Social and Psychological Considerations

Research no. 2

Social and Psychological Consideration s Margallo, Abigael L. 201111712 TTH/ 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Archt. Romeo Camacho

Social and Psychological Considerations Good planning and design will be the product of a process which respects both nature of man and the nature of nature --Elizabeth Kassler. Thus far we have emphasized the natural constraints in regional landscape planning and site planning. The criteria for housing, recreation facilities, and use areas have assumed a great deal about the nature of man. In this research we consider how social and psychological theory may present constraints or positive direction in decision making and the development of form at all scales of landscape architecture. Only recently has there been a concerted effort to relate an understanding of human needs, environmental perception and attitudes to design and planning in the hope of providing more satisfactory, conflict-free, and socially appropriate environments. Environmental psychology has become almost as popular a subject as ecology. 1. Site Values/ Social Impact It seems likely that an understanding of behavior and perception will be helpful in the development of answers to the following similar questions. What kind of setting is considered suitable for various forms of recreation and leisure time behavior? Which aspects of recreation are derived from a desire to get away from pressure of the city and which are derived from a need for physical exercise? How can playgrounds be made responsive to the needs, urges and feelings of young children when they are designed by adults? The answers to such questions and others are obviously important if design and planning are to be responsive to the social context within which the design must operate and which it serves. Generally there are two basic ways to become more sensitive to the answers to these and a host of similar questions on every aspect of behavior and environment. One is to learn from observation and direct consultation with members of community or a specific group on society defined by factors such as age and socioeconomic status. Another way is to become familiar with the general principles or “universals” of behavior and perception.

SOCIAL ANALYSIS

Various methods have been developed to help designers know more about the needs and attitudes of the public client. One method of gathering attitudinal information is the questionnaire or attitude survey. The success of these forms depends on the selection and wording of questions. Questions such as “what do you think of so and so?” or “what kind of environment would you like?” are inhibiting. Since most members of the public do not know what all the possibilities are, their answers are limited by their past experiences and imaginations, or loaded by the choices they are given in the questions. Although attitude surveys are becoming increasingly sophisticated, there are so many variables and difficulties that they may only be useful as a ways to substantiate the hypothesis or intuitive guess of an intelligent designer or planner who is familiar with the situation. Factual questionnaire surveys which provide an indication of the actual use of facilities, parks, and playgrounds are probably more valuable. Studies of this nature at least tell us how the existing facilities are used and the distance people of various ages are prepared, if not content, to travel for various recreation activities and experiences. The extent to which particular features or landscape or city have significance or what Lynch calls “image ability” to the majority of the people can also be measured through interview techniques. Questionnaires may also be employed in the so called feedback or user study. This analysis provides useful information and opinion about a specific environment in which the respondents live and about which they are more interested and able and qualified to answer. Several studies have been made of reactions and patterns of tenants in housing developments in which the findings are contrasted with the original expectations of the architect, which are sometimes at odds with the actual use. It not possible to make generalizations from these specific studies, but a series of user feedback studies may reveal patterns and recurring problems. One of Alexander’s techniques of generating form is based on the same concept, that of improving the design by critical analysis of previous solutions to the same problem. Direct observation of behavior in particular use or activity areas reveals another level of information. For example, Vere Hole’s of children’s playgrounds in London, measuring the child’s attention time and the variety of environment needed by children, those occupations and features receiving most attention, and so forth, provides valuable general information for future design work. It’s use is limited to some extent, however, by the specifics of

