Topic 5- built environment

• urban environments 


  • urban landscapes can determine our moods, our behaviour and our actions. it is important to be able to design urban architecture in a way that best suits human well being
• architectural

  • architectural determinism- the built environment is the main and only cause of behaviour
  • architectural possibility- the built environment may place limits on our movements but does not have a huge impact on our behaviour
  • architectural probabilism- the middle ground. the built environment may affect some behaviours but it is not the main cause
• Cohen et al


  • aimed to investigate the effect of noise on reading ability
  • the sample was 54 children in New York City, they all lived in 32 storey building and went to the same school
  • apartments in higher floors experienced less traffic noise
  • Cohen looked at the children's auditory discrimination (recognising similar sounding words)
  • there was a significant correlation between floor level and auditory discrimination
  • there was also a correlation between word knowledge, reading comprehension and reading total
• Newman


  • defensible space is the idea that residents will maintain and look after areas that belong to them
  • you can create this kind of space by using fences to show boundaries between residents and create semi private courtyards
  • if public spaces are subdivided and assigned to individuals or small groups, they are much more likely to look after those areas than massive groups of people
  • if public spaces are cared for, it makes them feel as if they are owned and then will be 'defended' from criminals
• Armitage


  • the way that roads are designed can also have an impact on crime and anti-social behaviour
  • she analysed roads in the UK and compared them to crime statistics
  • she found that sinous cul-de-sacs (curvy, without leaky footpaths) had the lowest level of crime
  • suggested footpaths can be included when they are well used, short, direct, wide, overlooked, well-lit and not running along the side or the rear of properties
• Bickman


  • investigated whether the density of the population affects how helpful people are
  • they studies undergraduate students living in 10 female dormitories in the university of Massachusetts and 37 houses at Smith College
  • helping behaviour was measured by the percentage of letters (which were sent to those in high, medium and low level density dormitories) that were posted on to the addressee
  • results showed that the highest proportion of letters were posted on in the low-density condition, suggesting that overcrowding can influence helping behaviour
• Ulrich- sample

  • 46 patients aged 20-69 from a Pennsylvania hospital
  • all had undergone bladder surgery
  • split into 23 pairs, each person in the pair was matched so that the only thing that differs is the view they see from their window
• Ulrich- method


  a nurse who was blind to the experiment gathered 5 types of information:

  1. length of hospitalisation
  2. number and strength of analgesics each day
  3. number and strength of doses for anxiety each day
  4. minor complication requiring medication
  5. nurses notes
• Ulrich- results


  • participants with a view of trees spent significantly less time in hospital than the brick view patients
  • patients with a tree view took fewer moderate to strong analgesics than the brick view patients
  • significantly more negative notes in the brick view group compared to the tree view group
• Ulrich- conclusion


  • views of trees/nature have a therapeutic effect on patients
  • this could be used to inform hospitals of what view to have out of their windows