Mackenzie Thompson

Thesis Title: Green Prisons: Cellviews and The Benefits of Greenspace for the The Wellbeing of Incarcerated Populations

The project explores the relationship between prison design and prisoners’ wellbeing. Previous work finds a relationship between wellbeing and the presence of green space in prison; however, it has not yet been possible to determine whether prisoners with a view of green space from their cells have better wellbeing outcomes than those whose do not, and therefore to steer the design of new prisons to facilitate such outcomes.

The project will consider how BIM (Building Information Modelling) models can be used to explore a range of potential environmental indicators by integrating these with Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing datasets. Statistical analysis will enable analysis of the relationship between cell view datasets and prisoners’ self-reported wellbeing.

Embedded within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) periodically throughout the project, working with various teams, the research will support the current innovative work that the MoJ is undertaking regarding pilots for digital twins utilising existing BIM models.

Biography:

Mackenzie is an ESRC +3.5 funded student based at the University of Birmingham and is exploring the relationship between prison design and prisoner’s wellbeing. She holds a BA (Hons) Architecture from the University of Liverpool, and she held the Sir Ian Dixon Research Scholarship in 2020. She achieved her MArch in Architecture with Urban Planning from the University of Dundee in 2023 where she was the prize winner for Academic Excellence. Mackenzie has also worked in the public and private sector as an Architectural Assistant and Town Planner and is currently a Licentiate member of the Royal Town Planning Institute whilst pursuing full membership. Her interests lie in the intersection between health and the built environment, an area explored in her master’s thesis, research scholarship and now PhD.

Membership:

Licentiate Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute

University of Birmingham

2025 Cohort

Email:

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Supervisory Team:

Professor Dominique Moran

Dr Phil Jones

Collaborative Partner:

The Ministry of Justice