particular case study, since findings related to children’s play in London would not necessarily apply in Los Angeles except in the very basic physical needs inherent in maturation in body building. By observing people in parks and public open spaces in a systematic way, it is possible to get an impression of the way in which the environment is used or misused and the way in which the design and arrangement of elements such a fountains, benches result in different behavioral patterns. Even without the presence of the people to observe, tell tales such as litter and worn path, graffiti, and other marks can be an indication of use patterns or dissatisfaction with the environment. The other way to match the needs and desires of the people who will use it is for them to build it themselves. The ideal concept is being limited by the imagination of the people and their awareness of options and alternatives. The experience of working with the potential users is in itself educational for the designer as well as the participants. In addition, the project is more likely to reflect the expressed need and interest of the users as they then are defined. Flexibility in the solution will presumably take care of future users whose needs and preferences may be different. We must be cautious of the tremendous adaptability of the people to the given environmental situations, which can, in fact, lead us to find satisfactory-and even favor-environments that previously or objectively would have been considered unsatisfactory or hostile. Attitudes change, people move, life is ongoing, and there is always the dilemma that what the people seem to want or need at one moment may be in conflict with long term goals or the needs of others. 2. Behavior Settings The interaction between human behavior and the nonhuman environment is a two-way process. On the one hand, the environment has a definite impact on the individual, and our response may be adapt to the imposed conditions. On the other hand, we are continually manipulating or choosing our physical surroundings in any attempt to make a life physically and psychologically more comfortable.

Behavior is the result of a complex interaction between two main sets of variables. The first is the environment that surrounds and affects the individual. The second is the inner condition of the individual, which has two parts: psychological, related to the body’s biological mechanisms, and psychological, related to the cultural background, motives, and experiences of the individual and his basic needs. Thus in design we are concerned with three categories of human factors: physical, physiological, and psychological. PHYSICAL FACTORS Analysis of average measurements and postures , movement , and growth results in a set of dimensions for parts of building and detailed landscape design. A door must be high enough to allow people to pass through without stooping, seats must be at the right level and inclination to be comfortable etc. Design details derived from purely visual considerations may or may not fulfill the condition fit for user. Le Corbusier’s modular system derived a set of visually pleasing proportions and dimensions from the human body, thereby theoretically relating beauty and functional satisfaction in his design. Special situations may logically result in deviation from usual dimensions and standard. Example, when young children are involved, the environment must facilitate growth and development.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Human physiological needs are also relatively easy to specify. They result from interaction of the inner biological condition of an individual with the surrounding environment. People need food, water, air, exercise and protection. A state of heath or disease may be regarded as an expression of the success or failure of an organism to respond adaptively to the environment changes. The process by which the individual maintain its internal environment in an approximately permanent state is homeostasis. This process is innate and automatic, resulting in the operation of body mechanism and glands. Perspiring, shivering and sleeping are examples of the body’s response to the environmental conditions. Need can be fulfilled through the provision of nutritious food, clean air, adequate and pure water, in addition to the elimination of disease with the effective physical environment which allow for control of cold and heat. A human comfort zone in which maximum and minimum temperatures and humidity are specified has been developed by Olgay, suggesting an optimum environment in terms of the homeostatic process, human comfort, and ease of living. A semi-physiological need is the need for self-preservation and avoidance of pain. It is a self-protecting device against physical injury and death. The responsibility of city agencies to provide conditions of safety for citizens has resulted in a series of regulations related and design specifications to our need for security and fear of injury through falling.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity .The definition adopted by the World Health Organization describes heath as a state of physical, mental, and social well being. Thus we come to the third human component component in the environmental design:human psychological and social needs, behavioral patterns and tendencies. It is the most difficult of the three sets of human factors to define and relate to the form of the environment. Human psychological needs and perception of the environment differ according to a multitude of variables including age, social class, cultural background, past experience and motives, and daily routine of the individual. These factors influence and differentiate the need structures of individuals and groups. Even if the same need is identified, the overt behavior is likely to

