Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Elena Cuccuru, @00512070 BSc (Hons) Architecture, Year 3
The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities Exploration of Neuroscience methods and additional tools in the designing of Future Sustainable Cities
Design Research Project Dr. Tanja Poppelreuter, Supervisor Dr. Claudia Trillo 6000 words due 20th December 2019
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my sincere appreciation to those who have helped and supported me throughout the dissertation journey. I would first like to acknowledge Dr. C. Trillo for the guidance that she has provided me through each stage of the development of my thesis, by nurturing my interest in the chosen topic. To my tutor Dr. T. Poppelreuter, for offering comprehension and valuable guidelines for the duration of the writing process of my dissertation. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues that have supported me during all the tough moments, by making every day better with their unconditional love. Last but not least, I wish to express gratitude to my family and my partner, that have given me the necessary strength to begin and conclude this remarkable journey.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
ABSTRACT In this paper I will investigate how Neuroscience can contribute within the architecture field in pursuing a sustainable urban development. I will first examine the concept of Neuroarchitecture, its meaning and applications, then I will assess a framework for applying Neuroscience in architecture and the urban scale, I will then introduce the concept of Space Syntax, better explained through case studies. After a comparison between sustainable and smart cities, I will discuss how Neuroscience in Architecture might have several positive consequences and I will better explain how this affects the new communities of the future. I will conclude establishing whether Neuroscience has real connection with sustainability and if it will be of any help within the Urban Sustainable Development.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 1.1 Research Methodology
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Chapter 2 Investigation of the concept of Neuroscience in Architecture or Neuroarchitecture
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2.1 Introduction to Neuroscience
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2.2 The importance of spatial cognition
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2.3 Assessment of Principles for Sustainable Development
Chapter 3 Application of Space Syntax Method and Comparison of Case Studies
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3.1 Origins of Space Syntax
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3.2 Comparison of case studies
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3.2.1 Case study: Beijing Central Business District, low carbon spatial master-planning
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3.2.2 Case study: The Ljubijana Smartinska Urban Masterplan
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3.2.3 Case study: London ‘Skycycle’, a 6.5 km cycle route above the city’s old railway
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Chapter 4 The Community Relationship with The Cities of the Future
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4.1 Sustainability and One Planet Living
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4.2 Communities and automation of the cities
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5 Conclusion and recommendations for future designs
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6 Bibliography
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6.1 Books
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6.2 Journals
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6.3 Websites
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Networks of Brain Cells illustrated by Fiona McMillan with tetbow technique. Elife Sciences. (2018). Tetbow technique enables neurons to be labelled with vivid colors [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/fionamcmillan/2018/12/30/where-to-find-some-of-the-most-stunningneuroscience-images-of-2018/#76c23ee63f7d
Figure 2. FMRI Scan showing brain during memory tasks by John Graner Garner, J. (2017). The brain during memory tasks. [Image]. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/brainscanners-allow-scientists-to-read-minds-could-they-now-enable-a-big-brother-future-72435
Figure 3. Confusion in Architecture: People running up and down Escher stairs. Buday, R. (2017). The Confused and Impoverished State of Architectural Research [Image]. Retrieved from https://commonedge.org/the-confused-and-impoverished-state-of-architectural-research/
Figure 4. The brain’s spatial system Jeffery, K. (2019). Urban Architecture: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective. The Design Journal, 22(6), 853872. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2019.1662666 p. 855
Figure 5. Explanation of the experiment conducted on awake rats by O’Keefe Jeffery, K. (2019). Urban Architecture: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective. The Design Journal, 22(6), 853872. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2019.1662666 p. 855
Figure 6. Explanation of experiment that has conducted to the thesis of the Cognitive map The Biologist. (2019). Diagram showing the distinct firing pattern of place cell and grid cells relevant to an animal's location. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.rsb.org.uk/biologist-features/158biologist/features/2100-what-when-and-where
Figure 7. Explanation of experiment that has conducted to the thesis of the Grid Cells Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Quanta Magazine. (2019). The brain's navigational system [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-maps-out-ideas-and-memories-like-spaces-20190114/
Figure 8. Exhibition of art-tech from Team Lab in Japan Team Lab Japanese art tech studio. (2016). Drawing on the Water Surface [Image]. Retrieved from https://theawesomedaily.com/kaleidoscopic-installations-give-people-a-high-tech-multi-sensory-experience/
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Figure 8.1. Multi-sensorial experience of art-tech from Team Lab in Japan Team Lab Japanese art tech studio. (2016). Drawing on the Water Surface [Image]. Retrieved from https://theawesomedaily.com/kaleidoscopic-installations-give-people-a-high-tech-multi-sensory-experience/
Figure 9. Floorplan showing fire escape routes smartdraw.com. Home evacuation plan, traditional style home [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.smartdraw.com/evacuation-plan/fire-escape-plan-maker.htm
Figure 10. Copenhill / Amager Bakke in Copenhagen by BIG Architects Copenhill / Amager Bakke. (2019). [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/copenhagen-c40-world-mayors-summit
Figure 11. Table of the SDG framework, 2030 Agenda UN News. (2015). UN in collaboration with Project Everyone [Image]. Retrieved from https://news.un.org/en/story/2015/12/519172-sustainable-development-goals-kick-start-new-year
