THE WORLD BETWEEN US: HOW HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN CAN BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND MAN-MADE STRUCTURES

Globally, cities are becoming more populated, increasing the growing need to reassess urban life and what it means to create spaces that meet the needs of citizens. After spending the majority of our evolutionary lives in nature, within the past centuries much of the world population has transitioned to living in civilized and built environments. The rise of the post-industrial urban landscape, particularly in the United States, has brought changes to the ways we occupy various spaces, whether it be at home, work, school, or extracurricular activities. This paper explores some overlooked aspects of how we design our spaces and the implications of that design on our lives. Specifically, drawing from Christopher Alexander’s The Nature of Order, I investigate the intersections between the built environment and the natural world, the implications of spatial design (i.e. classrooms, work, and homes), and lastly the importance of creating a world that embodies more human-centric design. Most importantly, these findings provide insights into the fields of psychogeography, environmental psychology, and neuro-architecture through emphasizing life inside the built environment and the increasing evidence suggesting the need to re-evaluate how we design our spaces.  

For more information email: bechopli@eckerd.edu