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Berto, Barbiero, and Salingaros studied human responses to biophilic building façades.  They report that “Built environments that integrate representations of the natural world into façades and interiors benefit occupant psycho-physiological well-being and behavior. However, the biophilic quality of buildings does not depend exclusively on ‘green’, but also upon ‘organized complexity’ in theirstructure. . . . Eight façades varying in their degree of biophilic design (High, Medium, Low, No biophilic qualities) were assessed. . . .  Higher perceived restorativeness and preference match a higher degree of biophilic design, which corresponds to a building where vegetation is integrated in an organic structure.”  Images of the façades studied are available here:  https://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/visions/article/view/7054/6006

Rita Berto, Giuseppe Barbiero, and Nikos Salingaros. 2022. “Biophilic Design of Building Façades from an Evolutionary Psychology Framework:  Visual Attention Software Compared to Perceived Restorativeness.”  Visions for Sustainability, vol. 18, pp. 1-34, http://dx.doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/7054

Via a literature review McCormack, Paterson, Frehlich, and Lorenzetti add to the body of knowledge linking design to physical health.  They determined that “The built environment (BE) may enhance or reduce the effectiveness of PA [physical activity] interventions, especially interventions that encourage PA in neighbourhood settings.”   For example, “Increased distance to private gyms was associated with increases in self-reported total PA, while the density of private gyms in the neighbourhood was negatively associated with pedometer-determined steps among adults exposed to a PA intervention involving individual and group counselling. . . . Our review provides novel, but preliminary, evidence suggesting the effectiveness of interventions on PA could be conditional on the neighbourhood BE and that the in some cases supportive neighbourhood BE can increase and even decrease intervention effectiveness.”

Gavin McCormack, Michelle Paterson, Levi Frehlich, and Diane Lorenzetti.  2022. “The Association Between the Built Environment and Intervention-Facilitated Physical Activity:  A Narrative Systematic Review.”  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, vol. 19, no. 86, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-022-01326-9

Frigione and colleagues probed human responses to natural environments experienced virtually.  They report that their “study investigates the effects of natural and indoor virtual environments (VREs) on psychophysiological and cognitive responses. . . . participants were exposed to two VREs (i.e., a forest and a living room) . . . through a head-mounted display (Oculus Rift). . . . Participants reported a higher perceived sense of relaxation in the virtual forest. . . . The results suggest that a natural virtual environment can make people feel more relaxed and physiologically engaged than an indoor scenario.”

Ivana Frigione, Gemma Massetti, Matteo Girondini, Roberta Etzi, Giulia Scurati, Francesco Ferrise, Alice Chirico, Andrea Gagioli, and Alberto Gallace.  2022. “An Exploratory Study of the Effect of Virtual Environments on Cognitive Performances and Psychophysiological Responses.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 25, no. 10, https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0162

Natapov and colleagues studied how design can support emergency evacuations.  They report that “Effective indoor wayfinding in the event of an emergency is key to guaranteeing safe and timely evacuation. . . . Our findings show that wall transparency only impacts wayfinding when combined with visibility at route starting points, and that staircases and ramps are the most significant architectural landmarks in emergency wayfinding. . . . in cases of more complex evacuation scenarios with low visibility conditions, wayfinding [requires] a greater number of architectural features.”

Asya Natapov, Avi Parush, Leslie Laufer, and Dafna Fisher-Gerwirtzman.  2022. “Architectural Features and Indoor Evacuation Wayfinding: The Starting Point Matters.”  Safety Science, vol. 145, no. 105483, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105483

Rahal, Wells, and Evan’s research confirms the value of locating schools in greenspaces.  The investigators report that they “examined the [relationship between] school greenspace . . . and a standard literacy enrichment program . . . over a one-year period for a large sample of ethnic minority (95%) elementary school children . . . attending predominantly low-income schools . . . throughout the state of California. . . . On average, reading interventions conducted in schools with greater greenspace were more efficacious in improving individual students’ reading outcomes over a one-year period than reading interventions conducted in schools with less greenspace. . . . [the] effect . . . can be translated into an average gain of 1 week of learning in reading per year per student for two hours of academic instruction delivered weekly in school environments with an additional 14% school green land area.”

