Design Principles for Prison Landscapes:
The Projects
The greening of prisons provides great opportunities to incorporate design principles that support and promote the physical and mental well-being of people in prison, including the incorporation of safe and diverse green spaces
Green prisons: A guide to creating environmentally sustainable prisons, UNICRI and Penal Reform International, 2025
About the projects
This website hosts the Design Principles for Prison Landscapes in England and Wales, an output of an AHRC-funded Design Exchange Partnership project held by Dominique Moran, Jon Sadler and Emma Widdop at the University of Birmingham, in partnership with the UK Ministry of Justice, Scottish Prison Service and Kier Construction (AH/Z505523/1).
It also hosts the Design Principles for Prison Landscapes, a universal version of this document applicable more widely, and enabled via a separate project also hosted at the University of Birmingham and delivered by the same academic team.
Both Design Principles documents support the design of external spaces in prisons, focusing on improving biodiversity and wellbeing. They draw on a growing research evidence base that supports the need to improve these spaces for the benefit of prisoners, prison staff and the wider environment.
These Principles are for professionals involved in the design, implementation, management and maintenance of external spaces in (new) prisons, including but not limited to landscape architects, ecologists, artists, architects, and engineers.
They are also intended to support Prison Governors, Senior Management Teams, operational staff, staff involved in educational and vocational programmes, coordinators of arts and music therapy, etc. These users may find the information in this document particularly helpful in retrofitting green spaces within existing prisons.
