So my first post is going to be something short, because if you didn't read it, I have a pounding headache currently and I'm waking up early tomorrow too so, a good night rest is greatly desired right now!
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Image: Rick Moser | Shutterstock.com
Two articles, or rather one full one, by Eric Jaffe, a contributing writer to The Atlantic Cities, which I thought was good to consider, or at least justifiable for future urban planning designs, perhaps?
1. Attention restoration theory. "In simple terms, when we're in a setting with a great deal of stimulation, like a city, we expend a great deal of direct attention on tasks like avoiding traffic and fellow pedestrians. When we're interacting with nature, however, we use an indirect form of attention that essentially gives our brain a chance to refresh, much like sleep...Incorporating nearby nature into urban environments may counteract some of the cognitive strains placed on the brain by the city".
2. "The size of an urban park isn't nearly as important as the density of its vegetation. Even when a nature site borders an urban road or housing development, it can function as a restorative place so long as it offers easy access to a dense interior. In other words, the ultimate goal is not to see the city for the trees."
Source: Jaffe, E. (2012). How Urban Parks Enhance Your Brain 1|2, from The Atlantic Cities.
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I guess perhaps in Singapore's context, it really is helpful to have such dense planting around, or at least, strategically located? Makes me wonder if we should then continue to pursue that 'clean', minimalistic, modern design style of neatly kept trees, spaced out in lines; or should we create more 'naturalistic' little parks? Or is this a cultural thing as well, that perhaps in Singapore, we do not understand the concept of "rural" since the entire country is a city, hence unlike what Jaffe has written, we do not actually need dense vegetation to relax and restore our minds? On the contrast, perhaps dense vegetation would actually stimulate feelings of fear and uncertainty instead?
Intrigues me how our environment affects our psychology, potential to ask Joseph after badminton, heheh.
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