Figure 12. ANN method based on input-output logic Geitgey, A. (2016). Deep Learning and Convolutional Neural Networks [Image]. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@ageitgey/machine-learning-is-fun-part-3-deep-learning-and-convolutional-neuralnetworks-f40359318721#.6qxqdph1q
Figure 13. Space syntax application method The Bartlett School of Architecture. (2017). Fortnightly seminars showcasing the latest research conducted by the Space Syntax Laboratory [Image]. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@ageitgey/machine-learning-is-funpart-3-deep-learning-and-convolutional-neural-networks-f40359318721#.6qxqdph1q
Figure 14. List of elementary formulae Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 78
Figure 15. The French town of Gargas showing its open space structure and the related axial map Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 91
Figure 15.1. Representation of the axial map of Gargas Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 91
Figure 15.2. Representation of the axial space indexes Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 103
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Figure 15.3. Representation of the postulates map Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 101
Figure 16. QGIS plugin for Spatial Network UCL Space Syntax. (2019). QGIS Space Syntax toolkit [Image]. Retrieved from http://otp.spacesyntax.net/software-and-manuals/space-syntax-toolkit-2/
Figure 17. Space Syntax map analysis applied to the masterplan UCL Space Syntax. (2009). Existing site assessment [Image]. Retrieved from https://spacesyntax.com/project/low-carbon-spatial-masterplanning/
Figure 17.1. Masterplan illustration of the finished project UCL Space Syntax. (2009). Low carbon spatial layout [Image]. Retrieved from https://spacesyntax.com/project/low-carbon-spatial-masterplanning/
Figure 18. Spatial strategies applied to the city UCL Space Syntax. (2009). Urban block sise analysis of the city of Ljubljana [Image]. Retrieved from https://spacesyntax.com/project/ljubljana-smartinska/
Figure 19. Connection of the Skycycle routes World Architectural Festival. (2013). Cycling up in the air [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/article/1511582/cycling-air
Figure 19.1. Rendered view of the Skycycle project Foster and Partners. (2013). London Skycycle [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/skycycle/
Figure 20. Chart of the 10 BEDZed principles Bioregional. One Planet Living [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.bioregional.com/one-planet-living
Figure 21. Smart City and the networks involved within Smart cities world. (2017). Smart tech is giving city managers access to new insights into operational performance [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/smart-citiesservices-worth-225bn-by-2026-1618
Figure 22. ‘Opportunities neuroscience unlocks’ Catapult, F. (2017). Neuroscience For Cities - A Playbook - Future Cities Catapult. From https://futurecities.catapult.org.uk/project/neuroscience-for-cities-a-playbook/ p.10-11
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Figure 23. Virtual Reality experience Forbes. (2019). The Important Difference Between Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/07/19/the-importantdifference-between-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-and-mixed-reality/#5215e4fd35d3
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
1: Introduction
In this paper I consider the role of Neuroscience in the Sustainable Built Environment and how this may help the development of the cities of the future, with the aim of improving the infrastructure and subsequently reduce stress and anxiety disorders, due to the modification of the urban grid. The paper discusses how the change towards a sustainable environment can be achieved through the help of neuroscientific discoveries together with other tools such as Space Syntax, Artificial Neural Network and Virtual Reality. It is believed that quantitative data and further analysis provided from researchers in UCL will help assess a framework, that applied to an urban grid can substantially improve the performances of a city. The document issued by UCL named ‘Neuroscience for cities’ gives a deep background on why this scientific subject can be applied to a city, highlighting the following concept ‘In informal terms neuroscience is the science of humans; it teaches us about how we perceive the world, how our brain develops, how we think, why we think, how we problem-solve, and how we interact with the world. Therefore, it makes sense to use neuroscience to better understand the relationship between people and the physical world’ (Catapult, 2017 p.16-17). The paper commences with an explanation of the background information that is necessary to understand how Neuroscience works, how it was first discovered and how it connects to other branches. It continues with the elaboration of the idea of spatial cognition together with the meaning of perception, showing the brain’s activity, with a general introduction to the book ‘Mind in Architecture’. The book is one of the main sources for my research, it shows different short essays from which it is possible to apprehend the interconnection between Neuroscience and the architecture field through an artistic and emotional method rather than a scientific one. (ref) One the second section there is a turning point in which the paper analyses the different tools that can be used to verify the accuracy of neuroscientific approaches. To confirm the applicability of the method I use two different books: the first one is the one written by Prof Bill Hillier and Prof Julienne Hanson, titled the ‘Logic of Space’, in which the two writers explore the basics and origins of Space Syntax application method, on different European cities; the second book is more recent than the last one, writer Jamie O’Brien explains the contemporary method used by Space Syntax, showing a series of formulas that can be applied 1
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
in the urban grid. My research seeks to identify three different study cases from the Space Syntax Lab, with a comparison of implementations at both national and international level. The case studies I elaborate, are as follows: Beijing Central Business District, low carbon spatial master-planning, The Ljubijana Smartinska Urban Masterplan and London ‘Skycycle’ a 6.5 km cycle route above the city’s old railway. The final section focuses on the effects of Neuroscience and Sustainability within the social and urban context, explaining some of the principles that were first established in order to address the climate change issues arising in 1997. Now, 22 years later the identified issues are more or less the same as before, possibly with one difference: researchers think that most of the climate change problems will be tackled with the help of technology, in fact both Artificial Intelligence and Neural Network will help towards air, noise and light pollution. The following chapter discusses some of the principles explained by Dr. Rob Roggema, landscape architect and design-expert, which interrogates some of the principles that apply to future