Exposure to high-rise buildings negatively influences affect: evidence from real world and 360-degree video

ABSTRACT

Cities are densifying at a rapid rate, and accordingly, are constructing high-rise buildings to accommodate more people. The aim of this study was to quantify the physiological and psychological impacts of being in the presence of high-rise buildings in Central London, in a real and virtual 360-degree video environment. Using a within-subjects design, participants were exposed to a low-rise and high-rise building. While exposed, participants were monitored for electrodermal activity. They were also administered the Self-Assessment Manikin measure and a cognitive appraisal questionnaire. Participants rated the high-rise building environment to be less open, less friendly and rated themselves to feel less happy and have less sense of control, as compared to low-rise buildings. We found these effects in both the real world (n = 16) and a 360-degree video setting (n = 121). These findings suggest that city environments populated with high-rise buildings can have negative impacts on urban dwellers. Furthermore, this study provides a methodology to examine how individuals respond to the built environment and stand to inform urban design and architectural practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Environmental psychology
• building height
• urban design
• openness
• virtual reality
• 360-degree video

This article is related to:

Research for city practice

Acknowledgments

This work was made possible by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robin Mazumder

Robin Mazumder is an environmental neuroscientist who studies how social and physical environments intersect to influence emotion and behaviour in urban environments. His PhD, funded by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, was completed in 2020 at the University of Waterloo. His research interests are informed by his previous work as a mental health occupational therapist in urban centres. He can be found online at www.robinmazumder.com.

Hugo J. Spiers

Hugo J. Spiers is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London. He is a group leader in the UCL Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation. His research explores how our brain constructs representations of the world and uses them to recall the past, navigate the present and imagine the future. His research team use a range of methods including brain imaging, neuropsychological testing, virtual reality and single-cell recording to understand brain function and spatial cognition.

Colin G. Ellard

Colin G. Ellard is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Waterloo and heads its Urban Realities Laboratory. His research, at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience and architectural design, focuses on the psychological and neural effects of designed spaces at every scale. Ellard’s most recent book is Places of the Heart (2015).