Difference between revisions of "Environmental psychology"

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=Environmental psychology=
  
=Environmental psychology=
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'''Environmental psychology'''<ref> E.g. J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174.</ref> has as its main tenet that the meaning intentionally embodied in built environment is not always decoded by citizens as intended. Environmental cognition cannot be designed. A related approach from [[urban planning]] is to avoid stressful and potentially threatening feelings of being lost in large buildings, and resulting perceived threat by providing “legibility”<ref>K. Lynch: The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1960.</ref> so that “one can comprehend and navigate environments”<ref>J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174, p. 165. </ref>. An example would be [[Securitization|securitization]] as an emerging process: We cannot just decide about [[security]] by way of planning, such as [["designing out" approach|“designing out”]] crime or “designing in” protection and [[Resilience|resilience]].
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'''Environmental psychology'''<ref> E.g. J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174.</ref> focuses on the interplay between society/social individua and their (structural) surroundings. The term "environment" encompasses natural environment as well as built environment, but also social settings and learning and informational environments.
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Environmental psychology is both value and problem oriented and addresses the complexity of environmental problems on the basis of human-environment interactions and the perception of environment.
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==Security related aspects==
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* Urban design and environment impacts social behaviour in a positive or negative way.
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But:
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* [[Security|security]] or [[Resilience|resilience]] cannot just be designed by way of planning.
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* Environmental/security/risk cognition cannot be designed.
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* The meaning intentionally embodied in built environment is not always decoded by citizens as intended.
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* The identification of “weak points” in urban environments from a security culture point of view takes place in cultural contexts<ref>J. Falkheimer/H. Mats: Multicultural Crisis Communication: Towards a Social Constructionist Perspective. In: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 14, no. 4., 2006.</ref>. It is socially negotiated and/or constructed.
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==Approaches how to address it==
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* Urban design should avoid stressful and potentially threatening feelings of being lost in large buildings<ref>K. Lynch: The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1960.</ref> so that “one can comprehend and navigate environments”<ref>J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174, p. 165. </ref>.
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* Urban design should “incorporate public meanings” and citizens’ images of places, including those of “secure” or “safe” places<ref>J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174, p. 166.</ref>.
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* Desire for security should not inform urban planning to contribute to threatening citizens’ rights of expression and dissent<ref>Cf. C. Whitzman: Secure cities. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 670-671.</ref>.
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* Consider local/regional [[security culture]].
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* Consider local/regional perception of (in)security/risks.
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* Involve citizens in the planning process (see [[citizen participation]]).
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An example would be [[Securitization|securitization]] as an emerging process:
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As a result, also
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Debates in urban design though have often disregarded this aspect, rather centring on “[...] ''which good design determines good behavior'' [...]” (Whitzman 2011:650)<ref>C. Whitzman: Secure cities. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 663-673, p. 670.</ref>. Another relevant aspect is the [[Infrastructure#Perception_of_criticality|perception of criticality of built infrastructure]].
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==Meanings of built environments==
  
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Therefore, it is important that urban designs “incorporate public meanings” and citizens’ images of places, including – one can add – those of “secure” or “safe” places<ref>J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174, p. 166.</ref>. As a result, also the identification of “weak points” in urban environments from a security culture point of view has to be seen as socially negotiated and/or constructed sense-making that takes place in cultural contexts<ref>J. Falkheimer/H. Mats: Multicultural Crisis Communication: Towards a Social Constructionist Perspective. In: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 14, no. 4., 2006.</ref>. Debates in urban design though have often disregarded this aspect, rather centring on “[...] ''which good design determines good behavior'' [...]” (Whitzman 2011:650)<ref>C. Whitzman: Secure cities. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 663-673, p. 670.</ref>. Another relevant aspect is the [[Infrastructure#Perception_of_criticality|perception of criticality of built infrastructure]].
  
   
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==Comprehensive view of security aspects in urban planning==
  
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Additional aspects have to be considered so to arrive at a [[Comprehensive approach|comprehensive]] view to inform security-conscious [[urban planning]] decisions. For example, conflicts between different social groups about public space are a democratic phenomenon that should not be subject to [["designing out" approach|"designing-out"]]. Security aspects of urban design should not be overly mainstreamed because planning to increase security of excluded groups may also contribute to making cities safer. And desire for security should not inform urban planning to contribute to threatening citizens’ rights of expression and dissent, owing to the old principle that city air should make people free, rather than constrain them<ref>Cf. C. Whitzman: Secure cities. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 670-671.</ref>.
  
   
 
{{references}}
  
{{references}}

Revision as of 12:14, 18 October 2012


Environmental psychology

Environmental psychology[1] focuses on the interplay between society/social individua and their (structural) surroundings. The term "environment" encompasses natural environment as well as built environment, but also social settings and learning and informational environments. Environmental psychology is both value and problem oriented and addresses the complexity of environmental problems on the basis of human-environment interactions and the perception of environment.


Security related aspects

  • Urban design and environment impacts social behaviour in a positive or negative way.

But:

  • security or resilience cannot just be designed by way of planning.
  • Environmental/security/risk cognition cannot be designed.
  • The meaning intentionally embodied in built environment is not always decoded by citizens as intended.
  • The identification of “weak points” in urban environments from a security culture point of view takes place in cultural contexts[2]. It is socially negotiated and/or constructed.


Approaches how to address it

  • Urban design should avoid stressful and potentially threatening feelings of being lost in large buildings[3] so that “one can comprehend and navigate environments”[4].
  • Urban design should “incorporate public meanings” and citizens’ images of places, including those of “secure” or “safe” places[5].
  • Desire for security should not inform urban planning to contribute to threatening citizens’ rights of expression and dissent[6].
  • Consider local/regional security culture.
  • Consider local/regional perception of (in)security/risks.
  • Involve citizens in the planning process (see citizen participation).


An example would be securitization as an emerging process: 




As a result, also 

Debates in urban design though have often disregarded this aspect, rather centring on “[...] which good design determines good behavior [...]” (Whitzman 2011:650)[7]. Another relevant aspect is the perception of criticality of built infrastructure.




Footnotes and references

  1. ↑ E.g. J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174.
  2. ↑ J. Falkheimer/H. Mats: Multicultural Crisis Communication: Towards a Social Constructionist Perspective. In: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 14, no. 4., 2006.
  3. ↑ K. Lynch: The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1960.
  4. ↑ J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174, p. 165.
  5. ↑ J. L. Nasar: Environmental psychology and urban design. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 162-174, p. 166.
  6. ↑ Cf. C. Whitzman: Secure cities. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 670-671.
  7. ↑ C. Whitzman: Secure cities. In: T. Banerjee/A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.): Companion to Urban Design. London/New York: Routledge, 2011, pp. 663-673, p. 670.

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