sustainable urbanism. Finally, I consider whether automation will be the solution for the development of future cities and if all countries can make such investments to improve the current situation and make good use of technological progressions. The above raises questions on the approaches used in the urban development, asking future designers what options will be best. Should we opt for a more computational result, using formulas that can be applied to any city? Or should we keep using old methods related to the designer’s knowledge? If we use new tools, what are the benefits of applying new techniques on the built environment? Is Automation the future of our cities? Despite the different opinions given by researchers, designers and urban planners, it is believed that technology will improve the performances of a city. Therefore, my research explores the possibilities that Neuroscience and its tools unlock, demonstrating the truth behind neuroscientists theories. The approaches are thoroughly examined, with a careful reflection of the impact on the future cities and present society.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
1.1 Research methodology Research methodology: Qualitative methodology based on secondary data (literature review of academic sources) Aims and Objectives: I want to explore how urban space and cities change depending on the effects of Neuroscience and Sustainable Development principles, and if these two can work together within a real urban development. Key words: Neuroscience, Neuroarchitecture, Spatial cognition, Space syntax, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Sustainable Urban Development (SUD), Sustainable cities, Smart cities, automation.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
CHAPTER 2 – Introduction to Neuroscience, Spatial Cognition and Framework for a Sustainable Development 2.1 Introduction to Neuroscience Neuroscience is considered as the ‘study of the brain and nervous system in both humans and non and is applied together in health and diseases. ("About neuroscience | The British Neuroscience Association", 2019) Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that closely relates to other branches such as medicine, psychology, maths, engineering, computer science and architecture too. It is suggested that ‘the aim of neuroscience is to extract hidden information by looking at the brain and nervous system impulses.’ (Maleki, M., & Bayzidi, Q. 2018, P.1)
Figure 1. Networks of Brain Cells illustrated by Fiona McMillan with tetbow technique. Neuroscience discoveries are quite young, they date back to the 70s, when the first picture of the brain’s nervous system was taken through a magnetic resonance imaging or MRI. The experiment did not bring amazing results, mainly because of the poor quality of the images gained, however Schenck and its group of neuroscientists discovered that there was no harm in being exposed to such strong magnetic fields and they continued the works on the MRI machine. They found out that the positive thing about MRI scans is that the machine makes water molecules move and by doing so they emit a radio signal which travels outside of the person’s body, ensuring that the body is not exposed to radiations. During the summer of 1982, the team spent most of the time making a sophisticated MRI prototype, ready to scan Schenck’s 4
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
brain again, with a better image quality. The image scanned was an absolute success, as they were able to see the whole brain’s networks, and this was very exciting for the scientists of that time. Since then, Schenck has been working on further improvement of the machine, that nowadays are generating circa 80 million scans every year.
Figure 2. FMRI Scan showing brain during memory tasks by John Graner
Latest studies have demonstrated how neuroscience can be a versatile subject, due to the interconnections with other branches, in fact when associated to neurology, psychology and architecture, neuroscience changes towards a new trend called ‘Neuroarchitecture’. Neuroarchitecture studies the ‘effective, sensitive, recognitive and affective reactions to the environmental stimulus’. (Maleki, M., & Bayzidi, Q. 2018, P.1) Essentially, ‘architecture
is
the
thoughtful
making
of
space’
and architectural forms are assimilated and interpreted by the spatial processing system of the brain which supports both spatial cognition (thinking) and spatial emotion. (Till, 2009, p.118) In order to understand how Neuroscience in architecture works we need to go through a few steps, firstly, we need to understand the brain’s process while navigating a space and this goes 5
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
back to the idea of spatial cognition and then we have to analyse the perception of the space from an emotional point of view. Therefore, we will find out that this process of Neuroarchitecture must be seen from a scientific point of view and the artistic one too. It must be acknowledged that the architect or designer will use the knowledge as much as the emotions during the designing process.
2.2 The importance of spatial cognition Spatial cognition is the brain’s ability to elaborate information about the spatial surroundings perceived through the senses, mainly sight, and together with landmarks and other objects within the space, it allows us to experience a place optimally. Apparently, Jeffery confirms that spatial cognitive neuroscience is very relevant to architecture, as it may help the architectural thinking: she argues that such principles related to ‘Neuroscience will help designing better spaces by making them less confusing and more legible; she suggests that ‘natural navigation processes may make spaces more intuitive, less stressful and more emotionally positive, and may enable people to engage at a deeper level with their cities’ (Jeffery, 2019, p.854).
Figure 3. Confusion in Architecture: People running up and down Escher stairs. In the past century neuroscientists have made a big discovery, this is about the spatial system in our brain, which is composed of three main areas: the Hippocampus, the Parietal Lobe and the Striatum.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Figure 4. The brain’s spatial system Our interest will mainly be on the hippocampus, able to process spaces of larger scales. First discoveries of the activity in the hippocampus were made during the 1970s by John O’Keefe, a half British half American neuroscientist who contributed to the detection of place cells in this area of the brain revealing their role in cognitive or spatial mapping. His first experiment was conducted by implanting microelectrodes in awake rats, where he surprisingly identified that a good number of neurons would react in the same way when approaching a certain area of the box where the rat was navigating. He named these neurons ‘place cells’, as he thought they were finding a specific place within that area, consequently his colleague Lynn Nadel suggested that the hippocampus is that area of the brain where cognitive maps take place, and she noticed they seemed to be an exemplification of a mental map of the space.
