries to work with multiple service and care providers to the populations suffering from stress due to a lack of housing or due to insufficient housing. In order to understand the perspective of the proposed work, we must examine well-being in the urban environment and how it relates to green space, stress and natural exposure.

The well known and seminal study by Roger Ulrich’s of hospital care and nature exposure in 1984, long ago added a focus to those who work in the built environment 10

Principles of Healthy Urban Living

on understanding how nature can supercharge spaces with healing properties (Sternberg, 2009, Kindle Loc. 29). Based in a putative understanding of nature exposure and patient health in hospitals, this study also examined how nature could reduce patients’ stress level to augment their health (Sternberg, 2009, Kindle Loc. 49). The examination of spatial configuration, windows, and nature exposure as a tool for health augmentation has grown to make the consideration of spaces central to our general well-being. Well-being is defined as a more encompassing measure of human health and is the link between the environment, psychological stability and health (Kopec, 2017).

Our environments have the power to support our self-efficacy through promoting our mental health (Kopec, 2017, p. 28). Integral Living Research sees the urban row home as the frontline of health care in the Philadelphia environment. This work is incremental; adding new routines and habits to the residential environment creates a space and policy-oriented lens towards privacy, security, self-efficacy, and stress reduction in the existing situations that families find themselves in. Families need portable solutions that can help them as they navigate the current housing system in a major city at many scales. We hope to give them those tools.

Integral Healthy Living Group

A major source of our comfort and security, the home, and our related ability to control this environment, is part of what makes us human, and defines our sense of self (Allen, 2015). Environmental psychology, the study of behavior and space, gives us a set of base theories and techniques for understanding how needs can be met through our environment (Kopec, 2012). Our group adds human centered design and design research to the validated processes and methodologies of the social sciences. Deep research and much knowledge already exist on the influence of spatial comfort and configuration, and the stress engendered by a lack of fit between users and environment is an established study (Kopec, 2012).

The re-design of our overburdened substandard housing system relies on projects 11

Principles of Healthy Urban Living: Processes

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such as these whose goal is to create a series of novel customizable tools and service-oriented interventions in the environment. These tools are meant to be designed so that users can utilize them no matter their current situation in the housing pipeline.

We believe that the focus on the principles proposed here, coupled with engagement across disciplinary boundaries, create a path for a new kind of advocacy and improvement in the urban housing sphere. The ILR group process accomplishes this through collaboration and study in the areas of health, science and design.

The need for advocacy and a human centered approach to housing and the living situation in the urban environment is necessary to create change on stress and well-being through housing for urban families.

The areas of each of these principles are impactful to the user because each has the possibility to most ameliorate stress and has a track record of doing so; thus they promote health to create optimal dwelling for these underserved, and stressed, urban dwellers.

Integral Healthy Living Group

I want to note that the main collaborators in ILR are myself, epidemiologist Yvonne Michael, who is here, and epidemiologist and microbiologist Shivanthi Anandan.

Two main group-based project areas of ILR are 1) Garden Fresh Home (patent pending) integrating evidence-based design and fundamental research processes in science into the research of green space and food production within the home; and 2) the Health Design Research Innovation Program, which creates tools around housing insecurity and eviction. These project areas exemplify the focus of ILR and are the main vehicles for the work at several scales of interaction. The objective of the proposed five principles of IRL is to help create new environments and services that build habits towards alleviating daily living stress. The ultimate outcome is the creation of well researched tools and services that can function as a new bridge, and part of the solution to, improved health in these dire conditions.

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STORYBOARDS The story of creative activity at home.

Photo: Lauren Lowe

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First I Open the Fridge

First I Find Time

Because: I wish:

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First I Clean My Room First I clean my room, and the entire house. Cleaning clears my head. I wish I could clean faster. I wish I had minty-smelling cleaner.

Next I clear my desk of all clutter. It helps me focus on one task. I wish I had a bigger desk. I wish my chair was more comfortable.

And then I put away all electronics. Tech is a distraction. I wish I could move the record player to my room. I wish I could create some ambience in my room.

