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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

Urban Stressors

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!!

Solitary nature experiences day and night

Roos Pals & Jasmin Honold

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

Design

2 (day vs night) X 2 (urban woodlands vs. unfamiliar urban area) between subjects

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

Thank you!

These are just the first steps!Questions??