Figure 5. Explanation of
the
experiment
conducted on awake rats by O’Keefe 7
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
The hippocampus only engages with the allocentric space, which is related to the outside world, in fact the neurons will create a spatial map, only if efficient information has been stored in the brain, such as environmental features. The cognitive map theory suddenly became very popular amongst psychologists, who started to explore the role of the hippocampus in the ‘navigation behaviour’. So, how do neurons determine a map? The map is driven by three main aspects: context, where environmental details are the same as others we have in mind, direction which follows a certain type of symmetry, and determines the construction of the mental map and finally the boundaries, these suggest a clear route and determine the space itself. There is little evidence that humans have place cells too however, we should be careful that this behaviour can be the same in the human brain. It is curious how the human brain can be compared to the one of a rat, therefore as explained in the volume Mind in Architecture, ‘it is important to differentiate between animal architecture as the result of genetic programs which guide the behaviour of animals in constructing their habitats, and human architecture which can change across many dimensions in ways greatly removed from genetic constraints’. (Pallasmaa J., Robinson S., 2015, p.88)
Figure 6. Explanation of experiment that has conducted to the thesis of the Cognitive map
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Another important discovery is the one related to the grid cells, they almost like place cells, but they work as funnels that filter all the sensory information into the hippocampus. They have quite an important role in the making of the cognitive map as they form the metric basis of it. It is demonstrated that both grid and place cells have a significant value as it is through them that the brain can build a map that is a very close representation of the space that surrounds us. We now know that all the experiments and discoveries have carried out on rats so far, due to their brain’s functions that resemble the one of a human’s brain.
Figure 7. Explanation of experiment that has conducted to the thesis of the Grid Cells
As stated above the first brain scans were carried out through MRI, which today can also be combined with virtual reality to implement its functionality. The virtual reality or VR has helped neuroscientists studying human navigation in a virtual world. The combination of MRI and VR is a powerful tool, that has allowed researchers to study the multimodal perception while registering brain activities at the same time. As well as the scientific and technological approaches, we perceive spaces through emotions, and as such, there is an aesthetical way of understanding architecture. The word emotion finds its origins in the Romantic period, it has been defined from the famed biologist Joseph LeDoux as ‘the process by which the brain determines or computes the value of a stimulus’. (Pallasmaa J., Robinson S., 2015, p.19) Shortly, the emotions is the way in which we connect to a place and the way we connect to that environment: it is a multisensory experience. Hillier confirms that the ‘experience of space is the foundation and framework of all our knowledge of the spatio-temporal world’. (Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. ,1984, p. 29) 9
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Figure 8. Exhibition of art-tech from Team Lab in Japan
Figure 8.1. Multi-sensorial experience of art-tech from Team Lab in Japan 10
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
During our exploration tour, Pallasmaa suggests that we do a general evaluation of the environment, through the peripheral vision, while later ‘we start analysing other factors such as materials, textures, sound resonance, smells and finally lighting’. (Pallasmaa J., Robinson S., 2015, p.20) We primarily tend to attribute valence to things, that can be either positive or negative, and it is fundamental to establish whether we feel comfortable or not in that specific area, we identify whether a thing is good or not, and we start analysing every single characteristic, trying to avoid those aspects that we do not like, almost unconsciously. It is acknowledged that most species exhibit a rapid flight to safety when feeling threatened, in fact when we visit a place that we do not know, we firstly make sure that we are aware of the fire escapes in order to feel safe in case of fire, and yet this is instinctive. What matters in most cases is feeling safe, then lately we will care about details and other features, Mark L. Johnson made this concept very clear in the sentence ‘My hypothesis is that architectural structures are experienced by humans as both sense-giving and signifying. That is, architectural structures present us, first, with a way of situating ourselves in, or being “at home” in, and making sense of our world, and, second, they provide material and cultural affordances that are meaningful for our survival and flourishing as meaning-seeking creatures.’ (Pallasmaa J., Robinson S., 2015, p.19). Figure 9. Floorplan showing fire escape routes
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
There is a mutual relationship between perception and aesthetics, the word ‘aesthetics’ indeed derives from the Greek word aisthētikos, which simply means sense perception, therefore it is believed that we are attracted to what is beautiful. However, John P. Eberhard argues that most neuroscientists think of architecture as a profession that is mainly related to aestheticism, even though he explains that it is more than this, a well-designed space follows certain principles that respond to the functional needs of the users. (Eberhard JP, 2009, p. 753) To sum up, there are some criteria that an architect or urban planner should follow when designing, whether this is driven by more scientific research or aesthetic values. In recent years the attention is to provide high performances that follow sustainable principles, and if Neuroscience is able to contribute on this issue by studying brain related patterns, this would be a successful beginning for the Neuroarchitecture trend.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
2.3 Assessment of Principles for Sustainable Development It is affirmed that the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050, therefore there is a need for every single country, and especially those welcoming mega cities to improve the quality of life by reducing C02 emissions by 84% at least. Most countries are already taking a step forward to this big change, both European, Asian and American cities are about to compete to establish which will reach the lowest level of CO2 emissions, wanting to become carbon neutral cities, Copenhagen place itself first in the ‘podium’ being the most eco-friendly European city at the moment right after Amsterdam.