Rouzbeh Rahal, Nancy Wells, and Gary Evans.  “School Greenspace Is Associated with Enhanced Benefits of Academic Interventions on Annual Reading Improvement for Children of Color in California.”  Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.101966

Stamkou and colleagues investigate the effects of being awed on children. The Stamkou-lead team reports that during their study “children between 8 and 13 years old viewed movie clips that elicited awe, joy, or a neutral (control) response. Children who watched the awe-eliciting clip were more likely to spend their time on an effortful task (Study 1) and to donate their experimental earnings (Studies 1 and 2), all toward benefiting refugees. They also exhibited increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia, an index of parasympathetic nervous system activation associated with social engagement.” Stamkou and teammates also include images of a validated set of emoji scales that can be used to assess fear, anger, boredom, sadness, joy, and awe in this open access article.

Eftychia Stamkou, Eddie Brummelman, Rohan Dunham, Milica Nikolic, and Dacher Keltner.  “Awe Sparks Prosociality in Children.”  Psychological Science, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221150616

Zhu, Sze, and Newnam probed how tree cover influences how individuals think and behave.  They found that a “street tree is considered a traffic calming measure.”  Findings from the Zhu-lead study “indicate that road width, bus stop, tram station, on-street parking, and 85th percentile speed are positively associated with pedestrian casualty. In contrast, pedestrian casualty decreases when there is a pedestrian crosswalk and increases in tree density and canopy. . . . urban street trees should have favorable effect on pedestrian safety. . . . findings are reflective of optimal street design and traffic calming measures like reducing the crossing distance, reducing the speed limit, removing the on-street parking, and introducing the pedestrian-priority zone.”

Manman Zhu, N. Sze, and Sharon Newnam. 2022. “Effect of Urban Street Trees on Pedestrian Safety: A Micro-Level Pedestrian Casualty Model Using Multivariate Bayesian Spatial Approach.”  Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 176, 106818, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2022.106818

Swartjes and Berkers studied designing spaces for festivals; their findings have implications for the development of all sorts of public areas.  The investigators found after interviewing festival organizers that “Spaces with varied rhythms of movement, such as parks and streets, provide the opportunity for encounters as people engage in activities of lingering, people-watching and playing. . . . if one can see the whole route at once before starting to walk, it will feel as a ‘tiring length.’ . . . it is important to provide the possibility to hop from stage to stage, to create an experience and make the space visually interesting so that people will want to move around and to steer people in certain directions through signing. . . . separation of social groups as well as movement of those groups is important to create a safe environment. . . . safety is about creating a space that makes sense and where people can easily distinguish important places. . . . for [encounters] to occur people need to feel relaxed, both mentally and physically.”

Britt Swartjes and Pauwke Berkers. 2022. “Designing Conviviality?  How Music Festival Organizers Produce Spaces of Encounter in an Urban Context.”  Leisure Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2022.2106328

Neale, Boukhechba, and Cinderby’s research confirms that that people worldwide benefit from spending time in natural urban spaces. As the trio report, “Our research sought to understand the psychophysiological responses of participants in Nakuru (Kenya) and Udon Thani (Thailand) when walking in urban settings within their given city. . . . results show beneficial effects of nature within urban settings on heart rate variability, suggesting lower stress responses in these areas. . . . There appears to be beneficial effects of nature in both study locations, demonstrated by increased heart rate variability in park/natural settings within the urban walks. These results suggest a beneficial effect on stress response that can be important in the development of public health measures as these cities continue to rapidly urbanise.”

C. Neale, M Boukhechba, and S. Cinderby. “Understanding the Psychophysiological Responses to Walking in Urban Settings in Asia and Africa.”  Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.101973

Newly released research confirms the value of living near green spaces and water.  Vegaraju and Amiri determined that “Living closer to outdoor spaces and water sources may reduce older people’s risk of having serious psychological distress, which can lead to mild cognitive impairment and dementia. . . . Researchers defined serious psychological distress as mental health problems that require treatment and have a moderate to severe effect on a person’s ability to participate in work, school and social situations. . . . The study involved 42,980 people age 65 or older living in urban areas in the state of Washington. . . . Green space was defined as public parks, community gardens and cemeteries. Blue space was defined as water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, large rivers and coasts. . . .  People living within half a mile of green or blue spaces had a 17% lower risk of experiencing serious psychological distress compared to people living further than half a mile from green or blue spaces.”

“Is Living Close to Parks, Water Better for your Brain?” 2023.  Press release, American Academy of Neurology, https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5052