Linking Differences / Defining Actions
Transcripción
Linking Differences / Defining Actions
Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones + Community Participation + + Planning + = Design = Sustainable Environments Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the Environmental Design Research Association Editors: Dra. Beatriz Rodriguez and Dr. Meldrena Chapin Environmental Design Research Association May 28 - June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz, México EDRA39 Conference Organizers Dr. Raúl Arias Lovillo, Rector, Universidad Veracruzana Dr. Ricardo Corzo Ramírez, Academic Secretary, Universidad Veracruzana Lic. Víctor Aguilar Pizarro, Administration and Finance Secretary, Universidad Veracruzana Lic. Francisco Fernández Rodríguez Director de Vinculación General Universidad Veracruzana L.A.E. Liliana I. Betancourt Trevedhan, Vice-Rector Veracruz Region, Universidad Veracruzana M.V.Z. Emilio Zilli Debernardi Vicerrector Región Orizaba-Córdoba Universidad Veracruzana Arq. Abel Colorado Sainz Director, Facultad de Arquitectura Córdoba, Universidad Veracruzana Dra. Beatriz E. Rodríguez Villafuerte, EDRA39 Congress Chair and Academic Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Lic. Nora Isabel Prieto y equipo de apoyo Vicerrectoría Región Veracruz Universidad Veracruzana Mtra. Elvira Sáinz Sánchez, EDRA39 Co-Chair and Treasurer, Universidad Veracruzana Naxelli Burgoa Baizabal, EDRA39 Students Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Arq. Luis Francisco de la Llave Gil, EDRA39 Co- Chair and Image/ Design Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Anabel Colorado Subizar, EDRA39 Student Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Lic. Gerardo Hernández García, Informatics and Diffusion Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Mtra. Carolina Valerio Mateos, Informatics and Diffusion Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Arq. Ma. Del Carmen Sosa Aguiluz Facultad de Arquitectura Universidad Veracruzana Biol. Miguel Sáinz Jaspeado, EDRA39 Student Committee, Universidad Veracruzana Dr. Daniel Mittleman, EDRA Board Chair, Depaul University, Chicago, IL Dr. Janice Bissell, EDRA Conference Liasion, SKW Architects, Sacramento, CA Dr. Meldrena Chapin, EDRA Conference Liasion, Atlanta, GA EDRA39 Conference Sponsors / Patrocinadores SKW Architects, Sacramento, California, USA Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz Mexicó; Dr. Jon Rementería Sempé, Ing. Ezequiel Guzmán, Presidente Municipal , Director Turismo, H. Ayuntamiento de Veracruz H. Ayuntamiento de Veracruz M.V.Z. Manlio Alpírez Mendoza, Director Fomento Agropecuario, H. Ayuntamiento de Veracruz EDRA 2008 Board of Directors: Danny Mittleman -Chair, Kristen Day - Vice Chair, Janetta McCoy - Secretary, Habib Chaudhury - Treasurer Janice Bissell, Mary Anne Akers, Robert Ryan, Darcy Varney - Student Representative, Thierry Rosenheck, Keith Diaz Moore - Ex-officio EDRA Placemakers: Robert Bechtel Kristen Day Jay Farbstein Daniel Stokols EDRA Wayfinders: Thierry Rosenheck Lynn Paxson Ann Devlin Leanne Rivlin Cornelia Hodgson David Baycura Sherry Ahrentzen Keith Diaz Moore Daniel Mittleman Karen Franck Copyright © 2008The Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) PO Box 7146, Edmond, Oklahoma 73083-7146 www.edra.org Victor Regnier Lyn Geboy Janetta McCoy Jack Nasar David Saile ISBN 0-939922-32-0 All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by copyright herin may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – graphic, photocopying, recording, taping, electronic or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the publisher Table of Contents Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones (Linking Differences / Defining Actions) 1 EDRA39 Welcome & Conference Overview from Conference Committee Chair, Dra. Beatriz Rodríguez Villafuerte Invited Papers and Presentations La ciudadanía ecológica y España The ecological citizenship and Spain Dr. Ángel Rivero Rodriguez 7 Centro Histórico de La Habana: una gestión novedosa para su recuperación integral La Habana Historical Center: Innovative management for integral recovery Arq. Rita Maria Hernández Gonzalo 10 Gobernanza y desarrollo local, nuevo camino para la sustentabilidad Governance and Local Development, a New Way to Sustainability Dr. Alfonso Xavier Iracheta Cenecorta 12 Refereed Full-Papers 18th & 19th Century Sustainable Design Technologies in the Eastern U.S. Tecnologías del diseño sostenible de los siglos décimo octavo y decimonoveno en el este de Estados Unidos Lisa Tucker (Virginia Tech) 23 Designing For Addiction Recovery: Reflections from an Architectural Case Diseñando para la recuperación de la adicción: reflexiones de un estudio de caso arquitectónico Brian Schermer, Caitlin Boyle, Emi Kiyota, Matt Jaroz (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee) and Newton D’Souza (University of Missouri – Columbia) 30 The Effects of Commercial Signs on Users’ Sense of Visual Quality