Figure 10. Copenhill / Amager Bakke in Copenhagen by BIG Architects At the heart of global development, the UN have established a set of rules or goals which are fundamental in the path for becoming a 100% sustainable city, therefore future cities will have to deal with the Sustainable Development Goals listed within the Agenda 2030. The SDG are seventeen interconnected goals that aim to bring peace, equality, improve health and education, enable economic growth while working on the reduction of climate disasters. Within the 17 13
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
targets, the number 11 is the one that expands on the making of sustainable cities giving a further framework that shapes our idea, that can be better understood in the following articles: 11.4 clearly states ‘By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons’; 11.3 predicts ‘By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries’; 11.B sustains ‘By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels.’ (Goal 11: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2015)
Figure 11. Table of the SDG framework, 2030 Agenda These three articles quickly resume what SDG have established for the development of sustainable cities, giving priority to the road safety, sustainable transport system, inclusive and sustainable urbanization and adaptation to climate change disasters. Some of these principles sound quite familiar in the Space Syntax context where, a possible connection has been made within neural networks as an applicable method that would help tackling a series of global issues. 14
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
CHAPTER 3 – Application of Space Syntax Method and Comparison of Case Studies 3.1 Origins of Space Syntax Sarah Robinson and Juhani Pallasmaa gave a reflective background of Neuroscience, by using a wide range of essays from some of the biggest researchers of the topic, they provided a persuasive thesis on the importance of Neuroscience in the architecture field however, they failed to provide tangible tools or methods to be applied. Neuroscience could be a potential ally if applied to architecture, since human brain reacts to certain changes within the urban context, Space Syntax and Neural Network analysis have been two of the most effective tools in the elaboration of brain impacts, addressing this theme with quantitative models based on an inputoutput logic.
Figure 12. ANN method based on input-output logic Space Syntax is ‘a theory and a method that accounts for spatial configurations in relation to patterns of socio-economic activity and cultural meaning’. (O'Brien, J.,2019, p.24) This approach is directly related to the way humans behave when experiencing a certain place, studying movement patterns, awareness and interaction. Space Syntax researchers investigate other characteristics too, such as density, land use and land value together with Urban growth, social backgrounds, safety within the city and crime rates. The idea of Space Syntax was founded in in the 1970s by Prof Bill Hillier and Prof Julienne Hanson, which together wrote a book called ‘The Social Logic of Space’ where the experiments and theses were better 15
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
explained through a series of studies on French and English cities. Today their theories are put in practice in the homonymous lab located in The Bartlett at the University College of London, nevertheless many universities and practices worldwide have started to introduce this type of ideas. So far, the Space Syntax has managed to show changes at urban scale, observing that the Spatial Layout created by designers has an impact on movement patterns, security and insecurity; the relationship between spatial layout and design will help shaping the evolution of city centres and sub-centres, making cities more liveable: as a consequence spatial segregation and social disadvantages will be reduced and organisational cultures will advance in cities. The aim of Space Syntax is to create a multidisciplinary relationship with urban design, transport planning and environmental engineering, using quantitative data. They strongly believe that the work produced helps to improve the performances of design layouts, as a fact, they add value to their project in three ways: creating of better ideas answering design problems, including performance characteristics such as sustainability and improvement of the connections with the stakeholders of the urban location.
Figure 13. Space syntax application method The approach that Space Syntax uses, works in two different stages, starting with a study of the ‘Urban Baseline’ where they analyse the urban grid noticing how this performs (this happens with the help of designers such as SpaceLab and
Spacescape, managers and
occupiers), while the second phase is a ‘strategic design stage’ in which they provide a creative 16
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
input to the planning and design of a new place: this is usually presented through a series of planning strategies, that demonstrate the work in terms of social, economic and environmental values. The authors and founders, Hillier and Hanson discussed the need for a logic in the design of certain places, stating how the application of logic presents a new way of analysing the spatial patterns produced by buildings in cities; they argue that the way buildings are organised within the urban layout determines the social relationships.
Figure 14. List of elementary formulae The volume illustrates a sequence of examples that have been used to conduct the experiments, showing three different approaches that evolve towards the final formulas. We can see a clear experiment on the city of Gargas in South France, here the authors start showing the evolution from a computer generated ‘beady ring’ structure where a series of cells, drawn as small squares, are combined to create a logic pattern, to the Axial Map where we see a succession of broken lines intersecting with each other to form a clearer pattern. Finally, as the title of the book suggests, we see a final evolution where the lines are complemented with some dots or postulates, that indicate the social relationships. It is only after these three evolutions that Hillier and Hanson come up with formulas, that are nothing more than the written form of the
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
lines previously traced in the grid. The layout grids shown in the analyses are mainly bidimensional and this can be seen in the Space syntax method too.
Figure 15. The French town of Gargas showing its open space structure and the related axial map 18
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
Figure 15.1. Representation of the axial map of Gargas
Figure 15.2. Representation of the axial space indexes
Figure 15.3. Representation of the postulates map 19
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
The approach explained sounds rather straightforward and it is a simplified concept of years of studies, which only introduced to the very first idea of Space Syntax that today is better resumed in a QGIS plug-in for spatial network. The plugin provides a termination of the for the depthmapX software within QGIS and it was created to support the Space Syntax methodology, while enhancing the GIS data.
