Understanding the effect of architectural and environmental features on human behavior

Abstract

The authors review academic literature concerning the effect of environmental stimuli and architectural design on human behavior and navigation in urban environments. They find that a combination of architectural features such as building floor plans and local landmarks; environmental stimuli such as crowding, lighting and color; and user characteristics such as age, sex and socioeconomic status, all impact decision making and the ability of pedestrians to navigate unfamiliar spaces. Applying these findings to the field of pedestrian planning, the authors conclude that a failure to properly account for human factors and psychology may negatively impact spatial navigability and user experiences, and that architects, urban planners, developers, and property owners/managers would benefit from incorporating existing research into common practice.