And then……I brew a cup of tea: Ginger, Lemon, Honey. I feel refreshed. It makes me feel exquisite. I wish I had more tea-cups. I wish the brew was constant.

And then……I review some previous writing in my journal. I get to see I have been great before. I wish I wrote more. I wish I had writing from even earlier times.

I write about my day. It is the easiest thing to write about. I wish I had more energy to write after long days.

I think long and hard about what I want to write. Writing drafts all the while. It is the first process to the writing. I wish I spent more time and ink to this.

I wish I wrote more. I wish I worried less about tomorrow. I write the piece, finally, usually a poem.

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First I Find Inspiration First I find inspiration, more or less the first tangible concept, no matter how abstract.

Next I create a world in my head. I start with a setting to build off of.

Make myself comfortable, a task that ends up with me usually in bed.

Write the piece, usually sit until it’s done…I lean towards fiction, short stories so it’s not unreasonable.

Set the work aside and move on with my day, which is always sleeping since I write at night.

Return and reread, could be the next day, but I always return soon since I don’t like leaving it too long.

Edit, this could be the wording or developing the story, but either way this lasts ’til I either I need to submit or I lose motivation.

Edit some more, I always find ways I can improve a story through both content and writing.

Photo: Kyle Howey

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I Can Work Anywhere I can work anywhere—get lost in the music.

I look at all the photos in RAW because I can choose which is best before I even have a design in mind—may also give me inspiration.

It gets my mind off the photos…

I retouch the photo—wish I didn’t have to enforce beauty standards.

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I get out of my own head and look at other inspiration The music makes me feel empowered—it gives me a sense of style that empowers my work.

I choose a color palette that leads to the mood of the piece.

I use the pen tool to start designing.

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POSTCARDS TO FUTURE SELVES

Photo: Devin Welsh

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PLAN YOUR REVOLUTION Rosalyn Cliett Dear Future Rosalyn I believe to be in better health, that I may get back to those things you would like to do in my house, in the neighborhood and with people. Hoping to accomplish change in This Life.

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Photo: Jasmine James

Anonymous Future Self Creativity means being free Make time to live unstructured 25

Jasmine James Dear Future Me, I want to actually put myself out there, so I hope you can stop putting off enhancing and developing your writing. I want you to read more, speak up more.

Help others and write about your growth from those experiences. Light more candles and add color to your creative space. Ribbons would be a good start!

Love, Your current self, always

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Photo: Devin Welsh

Anonymous Dear Future Self: My creative space physical - mental is currently very limited.

Have you found a way to make more room in your life to better support your process?

I wonder...

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Mabedi Sennanyana Dear Mabedi, I hope you’ve gathered the courage to rally everyone in your neighborhood to live more environmentally conscious. Here’s to planting more, teaching more people about the importance of the earth and kicking some ECO-ASS!!

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Photo: Jasmine James

Natasha Hajo Future Tash: Take care of your space—invite others in, preserve it, remember to give it some sunlight.

To make anything, the space you’re in, the space around you, the space you take up has to be right. You know that, Future Tash.

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Tana J. Mayfield Dear Tana J: No doubt you are overwhelmed to finally be living in, touching, seeing, breathing in the realities of a lifelong, dreamed of, home.

As you welcome a host of people from all over the world.

Shalom!

Photo: Jasmine James

Lauren Lowe To Future LL: I imagine that your setting is quite different now than it used to be. (fingers crossed, re: grad school). I know leaving home was something you were scared of for a long time, but wherever you are, I hope you’re still building on everything you learned about home here. That will never leave you. And also, you can always come home.

Remember: Space + Meaning = Place 31

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References for D.S. Nicholas

Cutts, D. B., Meyers, A. F., Black, M. M., Casey, P. H., Chilton, M., Cook, J. T., … Frank, D. A. (2011). US Housing Insecurity and the Health of Very Young Children. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), 1508–1514.