Figure 16. QGIS plugin for Spatial Network
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
3.2 Comparison of case studies Space Syntax association at UCL has worked on a real-life brief since the early ‘90s at both national and international level, giving most of the attention to the City of London and its transportation routes. In the official Space Syntax website, we can find other related life brief, I will consider three of them to show how the organisation acts in the Urban context. 3.2.1 Case study: Beijing Central Business District, low carbon spatial master-planning The project began in 2009, when Space Syntax was asked to create an effective spatial layout within the urban grid, creating a new movement network. Beijing is one of those cities that are experiencing a continuous growth, especially in a significant area called Central Business District, planned to become a sustainable quarter soon. The area is currently characterised by a high presence of car traffic, with an increasing demand for public transports and low energy consumption building, also the area lacks green elements, reducing the possibility for community spaces. The Beijing case is an interesting one, as the area is also host for a numerous historical building that of course cannot be just demolished or cut out from the environment, indeed it needed enhancing and re-evaluation. Space Syntax has faced the issue with a fascinating design proposal, that has been completed with the support of the China Academy of Urban Planning. In this case the SS collaboration has contributed with a classification of various tests of the urban grid, showing high-accessible and easy to use routes in red and orange, while weakly connected routes in green and blue. The tests have showed how the layouts come up with an easier grid each time, keeping in mind the aims and landmarks for the future key public spaces. The new design proposal predicts the introduction of three aspects that will completely change the look of this zone: the new sustainable transport routes will favour a multi-level transport interchange, the so called ‘green grid’ of street that allows the formation of public spaces and finally the historic urban boulevard that is designed to connect major routes within the city. Other changes will be applied 21
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
at urban scale by looking at the generation of low energy buildings with a controlled emission system. The idea proposed by Space Syntax has been successfully applied to the central district of Beijing where works are still ongoing, and the project has received great international value, also enhancing UCL researchers’ work on human behaviour in urban environment.
Figure 17. Space Syntax map analysis applied to the masterplan
Figure 17.1. Masterplan illustration of the finished project 22
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
3.2.2 Case study: The Ljubijana Smartinska Urban Masterplan The second study case is a project commissioned by the City of Ljubljana in Slovenia, during 2008-2009 where SS had a main strategic urban role, with the co-operation of a professional team of designers, Hosoya Schaefer Architects. The international competition consisted in the improvement of a block within the city, aiming at a more balanced distribution of local centres. In this circumstance Space Syntax gave its contribution, with the construction of a Spatial Accessibility model of the Slovenian city, highlighting the spatial hierarchy of the movement network and the current connection of the suburbs to the city centre. The model served as a prototype to test multiple solutions, where spatial strategies have been simulated following specific urban design guidelines dictated by the planning regulation of the Ljubljana. The outcome is a thorough response to the local conditions where a set of measures have been considered and new spaces for the community have been added giving major importance to the environment, meaning that a planning strategy has certainly been used.
Figure 18. Spatial strategies applied to the city 23
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
3.2.3 Case study: London ‘Skycycle’, a 6.5 km cycle route above the city’s old railway One of the most known case studies, is the one related to the cycling routes in London and its suburbs, in which has also taken part the architectural practice Foster + Partners, naming the project as Skycycle, now defined as a utopian view. It is believed that with the increase of urban population, transportation routes will be more congested, so as a consequence the main issue to be tackled, is the safety of millions of cyclists that everyday would risk their life, with a peak of 100 deaths in Great Britain each year. The case study has been considered as a huge challenge, that aims to the creation of cycle-friendly cities, minimising traffic overcrowding and air quality improvement. These are the main reasons why Space Syntax has come up with the idea of the retitled ‘Skycycle’ that will cover a 6.5 km cycle route, starting in East London and ending in Liverpool Street Station, with a building cost of £200 million ca. The way in which Space Syntax has applied its toolkit has happened in two main phases: the first is the understanding of urban mobility and understanding of existing routes and evaluation of road signs and legibility, and a second phase in which they have predicted the cyclists behaviour in order to test new routes, and find the best solution.
Figure 19. Connection of the Skycycle routes 24
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
After a thorough research and analysis, Space Syntax apprehended a strategy, with the designers’ support, which consists on the reuse of the old railway infrastructure, capable of connecting various areas of London within a ‘10 minutes catchment area’.
Figure 19.1. Rendered view of the Skycycle project The proposal conceived from Space Syntax was a great example of how to improve cycling routes in London, however it hasn’t been much appreciated from other people, whose opinion was contrasting due to the high cost of the project, which is said to be more than 25% of the set budget for a series of initiatives set to improve life quality in the city. Despite the opposition of most people the project remains a good example of the SS method of application, perhaps a better solution might be provided in the future with the promotion of sustainable cities. Even though Space Syntax tried to terminate the project, it did not go through because of cost related issues, but it must be said that apart from the cost the project was supported by a strong architectural practice, meaning that in the next years the idea will be revisited. Future projects and development of cycling routes might want to follow the same example that are already functioning in other European cities, such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Ghent, where car transit is partially permitted in city centres.
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The case studies are clearly demonstrating how Space Syntax Analysis works efficiently on both traffic and pedestrian movement, however there is little evidence that the method could work in the development of city. The only ‘ally’ that could potentially operate well within the SSA in the urban environment is the application of another method, that is very close to the one mentioned above: it is the Artificial Neural Networks analysis or ANN. The ANN analysis presents a series of experiments with linear connection, parallel to SSA, which through the implementation produce models that follow a logic structure, based on an input-output model. The main difference between ANN and SSA is that the first one presents a low margin of error that is equal to 0.02, therefore it is way more efficient and accurate than the second. This type of computational networks is based on the human brain’s neural nets and it processes all the information at the same time, this means that it goes through the input mode where the learning or training phase starts taking place. The first phase is followed by the analysis of the data which is unknown to the ANN, this is where it gets interesting, because ANN starts analysing the unknown data and solving all the urban complexes such as traffic and pedestrian movements, this will give specific results showing an almost perfect output. The output framed by the ANN will present a very low margin of error, due to its ability to mirror human brain and this is why ANN is a better candidate than SSA, while one is based on predictions the other one is based on the mimic of human behaviour, which consequently will lead to a better outcome. It is because of this feature that ANN in collaboration with Artificial Intelligence, has been used in the development of the smart cities, which is still at an initial phase and there are uncertainties on whether this is the shape that our future will take, however we must acknowledge that this could contribute to the achievement of a sustainable future, coping with major issues like transportation, pollution, waste management and artificial light saving.
