A person’s stress level can skyrocket because of the hustle and bustle of city living, new research has confirmed.
A study by researchers from Bond University, Australia, has found that concrete jungles make our hearts beat faster, while quiet streets can boost creativity.
The study measured people’s physical reactions to urban environments, like enclosed city streets found in big cities, by tracking their heart rate and brain frequency.
Researchers used portable heart monitors and EEGs to track the responses of the same people living in two different places on the Gold Coast, which is famous for its towering skyscrapers.
Assistant Professor of Psychology Oliver Baumann and Briana Brooks-Cederqvist found that people felt significantly more stressed in higher-density areas, while those living in lower-density areas felt more comfortable, their heart rates reduced, and their mood increased.
Additionally, measurement of brain activity shows people living in quiet areas have a more contemplative and creative state of mind.
Baumann explained that in more closely built or condensed areas, people can “perceive them as more dangerous because there is less open space and more traffic, which can increase their vigilance and fear response.”
“In a more open area, these feelings are reduced, and that’s what we saw in the brain activity measures,” he added.
Baumann said that previous studies of how people respond to urban environments have relied largely on self-reporting by the participants and that “always leaves room for potential internal biases.”
“Having this physical evidence alongside the questionnaires meant we could clearly see the impact that the different environments were having on people’s stress and comfort levels in an objective way.”
The assistant professor hoped the study would provide suggestions and ideas for urban planners and residential community developers to adopt a human-centred design approach to urban planning.
“This has shown really clearly how urban environments can affect people’s health and well-being, and it offers a real opportunity to shape how we design cities, public spaces and residential developments,” Baumann added.
“We’ve seen this used before, mainly in office design. Google is a good example of where they have used this type of information to design workplaces that create certain responses in staff.”
Baumann said the research could help design areas based on how they made people feel—ultimately adding to a development’s value and longevity.
“The portable and flexible nature of the equipment we used to gather the data opens up the possibility of doing this at a pretty granular level, too,” the researchers said.
“There’s no reason it couldn’t be used as part of a planning process in the design of a residential development or community.”
“Creating places that we know people will want to live and then want to stay in can help reduce the risks that come with large financial investments and increase their long-term value.”
AAP contributed to this report.