in Historic City Centers of Different Urban Contexts Los efectos de muestras comerciales en el sentido de los usuarios de la calidad visual En los centros de ciudad históricos de diversos contextos urbanos Adriana Portella (University College London, United Kingdom) 36 Environmental Evaluation of Hospital Waiting Rooms: Relationships of psycho-environmental variables Patricia Ortega-Andeane and Cesareo Estrada-Rodriguez (School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) 49 Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Alternative Officing La satisfacción del trabajo y el compromiso organizacional en la alternativa laboral Seunghae Lee (Purdue University, Indiana) Outdoor Space for Aging: Environmental Assessment and Survey of Assisted Living Residents and Staff Espacios abiertos para la vejez: contribución ambiental y la perspectiva de los residentes y el staff asistidos Susan Rodiek (Texas A&M University) 55 62 Percibiendo la escala de restauración (PRS): diferencias por edad y sexo en adolescentes y adultos Mexicanos Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS): Differences by Age and Sex in Mexican Adolescent and Adult Samples Joel Martinez Soto and Montero y Lopez-Lena (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) 70 Physical Form and Social Activities: A Case Study in Belo Horizonte Forma física y actividades sociales: un estudio de caso en Belo Horizonte Paula Barros (Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom) 78 Scale of Electric Power Consumption at Home: A Mexican Proposal Escala del consumo eléctrico en el hogar: una propuesta Mexicana Claudia Garcia-Landa and Maria Montero y Lopez-Lena (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) 85 Social Practices, Free Time and Leisure Urban Spaces at el Barrio del Parral, Puebla, Mexico Prácticas sociales, espacios para descanso urbano y tiempo libre en el Barrio del Parral, Puebla, México Javier Guevara, Eduardo Lugo, Juan Marquez, and Roberto Yescas (Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla) 91 Stair and Elevator Design and Their Influence on Daily Exercise and Social Equality 99 Diseño de escaleras y elevadores y su influencia en el ejercicio diario y la igualdad social Phillip G. Mead, Jon Inui, Paul Baril, Stephen Springer, Jeremy Mitchell, Joshua Devereaux, Rebecca Stephens, Laura Harris, Rob Brier, Samantha Garlow, Nate Tunnell, Orson Badger and Andrew Stohner (University of Idaho Department of Architecture and Interior Design) Una mirada del habitante en el espacio de la vivienda de interés social Take a Look at the Inhabitant of the Space in the Social Interest House Ana Rosa Velasco-Avalos and Adolfo Amador (Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo) 105 Violencia doméstica: mensajes dentro del espacio arquitectónico Domestic Violence: Messages within the Architectural Space Adolfo Gomez-Amador (Universidad de Colima, México) 112 Thematic Abstracts Active Living 124 Children and Youth Environments School and Classroom Environments 129 139 Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment 147 Community & Neighborhood Planning 156 Culture & Environment 166 Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology 173 ii May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Environmental Design Education Research Professional Practice 177 187 192 Environmental Gerontology 196 Environmental Psychology Neuropsychology 208 217 Health Environments 220 Housing & Residential Environments 231 Interior Design / Interior Architecture 247 Nature & Ecology / Landscape Architecture 254 Participatory Design 266 Post-Occupancy Evaluation & Programming 281 Sustainable Environments 284 University Campus Environments 301 Urban Environments & Urban Planning 305 Workplace Environments 325 Index Author & Presenter Index 336 Title Index 340 Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones iii edra Dear EDRA Colleagues, On behalf of the EDRA Board, I extend you a warm - or perhaps hot - welcome to the 39th EDRA Conference here in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, Mexico. We are excited to return to Mexico for the first time since 1991 and to hold a conference in our fourth nation this decade. We thank Rector Raúl Arias Lovillo for inviting us to Universidad Veracruzana; he and the University have been the most gracious hosts. And we thank our local organizing committee, chaired by Dr. Beatriz Rodríguez Villafuerte, for arranging for us a spectacular conference full of regional flavor. This year is truly an international celebration with conference activities scheduled by presenters from 25 different countries. But our multi-national list of presenters is only a portion of EDRA’s current international outreach. Last year EDRA, through the hard work of Mary Anne Alabanza-Akers, initiated the International Connections Network to facilitate global environment and behavior collaboration and multi-national EDRA communication. Our goal with this Network is to remove