Existing Knowledge Gaps and Areas Requiring Further Research

2.5 EXISTING KNOWLEDGE GAPS AND AREAS REQUIRING FURTHER RESEARCH

The current situation recognises exposures that occur when pedestrians encounter buildings – where they are mainly environmental and urban, there yet remains a knowledge gap on how characteristics of a building and its facade contribute to the pedestrian experience and in return, impact their momentarily or long-term conditions of health and wellbeing. Evidently, the question remains – how do different characteristics of a building and its façade impact pedestrian stimulation, affect, and in turn, their health and wellbeing?

Further research should therefore explore and document the characteristics of built setting with scrutiny in support of Galea and Vlahov’s (2005) perspective on the urban context itself being an exposure of interest. A building needs to be recognised holistically through its component parts, or else where research might support a feature works well in promoting conducive health and wellbeing for pedestrians, it may be overruled by other characteristics that instead leads to a detrimental outcome.