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
CHAPTER 4 – The Community Relationship with The Cities of the Future 4.1 Sustainability and One Planet Living In this final chapter I am going to discuss the role of cities in the sustainable urbanism and I will explain the way in which cities are expected to be in about 80 years’ time and how communities will be affected by this new way of living. It is believed that future cities will have to change towards a sustainable and eco-friendly behaviour in order to overcome issues like urban sprawl and climate change, therefore big organizations such as the UN have proposed charts that serve as a framework to be applied. The idea of sustainable city in the United Kingdom saw its first example in the BEDZed Development in London, where the project demonstrated to be very successful by following 10 simple principles of the ‘One planet living’ as listed below. (see figure).
Figure 20. Chart of the 10 BEDZed principles The ten principles were established circa 19 years ago, this means that a prediction of the current situation already existed, but there was the hope that technological discoveries would have improved this situation. The idea of smart city is just an extension of the sustainable city, where technology is applied to predict some aspects that would come in favour of the urban development. As a fact, we know that the ideal sustainable city focuses equally on the achievement of a balance between three main factors that are: Social, Economic and Environment or Ecology.
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As well as the UK government, Susan Baker explains how the three pillars interact within the construction and architecture fields and states that ‘Promoting SD is about steering societal change at the interface between:
The social: this relates to human mores and values, relationships and institutions.
The economic: this concerns the allocation and distribution of scarce resources.
The ecological: this involves the contribution of both economic and the social and their effect on the environment and its resources.’ (Baker S., 2017, p.7) In connection with the three aspects Rob Roggema interrogates different approaches to Future Sustainable Urbanism in which, he says that 6 main design principles are necessary to create a sustainable city, in his view the six principles can be grouped in three subcategories: Societybased, Complexity-led and Landscape driven. The author believes that the three processes are purely connected and that their combination is crucial for the achievement and development of an eco-city model, however, he thinks that ‘The future of our society is not merely a technical matter of finding more eco-friendly energy solutions, but a question of holistic environmental and social sustainability, and identifying principles for healthy communities. Much of Green Urbanism is common sense urbanism.’ (Roggema, R. 2017, P.6).
Figure 21. Smart City and the networks involved within
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Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
4.2 Communities and automation of the cities Neuroscience supporters believe that the automation in cities will increase so much to change people’s lives, that we will have to face serious consequences on mental health and human interactions. Smart cities development can be good at one side, however this will reduce face to face interactions, and most probably will affect cognitive elements, such as empathy. Furthermore, UCL researchers sustain that ‘Empathy is necessary for various tasks from providing the correct emotional support to a conversation or social interaction to understanding the plight of another human being.’ (Catapult, 2017 p.68). Perhaps consequences do not seem to be positive for humans, they can be relevant from a transportation point of view, as autonomous vehicles could help reduce traffic overcrowding because of their sat-nav systems. Some issues and questions arose in the application of both sustainable and smart cities and this is where the author of the article focuses the attention by looking at the three main characteristics of Society-based, Complexity-led and Landscape driven. The Society has a crucial role in the re-development of the cities and must behave and contribute to help for the change, but also the citizen itself is the stakeholder, and has an important role for the designer, as it is the one that experiments the change lives the reality of the city and thinks of how to make the change happen. The author states that the citizen is the designer itself, somehow. It is a complexity-led process the one to undertake, because the designers of the future, the ones of my generation and me included, have to put a series of changes together in order to restore the damages made by previous generations, having to cope with the environment, working for inclusive solutions that implement the characteristics of the location itself. Economic issues must be taken into account too, we cannot really think of a change that includes both smart and sustainable solutions where economy and government are still developing, therefore a change such as this could realistically work in countries where economy and government have strong foundations. To conclude, the change is possible, we have all the technological instruments on hand: Neuroscience, Space Syntax Analysis, fMRI, Virtual Reality, ANN; the reality is that the whole society should agree on what is better for the near future and find a solution as quick as possible, because the time is passing by and there is a need for a decision to be taken. 29
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
5: Conclusion This research aimed to identify effective methods of application within the urban landscape for the creation of more sustainable cities. Based on both quantitative and qualitative data gathered from Space Syntax and Artificial Neural Networks, it can be concluded that these two methods can be successfully applied to the idea of smart city rather than sustainable. Both approaches result efficacious when they are applied in a connective environment such as transportation networks, in which the use of automated vehicles or sat-nav in people’s devices there is a possibility for a better orientation towards less congested areas. It has been demonstrated how Neuroscience discoveries have helped throughout the past three decades in the understanding of brain impulses and space perception when people expose themselves to certain places. Perception has a significant role in understanding the spaces we experience every day, mainly because emotions are involved, it is through the emotion that we as humans evaluate the places that we live in. A deeper understanding of Neuroscience makes us aware of the processes that the brain undertakes in the exploration of the space, but more importantly it shows how this subject can be a useful tool when designing for clients or communities. However, professor D. Montello researcher of the brain sciences, criticize this approach, saying that ‘Neuroscience is overestimating its benefits, and misdirecting the designer’s focus onto promises of quantitative rigor over empathic resonance’ he also defines neuroscience as an ‘intimidatingly esoteric tool than the architect’s own language’. (Taylor-Hochberg, A., 2016, webpage) Despite Montello’s idea, Neuroscience and the application of Space Syntax has resulted powerful enough in other circumstances such as the ones demonstrated through case studies in the cities of London, Ljubijana and Beijing. It is believed that Neuroscience will help future communities and cities to improve current conditions, acting mainly on three aspects: light, noise and air pollutions. Space Syntax, ANN, Artificial Intelligence and other tools have been used to assess the advantages of these within urban environments, and more importantly in Sustainable cities. The Sustainable cities are the focus of neuroscientists as they are highly convinced that cities will benefit from every possible angle and the subsequent change could be possibly related 30
Elena Cuccuru @00512070 The uses of Neuroscience in the development of Sustainable Cities
based on neuroscience discoveries. In the following image you will see some of the benefits that Neuroscience can ‘unlock’.
