2025

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Browsing 2025 by Author "Laiba Naeem"

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    Therapeutic rooftops in children’s hospitals
    (UMT.Lahore, 2025) Laiba Naeem
    Therapeutic rooftop gardens have the potential to fundamentally transform and improve the recovery process, reduce stressors, and foster a greater sense of wellness within pediatric hospitals. The present study explores the prospects, advantages and issues of adoption of rooftop gardens in children’s hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan, a city that is faced with urban congestion and lacks green spaces in healthcare environment. The research examines how nature-based interventions can address pediatric patient well-being through principles of environmental psychology, biophilic design, and sustainable hospital infrastructure. Being a mixed-methods approach, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected using surveys, interviews, and cases in selected pediatric hospitals in Lahore. The results show that the therapeutic rooftop gardens also played a role in lessening anxiety, speeding up the recovery process, increasing emotional resilience and social engagement, particularly in younger patients. Essential design features were established as design elements such as interactive play areas, sensory gardens, quiet reflection areas and landscape biodiversity to maximize therapeutic benefits. But the high cost of rooftop gardens, in terms of design and maintenance, along with the structural capacity of the hospital, administrative hurdles, lack of funding, and maintenance issues to overcome have limited the introduction of rooftop gardens to a few hospitals in Lahore. Discussion To overcome these barriers, this study develops policy recommendations and design frameworks for the implementation of rooftop therapeutic gardens in pediatric healthcare infrastructure. These green spaces can be an affordable, naturebased intervention to improve the quality of pediatric care and promote sustainability and patientfocused hospital architecture in Lahore if we use the existing underutilized rooftops of hospitals. Keywords: Therapeutic Rooftop Gardens, Pediatric Hospitals, Healing Environments, Biophilic Design, Patient Well-Being, Sustainable Healthcare Design.