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/878542459/ abstract/14A4545EAB64A07PQ/1 Cynthia L. Ogden, Margaret D. Carroll, Cheryl D. Fryar, & Katherine M. Flegal. (2015). Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2011–2014. NCHS Data Brief, 219. Retrieved from https://www. cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db219.htm DESIGN for EQUITY. (2018). [blog]. Retrieved February 1, 2018, from http://www.designforequity.org/ Desmond, M. (2016). Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (1 edition). New York: Crown.

DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change |. (2017). Retrieved February 1, 2018, from https://www.dosomething.org/us Features | WELL Standard. (2018). Retrieved January 3, 2019, from https://standard.wellcertified.com/features Feng, X., & Astell-Burt, T. (2017). Residential Green Space Quantity and Quality and Child Well-being: A Longitudinal Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(5), 616–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. amepre.2017.06.035.

Jacobs, J. (1993). The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Reissue edition). New York: Modern Library.

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Lagdameo, J. B. (2017, June 19). A Look at 10 Iconic Case Study Houses in California - Dwell. Retrieved January 5, 2019, from https://www.dwell.com/ article/a-look-at-10-iconic-case-study-houses-in-california-abb9ca3c Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169–182. https:// doi.org/10.1016/0272-4944(95)90001-2 Kern, D. M., Auchincloss, A. H., Stehr, M. F., Roux, A. V. D., Moore, L. V., Kanter, G. P., & Robinson, L. F. (2017). Neighborhood Prices of Healthier and Unhealthier Foods and Associations with Diet Quality: Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph14111394 Kopec, D. (Ed.). (2017). Traditional and Alternative Approaches to Health and Well-being. In Health and Well-being for Interior Architecture (1 edition).

New York: Routledge.

Ledford, D. K., & Lockey, R. F. (1994). Building- and home-related complaints and illnesses: Sick building syndrome”. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 94(2), 275–276. https://doi.org/10.1053/ai.1994.v94. a56005 Ma, B., Zhou, T., Lei, S., Wen, Y., & Htun, T. T. (2018). Effects of urban green spaces on residents’ well-being. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0161-8 Marcus, C. C. (1995). House As a Mirror of Self: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of Home (First Printing edition). Berkeley, Calif: Conari Pr.

Medically Underserved Areas and Populations (MUA/Ps) | Bureau of Health Workforce. (2018). Retrieved January 5, 2019, from https:// bhw.hrsa.gov/shortage-designation/muap

Office of the Surgeon General (US). (2010). The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon General (US).

Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44660/

Mind | WELL Standard. (2018). Retrieved January 3, 2019, from https://standard.wellcertified.com/mind

Acknowledgements

MUA Find. (2018). Retrieved January 5, 2019, from https://data.hrsa. gov/tools/shortage-area/mua-find

IRL’s green biophilic research (Garden Fresh Home) is patent pending and funded by Drexel Ventures; the housing insecurity work, including Map the Gap and Better Bunk, are funded by The Scattergood Foundation.

Murphy, K., Fafard, P., & O’Campo, P. (2012). Introduction—Knowledge Translation and Urban Health Equity: Advancing the Agenda. Journal of Urban Health, 89(6), 875–880. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-0129693-7 Nicholas, D., Townsend, K., & Michael, Y. (2017). Designing with Dignity: Social determinants of health and design research. The Design Journal, 20(sup1), S2238–S2246. https://doi.org/10.1080/1460 6925.2017.1352740 Nicholas, Diana, Stein, Samantha, Nguyen, Thanh, Krespan, Elise, Tracy, Dylan, & Michael, Yvonne. (2018). Health Design Research Innovation Project. In ARCC Conference Proceedings (Vol. 1, pp. 256–264). Philadelphia: Architectural Research Centers Consortium. Retrieved from http://www.arcc-arch.org/wp-content/ uploads/2018/09/2018-Proceedings-Volume-1_UDL-1.pdf Office of the Surgeon General (US). (2009). The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes. Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon General (US). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ books/NBK44192/

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Photo: Devin Welsh

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