Fall 2016 EDRA Connections

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FALL 2016

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contents

In this issue

onnections we have with our immediate surroundings can run deep. Some such surrounding environments are deemed as ‘ordinary’ and ‘taken for granted’ from an external vantage point. But from the viewpoint of environmental design research, no environment is truly ‘ordinary’ - as people’s perceptions and experiences of such environments constantly lead to constructs of a variety of meanings, instrumental or latent, good or bad, positive or negative. Looking closely with a keen eye, such constructs reveal to us deep connections, inner voices, hidden stories, leading us to reconceptualize and reshape our environments to create happy endings.

In this Issue Nisha A. Fernando, Editor

Comparing Qualities of ‘Insideness’ of Significant Places for Pre-teenage Boys Timothy Baber

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Photovoice as a Methodology for Architects and Landscape Designers M’Lis Bartlett and Laura Cole

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Greenness, Heat and Crime: Understanding Heat-Related Spikes in Crime in Relation to Affluence of Neighborhood and Access to Greenspace Paul Platosh and Eric Coker

A publication from the Environmental Design Research Association A publication from the Environmental Design Research Association

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NISHA A. FERNANDO

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With this very goal in mind, the Fall 2016 issue of EDRA Connections presents three research studies that delved into uncovering how everyday immediate environments have profound effects on user behavior and outcomes and in developing meanings and connections with them. These effects are unveiled through three different research methodologies. In the first two articles, three researchers offer illuminating information on representations of school environments among youth students. Timothy Baber presents how pre-teen boys create ‘insideness’ of place that are meaningful to them. Through environmental autobiographies that included both drawing and writing, they compare their own inner school outdoor environments with ‘other’ outdoor environments and results present

a vast potential for better, more representational school environments. M’Lis Bartlett and Laura Cole show young students’ perceptions and preferences in school environments and nearby neighborhood landscapes as well as green aspects of a school environment. Using photovoice and photo elicitation methods triangulated with interviews, the authors illustrate: (a) African American youth preferences of outdoor spaces for play, socialization and stewardship and (b) perception levels of sustainability of a green school environment. Last but not least, Paul Platosh and Eric Coker share with us an intriguing study that analyzed the correlation of greenness and thermal brightness of urban neighborhoods with the socioeconomic status and crime rates. The results indicate a very useful finding that more vegetation and greenness leading to less heat pockets can prevent crime rates in high poverty neighborhoods. EDRA Connections always takes pride in acting as platform for such unique and user-centered research conducted by EDRAites. Interested in seeing your research study published as a 1000word essay in an upcoming issue? Please contact me at: Nisha.Fernando@uwsp.edu. You can find more details at: edra.org/page/publications. Nisha A. Fernando, Ph.D. is the Editor of EDRA Connections and a Professor of Interior Architecture, University of WisconsinStevens Point. She can be reached at Nisha.Fernando@uwsp.edu.


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