In just a very short time, COVID-19 mobilised governments, changed markets and not least changed the way people live. Work and time off under the same roof, distancing, and new routines for hygiene, shopping and meeting with others. The changes have had both negative and positive effects, and therefore they have been significant for our quality of life.
In the RESPOND – a new framework for everyday life initiative, we want to join with a number of partners to focus on how COVID-19 has impacted our behaviour with regard to the physical framework for our lives. The initiative will gather knowledge and solutions from the period under the pandemic, and in the years to come.
Another goal is to inspire and launch new solutions for a more resilient built environment with a better quality of life for everyone. This could address the frameworks for health and movement, use of culture, working life, the home and use of the public space.
The initiative will run in two parallel tracks.
Track 1: Knowledge track
The primary objective of the knowledge track is to gather and communicate knowledge to describe how, as individuals, we have changed, and are changing, our behaviour and physical framework as a consequence of COVID-19. An essential part of the knowledge track will therefore be to gather and communicate data on how, as households, businesses, institutions, etc. we live with COVID-19. No data, no knowledge. This will be achieved quantitatively (questionnaire surveys and register data), and qualitatively (interviews etc.).
The knowledge track will be run by a cross-disciplinary team of researchers from BUILD at Aalborg University, headed by the head of department, Lars Pico Geerdsen.
Track 2: Solution track
The solution track will couple the knowledge from the knowledge track with the development of new solutions that support more resilient building and a better quality of life.
The solutions will be developed in cooperation with civil society and the private market, and we will use the innovation models and tools we are already familiar with at Realdania from our work on indoor climate, sustainability and digital solutions, such as Innovation for Market, Circular Construction Challenge, and Grand Solutions.