Urban Attractors, Physical Proximity and States of Mind: Measuring Dynamic Experiences in Varying Typologies of the Built Environment

This research work offers insights on the human responses to public space through quantifying the impact of varying qualities of the built environment to the individual experience. The objective is to afford architects and urban designers with novel metrics on spatial cognition and emotional states for supporting design intuition and better informing urban interventions. The research methodology includes the measuring of the spatial experience and psychological transactions of test subjects while navigating and exploring the urban environment, leveraging the emerging technological opportunities of mobile wearable sensing tools. Two research experiments are discussed, exploring the relationship between (a) urban attractors and user attention in walking tasks, and (b) urban proxemics and psychological states through different modes of transportation (walking, cycling, driving, and riding the subway).