Conference | Changing Cities VI: Spatial, Design, Landscape, Heritage and Socio-Economic dimensions

[1] Visual complexity, stress levels, and restorative environments: 1/f noise analysis for a better understanding of Intangible Human-Environment Interactions

​Published on Changing Cities VI (2024)

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Humans and environments are intertwined through sensory experiences, with visual perceptions significantly impacting emotional and psychological states. Research has explored spatial visual complexity’s role in image processing, cognitive load, and stress relief, as well as the positive effects of fractal properties on stress reduction and emotional responses. While fractal properties in natural landscapes are crucial for understanding visual complexity, they can be further analysed through the geometrical properties of spaces. By integrating 1/f noise analysis, the complexity of signals processed by the brain is further enhanced, offering significant potential for understanding 1/f noise’s impact on visual perceptions, which remains underexplored in urban research. This study examines 1/f noise values and their effects on visual perceptions and physiological responses in various spatial complexities. In a pilot test, participants viewed images with different spatial complexities and 1/f noise values while their brain activity was monitored with an EEG device. The study aims to preliminary explore changes in live brain activity and note potential trends between stress levels, engagement, and attention focus across a limited range of 1/f noise values. The initial results of this study suggest the potential for larger-scale experiments to further investigate the impact of spatial complexity measures such as 1/f noise on brain activity using EEG, highlighting the ongoing need to refine urban design practices to better cater to the psychological needs of urban populations.

If you want to learn more about the project, please click here.

[2] Exploring Fractal Dimensions in Shenzhen's Urban Villages: Natural Pattern for Stress Reduction in High-Density Environments

​Published on Changing Cities VI (2024)

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The importance of public spaces for psychological restoration is a well-explored topic in urban studies. Particularly, the relevance of urban streets as an accessible source of open public space emerged as fundamental, especially in high-density urban environments, where, in some cases, the demand for open public space per person does not match the available offer. During the pandemic, public spaces' resilience criteria were challenged due to major psychological distress affecting urban populations worldwide. New questions about the nature and design of future public spaces capable of being resilient under major public health concerns or high levels of psychological distress raised, revealing new horizons to urban designers and architects for deeper interdisciplinary investigations related to urban dynamics. In this perspective, the role of high-density streets as resilient urban environments still has lots of unexplored potential. With this study, we selected a high-density urban neighbourhood in Hong Kong, well-known as a buzzing commercial district, to conduct empirical research. Our goal relied upon getting a deeper understanding of street vibrancy under psychological distress. We conducted a longitudinal study that involved video recordings on the streets under psychological distress in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Primary data were lately further analysed through Geographic Information System (GIS) by performing behaviour mapping and later on statistical analysis. Only stationary activities were considered; the data were related to urban activities on the streets in an attempt to visualise street vibrancy patterns in relation to spatial, morphological, and urban design factors. By learning from empirical evidence, this study sheds light on further discussion on design guidelines for future high-density urban streets, as well as reflections on vibrant urban streets capable of being resilient under psychological distress. These findings could inform urban designers and architects on design guidelines for the restoration of existing environments, as well as for future cities to be more responsive to psychological well-being.

If you want to learn more about the project, please click here.

[3] Resilient public spaces under psychological distress: a closer look at high-density urban streets' vibrancy in Hong Kong.

​Published on Changing Cities VI (2024)

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Rapid urbanization presents challenges for designing future cities that enhance residents' quality of life and well-being. Literature has shown that dense environments can potentially contribute to heightened stress levels. Urban stress reduction is a critical concern in contemporary urban studies, involving multiple disciplines to understand how density environments positively impact well-being.