be different. Despite the complexity of the variables and difficulties in the definition of many needs, it is possible to suggest certain broad categories of inner needs defined on the basis of observed behavior and empirical evidence and social analysis. Some psychological are stronger than the others, and our need structure changes according to the particular situation. The basic human inner condition may be classified into five generalized groupings of motivational forces and psychological needs: (1) social, (2) stabilizing, (3) individual, (4) self-expression, and (5) enrichment. There is inevitably overlap and potential conflicts among categories. The first group of social needs, includes the need of the individual for social interaction, for group affiliation, for companionship, and for love. Together with these go the more subtle need to be needed and to be sustained by others and by implication the need for the protection of other people. The family group and the peer group are obvious manifestations of these needs. The whole society is organized to a large extent around these basic social needs. It is clear then that wherever the environment is meant for people or where the purpose of the design is not contrary to the fulfillment of these social needs, it should characteristically have a sociopetal form designed to draw people together, to engender social relationships or at least to make this possible. The second set of needs have been called stabilizing needs. We have a need to be free from fear, anxiety and danger. And we have a need for clear orientation, a need to develop and to hold a clear philosophy in life., a need to order and organize the environment a hope to have a say in its form and content through democratic process. We have the inherent need to manipulate the environment, not only from a point of view of developing physical conditions responsive to our physiological needs, but also to satisfy some more deeply rooted need to make a mark, to form and shape the environment according to a symbolic metaphysical urge. The concept of advocacy planning (self-help and self-determination) is to an extent related to this desire for stability through participation in decisions concerning one’s own local environment. The concept of self-help projects where derelict, unused land is transformed through the energies, initiative, and artistic expression of local people, who will be the users of the land, gives rise to a form of design activity that not only satisfies the need of human sense for stability and involvement basic to securitybut also leads to a completely new type of design process. Other implication are imageability, the ordering of

space so that it is free from ambiguity, and the selection of paving surfaces to provide information about a place and its use. The third group is described as individual needs. Some of these overlap or are similar to needs of self-expression. Here we recognize the need of people at certain moments in their experience and development of selfawareness to be utterly alone in a period of time, the need of privacy. There is a strong need for acertain amount self-determination, for an identity ans sense of personal uniqueness in the environment, and related to this a need to be able to choose or make individual decisions about one’s life. The possibility of privacy today in urban environment becomes more remote The design environment should make privacy a possibility. This is most likely achieved by the dwelling itself. Privacy also may be attainable by designing the outdoor environment to create areas less accessible to direct use by urban population yet within minutes from it. Circulation should offer choices. Within reason we should be able to do what we want. But we must be careful that personal expression will not adversely affect the lives and privacy and equal needs for uniqueness an identity of others in the society. There is a potential conflict between self-expression and social needs. There is variety of component needs making up the self-expression group. They include the need for self-assertion and exhibition, for dominance and power. There is also a need for accomplishment and achievement, for prestige, and to be held in esteem by others. Ardrey calls this, the need for status which is related to the need of territory. Territory has been identifeied as oen of the three fundamental human drives, the other two being status and sex. Laying claim to territory and maintaining a certain distance from one’s fellow may be considered a real human biological nee. There is a clear relationship between space and territory and animal survival. We must be interested in the relationship between space and behavior. Observations indicate that space limitations or crowding can force people into stressful situations but if there are too much distance between people, inhibiting conversation and use. A second aspect of importance A second aspect of importance is the evidence of pronounced variations in spacing mechanisms and personal space exhibited by people of different cultural background and nationality.

