Post on 24-Dec-2015
Stress and the City: Restorative Environments
Claudia Andrade, Veronica Cerina, Carolina Cravo, Anna Eplenyi, Sandra Gressler, Jasmin Honold,
Christina Kelz, Judith Lurvink, Frank Muscara, Roos Pals, Louise Ritchie and Leila Scannell
Agnes van den Berg & Yannick Joye
Content
• Introduction• Research Proposals
– Solitary nature experiences– Different sensory experiences in memories of
nature and restoration across a lifespan– Contact with nature during childhood makes a
differences in nature restorative effects and pro-environmental behaviors
• Conclusion
Theories of restorative effects of nature
• Attention Restoration Theory (ART; Kaplan &
Kaplan, 1989)
• Stress Reduction Theory (SRT; Ulrich et al,
1991)
• Perceptual Fluency Theory (PFT; Joye,2009)
• Research has shown that nature has a positive impact in a number of urban spaces– Residential settings – Parks– Commercial settings– Work environments– Schools– Gardens– Streetscapes– Hospitals
Practical Implementations• Potted plants and flowers in the retail environment• Incorporating variety and planning in urban green spaces
and buildings• Greening the streets• Providing views to nature in urban offices• Interior/exterior gardens in schools or care settings• Roof gardens or green-roofs, and providing views on
these • Using natural materials, like wood, for urban seating
areas• Greenery next to highways• Paintings and photographs of nature in residential
settings
Stress and the City Workshop
• Peak nature experience discussion
• Small group research proposals
• Integration of research proposals
three research proposals
Fun and Interesting week!!
Introduction
Urban parks: restoration, escape, therapeutic places (Milligan & Bingley, 2007)
Adolescents can especially benefit Limited use at times when sun sets early Lack of research on restorative qualities at
different times of day
Research objective
Do adolescents benefit from solitary nature experiences?
Is nocturnal nature experience more beneficial than diurnal experience?
Does fear interfere with restorative benefits?
Theoretical background
Peak experiences Kaplan & Kaplan (1989): process model of
restoration1. Clearing the head2. Recharging directed attention capacity3. “Hear” unattended thoughts/matters4. Reflection on one’s life
Intensity of experience predicts depth of restoration
• Elevated arousal at night• Attention focus on oneself
Hypotheses
Solitary nature experience has a more positive effect on adolescents’ restorative and affective state than solitary urban experience
These beneficial effects are higher in the night condition
Procedure
Recruitment: volunteering teenagers who want to reflect on their lives or decisions
Parent’s permission Pre-tests: crime trauma and achluophobia
(fear of darkness) 3 measurement points
Design
Cortisol Cortisol Cortisol
•Affect•Restorative State
•Affect•Restorative State•Perceived Safety
T1 T3T2: TreatmentSolitary nature
experience
Interview
Implications
H1 Education, e.g. programs for adolescents/ juvenile delinquents
H2 urban planning: make parks more attractive and accessible at night!• Actual safety measures• Enhance perceived safety
H3 features evoking positive emotions• Other visual stimuli• Auditory stimuli connectedness, attachment, littering behavior
Successful urban parks: Social interaction, restoration, and different
sensory experiences among the elderly
Background
• Most of the restoration studies are limited to vision (e.g., Kaplan, 2001; Ulrich, 1984)
• Few studies have explored the most important features of restoration for different user groups (e.g., Rodiek, 2006)
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
• What makes a successful park experience
for the elderly, in terms of:
• restoration
• intergenerational interaction
• sensory experiences
Method
– Participants: Elderly above 65 years old who live in an urban context
– Study 1: Memory interviews
A B
Nature experiences Sensory experiences
–Pre-test: Experienced Restorative State Scale (ERSS; van den Berg, 2009)
- Naturalistic observation of intergenerational interaction
- Post-test: Experienced Restorative Scale (ERS)
- Open-ended questions about their experience in the park
– Study 2: Restoration and social interaction
Variables
• Independent variables– Type of context (e.g., park with design
features; park without these features; control area)
– Type of memory (e.g., negative or positive, which type of sensory aspect)
• Dependent variables– Experienced Restoration– Quantity and quality of social interaction
Practical Implications
• Designers could highlight important sensory aspects in urban parks
• Create guidelines for successful park features
Does contact with nature during
childhood make a difference
in nature restorative effects and pro-
environmental behavior in adulthood?
Positive effects of nature
Restorative and health effects(Kuo, 2001; Ulrich et al., 1991; Kaplan, 1993; Ulrich,
1984).
Pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors
Contact with nature during childhood has a positive relationship to adult environmental attitudes (Wells & Lekies, 2006; Kals, Schumacher & Montada, 1999)
We still don’t know if contact with nature during childhood influences adulthood restoration from nature.
We want to reinforce the evidence that contact with nature during childhood influences pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors.
But…
Conceptual Model
Contact with nature
Environmental attitudes
Childhood Childhood Adulthood Adulthood
Environmental behaviors
Contact with nature
Restoration from nature
Study 1
Study 2
Hypothesis
Adults that had high contact with nature during childhood are expected to:
- Live nearer natural areas and use more natural areas,
- Have more pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors,
- Benefit more from restorative effects from nature,
…than adults that had low contact with nature during childhood.
Study 1:Childhood influence of nature contact
on adulthood nature contact and their pro-environmental attitudes & behaviors
High
Moderate
Low
Contact with nature
during childhood
Independent variable Dependent variables
Childhood nature contact(Questionnaires for subjects & relatives)
-Availability of nature near residence-Frequency and duration of access to nature (daily, weekend, holiday use)
Adulthood nature contact (Questionnaire for subjects)
-Availability of nature near residence-Frequency and duration of access to nature (daily, weekend, holiday use)
Adulthood pro-environmental attitudesNew Environmental Paradigm (NEP; Dunlap et al., 2002)
Adulthood pro-environmental behaviorsPro-environmental behaviors questions
(Wells & Lekies, 2006)
Study 2: Childhood influence of nature contact
on adulthood restoration effects from nature
Laboratory experiment
1.) Stress induction (Stroop Task)
2.) Presentation of photographs of
natural landscapes
Independent variable
Childhood nature contact
Dependent variables
Adulthood restoration Cortisol measurements (Salivette)
Adulthood well-beingProfile of Moods States (POMS; Wald, 1984)High
Moderate
Low
Contact with nature
during childhood
Impacts
If we confirm that contact with nature during childhood is related with
- restorative effects of nature and - pro-environmental behaviors and attitudes…
Local governments should provide conditions that promote contact with nature from early childhood on.
Urban Planning: more green spaces in residential areasEducation: more school outdoor activitiesPublic events: more outdoor social activities