Urban Affordance

Principal Investigator(s): Orit Sarfatti

Contact: orit.sarfatti@brookes.ac.uk

About us

This research addresses the shortage of affordable housing and work spaces, which is linked to increased homelessness and social distress in the UK. It focuses on sustainable low-cost solutions and design projects that deploy an innovative approach to physical and psychological needs of vulnerable social categories, and specifically homeless people. The design proposals provide refuge and empowerment by applying parameters from Psychological Flexibility and Emotional Wellbeing methodologies.

Conceptual model of homelessness

Research impact

Street dwellings for homeless people

Our research resulted in the following outcomes:

  • Street Dwelling (based on ZEDpods) - design models exhibition and debate at CRISIS Skylight (see Oxford Mail article)
  • Placidi, A. (2017) ‘Furnitecture’, in InHabit (eds. Buxton, Hulin, Anderson), Peter Lang Publishers.
  • Sarfatti, O. & Placidi, A. (2018) Crisis: Street Dwellings for Homeless People in Oxford - Inside the City, IE (Interior Educators). (see journal article)

Leadership