A too little personal space may result to psychological breakdown or antisocial behavior. There are strong arguments that overcrowding in urban slum conditions is equally detrimental to the mental and physical health of the inhabitants, the human population is so profoundly conditioned by social and cultural factors that the question of human overcrowding in cities is more complicated than in the case of animal population. Thus, it is still not conclusive that high densities in cities are undesirable and that we cannot design urban forms that would emphasize the benefits of a large city life at the same time reducing the ill effects. We must ensure that the environment will provide possibilities for play as a general concept more than simply through provision of “play grounds”. For organized game and sports. A city should have built-in variety and possibilities for imaginative response. The last group of human need is called enrichment needs. People (especially children) have a thirst for knowledge. Self-realization and personal creativity, and, it seems, a strong need for beauty and aesthetic experience. Human enrichment needs, then, seem to require the provision of information about the environment so that our understanding of what we see may be increased in detail. The environment should not only be beautiful itself but it also should provide the possibility for creativity in the form of environmental manipulation or simply in the provision of opportunities within some kind of open space or recreation program. Having reviewed the generalities of human needs, we must beware of becoming oversensitive and self-conscious about these needs, which are part of our general awareness. There is a danger in the development of specific design forms to satisfy or fulfill some of these needs which would lead in all probability to disappointment and conflict. It is not the intention here to suggest that design should be specifically oriented toward the fulfillment of any specific aspect of this spectrum of human emotional needs. It is simply suggested that the design process should identify some of the basic demands or needs which a particular component of the environment may reasonably be expected satisfy and should ensure the fulfillment of those desires. Remember, physical environment is only one part of a larger process. It is the setting in which we, the social animal, interact with other humans or the social environment.

Environment Perception and Behavior

Behavior, then results from the interaction of the individual(the social environment) and with the surrounding (the physical environment). Consequently, the environmental designer must be interested in the structure of the environment and its effect on the individual. Second, and very much related to this, we must render to understand the way in which the environment is perceived by the individual; and third, we must be interested in general behavioral reaction to situations, social and physical. Our sensitivity to the environment and our adaptability or response to environmental conditions can result in specific behavior, although we are actually unconscious of the effect of the environment on us. This possibility underscores the power that is in the hands of the environmental designer. It has been demonstrated that behavior and social interaction can be influenced by the arrangement of furniture in room. It has also been suggested that architectural arrangements can result in conditions alien to man, for example, where there is no opportunity for privacy (the open plan house) or little physical contact to the ground( a high-rise apartment). The judgments in this case are not made on the basis of human survival, which is not in doubt, in terms of probable mental stress and discomfort. Environments can thus be specifically designed to bring people together agreeably for some purpose. Another way, in which the influence of environment on behavior can be seen is in the way places assume meaning. A church, a cemetery, a library may also result in specific behavioral response. The value of understanding the mechanics of visual sensation is, of course, obvious. Knowing how the eye works and transforms retinal images of constantly shifting light patterns into the visual world makes it possible for the designers to eliminate distracting situations which makes life difficult. For example, our 180 degree peripheral vision exaggerates the sense of movement and the closer the walls of a tunnel or passageway, the greater our sense of movement. Perception is a more complex process than just seeing. Through it, people select, organize, and interpret sensory stimulation into meaningful and coherent images of the world. Sensation shades into perception as experience goes from the isolated and simple to the complex interactions characteristic of an ongoing awareness of the environment.

For landscape Architecture, another interesting theory about the interaction of people with the physical surroundings concerns aesthetic satisfaction. It has been suggested that the requirements for aesthetic enjoyment are simply the requirements for visual perception itself, raised to a higher degree. The essential thing in each case is to have a pattern which contains the unexpected. This seems to be the heart of what we call “beauty”. This is explained as follows, Our grasp and enjoyment of the world rest on two complementary neurophysical principles: the principle of response to novelty, change and stimulation; and the principle of response to repetition or pattern.

3. User Requirement 3.1 Anthropometrics The study of human body measurement for use in anthropological classification and comparison.

Ambulant disabled people

The figures of ambulant disabled people shown above are tall men. The spaces shown for them are for forward movement, although in practice ambulant people such as these are as a rule able with their mobility aids to turn to the side to negotiate narrow openings. In the context of universal design they do not therefore have the same significance as for example wheelchair users, pushchair users or electric scooter users, and they are comfortably accommodated by circulation spaces suitable for independent wheelchair users.