Figure 22. ‘Opportunities neuroscience unlocks’ Ultimately, Neuroscience can reveal possible solutions in the built environment and help make better spaces to live in, it will enable to understand certain brain processes that will allow designers to produce anxiety and stress-free places. As a matter of fact, the article on Neurosciences and Contemplation for well being recommends that architects’ designs ‘should prioritize people’s health and well-being’. (Olszewska, A., Farinha Marques, P., & Barbosa, F. 2014, p. 75) Based on these conclusions, practitioners might want to consider Neuroscience and the other related tools in the urban planning. The effectiveness of the tools has been explained and it is confirmed that VR can empower the designing process, however further research should be taken when considering the use of other tools like ANN and SSA.
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Figure 23. Virtual Reality experience Many people are already questioning future architects on how cities will be I the next 30 years, and well, if everything goes as planned, we will live in a sustainable environment, but what if it does not? We all wish for a better future, however the big transaction will depend on every country’s tradition and context, we must recognise that some cities in the world do not even have clean waters yet. It is a complex reality the one we have to deal with and in order for this change to happen, architect and urbanist Camilla Ween states that it is essential to make the right investments, but before ‘cities should be well-managed, with good infrastructure and governance systems that function. (…) They should be cities by economic obsession, but rather by creative obsession.’ (Ween, 2014, p.114) The writer also suggests that ‘efficient transport is a fundamental prerequisite for a well-functioning city and is directly related to its economic health’, therefore it is important to improve this sort of infrastructure as a first step for the change. The city planning has always been the designer’s duty, neuroscience can come in convenient for certain purposes, making the designer explore scientific approaches that were considered far from the architectural world. As Mallgrave suggests: ‘architects, if I might borrow an analogy from Zeki, have always been neuroscientists – in the sense that the human brain is the wellspring of every creative endeavor, and the outcome of every good design is whether the architect enriches or diminishes the private world of the individual experiencing it’. (Mallgrave, H. 2010, p.4) 32
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
6.1 BOOKS
6.1.1 Baker, S. (2017). Sustainable development. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. P. (Baker, 2017) P. 7 6.1.2 Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 29 6.1.3 Mallgrave, H. (2010). The architect's brain: neuroscience, creativity, and architecture. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. P.4 6.1.4 O'Brien, J. (2019). Spatial complexity in urban design research. Graph visualization tools for communities and their contexts (1st ed.). Oxon: Routledge Taylor et Francis. P. 24 6.1.5 Robinson, S. and Pallasmaa, J. (2015). Mind in architecture: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design. 1st ed. Cambridge: MIT Press. Pp. 19, 20, 88 6.1.6 Till, J. (2009). Architecture depends. 1st ed. Cambridge: Massachusetts: The MIT Press, P.118 6.1.7 Ween, C. (2014). Future cities (1st ed.,). Hachette UK: Hodder and Stoughton. P. 114
6.2 JOURNALS
6.2.1 Eberhard, J. (2009). Applying Neuroscience to Architecture. Neuron, 62(6), 753-756. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2009.06.001, P.753 6.2.2 Jeffery, K. (2019). Urban Architecture: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective. The Design Journal, 22(6), 853-872. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2019.1662666 p. 854 6.2.3 Maleki, M., & Bayzidi, Q. (2018). Application of Neuroscience on Architecture: The Emergence of New Trend of Neuroarchitecture. Kurdistan Journal Of Applied Research, 1(1). doi: 10.24017/science.2017.3.62, P.1 6.2.4 Olszewska, A., Farinha Marques, P., & Barbosa, F. (2014). Urban Planning, Neurosciences and Contemplation For Improving Well-being in Our Cities. ARCC Conference Repository, 75-85. doi: 10.17831/rep:arcc%25y253, P.75 6.2.5 Roggema, R. (2017). The Future of Sustainable Urbanism: Society-Based, Complexity-Led, and Landscape-Driven. Sustainability, 9(8), 1442. doi: 10.3390/su9081442, P.6
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6.3 WEBSITES 6.3.1 About neuroscience | The British Neuroscience Association. (1996). Retrieved from https://www.bna.org.uk/about-neuroscience/ 6.3.2 Catapult, F. (2017). Neuroscience For Cities - A Playbook - Future Cities Catapult. From https://futurecities.catapult.org.uk/project/neuroscience-for-cities-a-playbook/ p.16-17, 68 6.3.3 Goal 11:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. (2015). Retrieved December 2019, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11 6.3.4 Taylor-Hochberg, A. (2016). The future of applied neuroscience research in architecture education. UD/MH Journal Of Urban Design And Mental Health, 1(2398-4082). Retrieved from https://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/journal1-architectsandneuroscience.html
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