In this final lecture in Seminar Series 15, influential architect and urban planner, Riccardo Marini, introduced his thoughts about architecture, ‘place-making’, health and wellbeing. He argued that the path to health, happiness, wealth and wellbeing is one that puts people, their culture and art central to our planning process. As an architect who would define himself as a modernist, Riccardo is acutely aware of the destructive nature of architecture, which does not know where it belongs and who it is there to serve. Over the years he has observed an inability of professionals to listen and learn from past mistakes. Meaningful engagement ensures that people are central to the process of creating our future settlements, and in our endeavours to rethink our existing ones. Driven by his passion for design and designing, he is fascinated by what makes places work and has come to a simple conclusion that places are a reflection of the culture of the people who created them. A good place is one in which people feel happy. Feeling happy, like being well, is a relative state. Riccardo has for many years endeavoured to show that the real value of place is far more profound than monetary value alone, but that the economic indicators which drive a lot of the current decision-making can only be achieved and sustained if you create the genuine article: a place that makes people happy. Riccardo was born in Pistoia, Tuscany, and graduated from Glasgow’s Mackintosh School of Architecture. After working for many years as a senior city officer, he joined Gehl architects in Copenhagen as a director – with whom he still collaborates – and founded Marini Urbanismo in 2017.

Professor Ioan Fazey, Director of the Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR), Dundee University, delivers the second lecture in this Seminar Series. This presentation sought to examine issues around change, and how people respond to change using a case study from the Solomon Islands. The case study highlighted the need for improving our understanding of change and how desired change can be brought about. Towards the end, the presentation briefly touched on the kinds of things that might need to be considered if we are to facilitate transformative shifts that assist societies to work within the new normal of rapid and extensive change.

A collection of the infographics we produce to highlight key facts and numbers to do with all aspects of life and health in Glasgow.

Five schools from Glasgow were invited to The Lighthouse, Glasgow, to share the views of young people on issues to do with food. The young people took part in The Glasgow Game, based on The Understanding Glasgow website which identifies twelve dimensions of life in Glasgow. These aspects are then used to initiate discussion around the key trends, concerns and differences that could be made to Glasgow.