Self-propelled wheelchairs In Britain it has since the early 1960s been the rule that a standard selfpropelling wheelchair has main wheels at the rear and castor wheels at the front. Other standard features of the kind of wheelchair shown in 2.2 are pneumatic tyres, detachable armrests, swing-away detachablefootrests that are adjustable in height, tipping levers at the rear and a folding cross-brace. The height of the centre of the seat is typically at about 470 mm above floor level. Wheelchairs of this kind may have domestic armrests, allowing the user to approach closer to tables, wash basins etc. than where the armrests. Attendant-pushed wheelchairs The wheelchair shown in 2.4 has fixed armrests, fixed footrests, pneumatic rear wheels diameter 310 mm and solid front castor wheels diameter 205 mm. A similar chair known as a car transit wheelchair has detachable armrests, swing-away detachable footrests that are adjustable in height and a folddown back. In and around public buildings the wheelchairs that people use more often have large rather than small wheels; wheelchair users who are seen

being pushed along streets in wheelchairs with large main wheels as in 2.2 may be able to move around independently inside buildings. The reclining wheelchair shown in 2.5 has elevated legrests and a fully reclining back. As depicted its length is about 1300 mm, but this may be around 1750 mm where the backrest has been lowered and the legrests raised to the horizontal in order to accommodate a recumbent person. Powered wheelchairs Examples of powered wheelchairs are shown in 2.6 and 2.7. In and around public buildings, small powered wheelchairs comparable to 2.7 are more commonly seen than large powered chairs. A small powered chair may have length and width dimensions of the order of 890 _ 630 mm, a large one 1170 _ 680 mm. The gradient of a ramp that a powered wheelchair can be driven up is a function of the weight of the disabled person seated in it. As a general rule a typical powered chair can manage a 1:5 gradient without difficulty. The typical powered chair currently manufactured is designed to carry a weight of 115 kg (18 stone), with the heavy-duty chairs that are available being able to carry a weight of 165 kg 26 stone). There can be a danger of the chair tipping over backwards if it is driven up a ramp steeper than about 1:5. Shower chairs The mobile shower chair shown in 2.8 has a perforated seat for drainage and brakes on all four castor wheels. Electric scooters In Britain in recent years there has been a steady increase in the use by disabled people of electric scooters for mobility purposes. Many have found that with electric scooters they are more easily able to travel out around local streets and shops and visit friends. A related important factor has been the growth of Shopmobility schemes, of which there are now (September 2000) some 250 in towns and

cities around the country, where pushed wheelchairs, powered wheelchairs and electric scooters are available on loan to visitors with disabilities who come to do their shopping. The two scooters shown in 2.10 and 2.11 are examples of the kind of scooters used by Shopmobility schemes in the year 2000. A feature of them, as shown by the diagrams on page 47 and noted on page 42, is that the turning space they require is considerably more than that for self-propelled or pushed wheelchairs or child pushchairs. It ought not, however, to be assumed that the turning space dimensions shown in 5.22 and 5.23 on page 47 will remain reliable for the architect’s purposes; the design of features of electric scooters is continuingly being refined and improved, one of the effects of which may that the turning space needed by typical scooters in future years is less than as shown in 5.22 and 5.23. Large electric scooters can have lengths of the order of 1650 mm. Child pushchairs Buggy-type child pushchairs are shown in 2.12 and 2.13. These are small easily foldable lightweight chairs of a kind convenient for taking on buses, and are typical of the type of pushchair commonly seen in shopping centres. The 2.12 single buggy has a width of 480 mm, enabling it to pass through narrow doors, as relevant diagrams in this book show. The impression is, however, that consumer preferences for child pushchairs are changing, with more comfortable, better upholstered and larger pushchairs now becoming more prevalent. The width of such pushchairs is greater, of the order of 550 or 650 mm, but for passing through door openings, etc. they need no more space than standard wheelchairs. The carrycot shown in 2.14 has a width of 590 mm, with traditional perambulators commonly being wider than this. Correspondingly, many double pushchairs commonly seen in shopping centres are wider than the 815 mm of the buggy shown in 2.13, with widths ranging up to more than 1000 mm. Commentary on door openings with regard to

double pushchairs is on page 42, relevant plan diagrams being on pages 46 and 47. 18 Building users: mobility equipment Client’s Needs: The figure below shows Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The theory of self-actualization. He stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a "bag of symptoms”.

