One of Ellard’s most consistent findings http://cdn.bmwguggenheimlab.org/TESTING_TESTING_BMW_GUGGENHEIM_LAB_2013_2.pdf is that people are strongly affected by building façades. If the façade is complex and interesting, it affects people in a positive way; negatively if it is simple and monotonous. For example, when he walked a group of subjects past the long, smoked-glass frontage of a Whole Foods store in Lower Manhattan, their arousal and mood states took a dive, according to the wristband readings and on-the-spot emotion surveys. They also quickened their pace as if to hurry out of the dead zone. They picked up considerably when they reached a stretch of restaurants and stores, where (not surprisingly) they reported feeling a lot more lively and engaged.
.. warns: “As suburban retailers begin to colonise central cities, block after block of bric-a-brac and mom-and-pop-scale buildings and shops are being replaced by blank, cold spaces that effectively bleach street edges of conviviality.” Another oft-replicated finding is that having access to green space such as woodland or a park can offset some of the stress of city living. How so? One theory is that the visual complexity of natural environments acts as a kind of mental balm. importance of urban design goes far beyond feel-good aesthetics. A number of studies https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/42/6/1372/2399413/Why-Are-Children-in-Urban-Neighborhoods-at have shown that growing up in a city doubles the chances of someone developing schizophrenia, and increases the risk for other mental disorders such as depression and chronic anxiety. The main trigger appears to be what researchers call “social stress” – the lack of social bonding and cohesion in neighbourhoods. etc., http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170605-the-psychology-behind-your-citys-design http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170605-the-psychology-behind-your-citys-design