4. Cultural/ Historical Significance Existing Land Use. The pattern of existing land use must be designated in relation to the site. Community Facilities both public and semipublic, residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational are inventoried to denote overall trends in development that may have bearing on uses of land adjacent to and including the site under study. Along with the study of existing land use, the site planner should meet with the adjacent property owners to find out, if possible, what future development of their sites may be under consideration and whether this development will be in conflict with uses planned on the new site.

Existing Buildings. If a project is to be expanded, buildings on the site must be shown graphically and their uses and facilities studied. Size, floor area, and existing conditions must be inventoried. Are historical buildings present? Existing buildings will strongly influence the physical layout of the new site plan and will help to establish the grading and drainage patterns on the site. They also may determine the choice of future architectural expression in building type, color, façade, texture, materials, window type, and roof style to ensure coherence and unity in design. History. A campus plan or other large project may have a meaningful background that influences future expansion. It is then pertinent to ask “Will historic factors be of consequence to the project?” The history of these projects should be investigated and shown graphically so that the relevant influences may be considered in the design phase. The investigation may show, for example, that specific buildings should be preserved within the redevelopment of a campus, as should also be reviewed to see if artifacts are present and need to be preserved.

SocioEconomic Factors. Social Factors have a broad range of effects on community facilities and services. Sometimes new facilities displace homes, businesses, or other community activities. For example, a new highway msy cut through an area severing its cohesion by creating visual or physical barriers and affecting business and property values. Demographic Factors. Population is the base of many land use planning decisions. Population trends in a local market area can identify potential user or consumer. These characteristics include population change by births, deaths, age, sex, family size, occupation, income levels, housing accommodations, tax rates, and assessments

5. Activity/ Communication Linkages While studying the location of the site and its relation to adjacent properties and to the community, all existing ties or linkages, if any, should be specified. Linkages may involve the movement of people, goods, communication, or amenities. Now ask whether, by the addition of parkways, parks, or pedestrian overpasses or underpasses, these linkages need strengthening. Community facilities such as nearby shopping centers, employment hubs, residential areas churches, school, parks, and playgrounds should be inventoried in relation to the site. Determine whether adequate linkages exist, and, if not, decide how they can be established or improved by future development. In planning terms, the aim in creating any communications system, whether for the movement of people and freight, the transport of materials through pipelines, or the transmission of power by cable, is to obtain maximum coordination and maximum socio-economic benefit with minimum disturbances to the environment. Ideally, the various components of a nation’s communications network must operate as a co-ordinated and integrated whole. It is self-evident that the environmental impacts of the development of a communications system are very closely linked with land use and landscape considerations in more detail in relation to different systems, it is instructive to look at the broader implications. Traffic and Transit. In inventorying existing vehicular networks, trips--including their origin and destination, purpose, time of the day, and volume —should be considered. Graphically plot transportation systems and their

location or routes when they are available. Check the volume of traffic or frequency of flights to determine whether additional routes are necessary. If sites are within 15 miles of airports, check noise zones and building height restrictions for airport hazard. Density. Density is an important sociological and legal element in most types of development. In residential development, it is expressed in numbers of families or dwelling units per acre. Density may also be used to express floor area ratio or gross floor area covering the site.---if all floors were spread out and assumed to be one-story in height as compared with total site acreage Density may also influence privacy, freedom of movement, or social contact among people.

Reference(s): Land Use and Landscape Planning by Derek Lovejoy A guide to Site planning and Landscape Construction by Harvey Rubenstein Introduction to Landscape Architecture by Michael Louri