barriers that limit international participation in EDRA activities. The EDRA Board has initiated financial aid, taking several forms, to assist with travel and conference fees to further encourage international conference participation. And the upgrades to the EDRA website makes it possible to not only disseminate environment and behavior information around the world, but to enable a global two way exchange of information and ideas. Our visit to Veracruz is a celebration of this outreach. I encourage all conference attendees to take advantage of the local hospitality. Please explore Boca del Rio and, if you can, find the opportunity to visit Cordoba and other fascinating nearby towns. Have a great conference, Danny Mittleman Chair, EDRA Board of Directors iv May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Fue en marzo de 1995 cuando asistimos por primera vez a un Congreso Anual de Edra, era el vigésimo sexto y tuvo lugar en Boston, Massachussets; en esa ocasión presentamos los proyectos finales resultado de un año de trabajo en la Especialización en Vivienda Bioclimática para el Trópico Húmedo del Golfo de México, en la Facultad de Arquitectura de Córdoba, de la Universidad Veracruzana. Llamó mi atención desde el primer momento el carácter multidisciplinario de esta asociación, sobre todo, la camaradería e intercambio intelectual y la forma particular en que se abordaba la problemática ambiental y se discutían los temas de la preservación, conservación, cuidado y construcción de entornos sustentables. Desde entonces la presencia de la Universidad Veracruzana ha sido constante a lo largo de estos años, con el trabajo académico de estudiantes y profesores. Después de varios años de haber solicitado la sede y compitiendo con otros países, finalmente la obtuvimos para el Congreso 2008, nos interesaba que el tema a discutir durante los trabajos de Edra 39, reflejara la riqueza, diversidad y pluralidad de los enfoques existentes para analizar los espacios construidos, y los entornos que el ser humano con intención o sin ella, ha afectado de manera importante, al tiempo que mostrara los esfuerzos que se han emprendido, en particular en el estado de Veracruz, para tomar decisiones que buscan respetar y cuidar esos espacios. Nuestra convicción es que el reto ambiental debe asumirse como una responsabilidad compartida, la experiencia nos ha enseñado, que las decisiones en torno al hacer ciudades son colectivas y deben basarse en la planeación participativa, estratégica e incluyente. No hay otro camino, las decisiones consensuadas son las que llevarán a los ciudadanos y sus gobiernos a hacer mejores ciudades, a planear el futuro de los espacios urbanos, la toma de decisiones debe además estar bien informada y sustentada en los datos que desde la academia, desde la investigación científica nos aporten datos permitan ilustrar de mejor manera los proyectos que se llevarán a cabo sobre determi- Linking Differences / Defining Actions nados espacios y territorios. La Universidad Veracruzana asume este reto y desde sus diferentes áreas académicas trabaja a favor de la sustentabilidad. Las diferencias socioeconómicas, culturales, étnicas, territoriales, geográficas, vuelven mucho más compleja la definición de acciones, sin embargo, si éstas se asumen con una visión plural, buscando vincular y unir esas diferencias, con información que las respalde, las decisiones que se tomen en torno a esos espacios será más completa y respetuosa de la diversidad. Las ciudades contemporáneas son escenario del florecimiento de culturas urbanas, enriquecidas y diversas, que convocan a reconocer los derechos y deberes ciudadanos. Surgen nuevos actores urbanos y nuevas formas de relación con el territorio. Tienden a transformarse las prácticas de la planeación tradicional hacia modalidades participativas que buscan acuerdos democráticos entre la sociedad civil, el Estado y el sector privado. De ahí que la ciudad y su gestión nos comprometen a todos a trabajar en un proyecto que garantice la individualidad a la par de la comunidad, que conserve la diversidad urbana característica de cada lugar a la vez que preserve sus elementos naturales, como elementos fundamentales para elevar la calidad de vida de todos los seres humanos. La experiencia reciente en muchos países demuestra que es precisamente a través de la intervención de la sociedad civil, de la ciudadanía, como se ha logrado el manejo protección y preservación de los recursos naturales, y encontrar un camino más directo para garantizar esa relación armónica entre los individuos y su hábitat. Las discusiones que surjan a lo largo de estos días buscan aportar elementos para dar algunas respuestas a los retos que tienen ante si los gobiernos locales para ofrecer soluciones nuevas, creativas y sustentables para reconfigurar los escenarios futuros en espacios en donde prevalezcan criterios democráticos de respeto ambiental, y una gestión responsable de los recursos y la población. Pareciera que ante patrones de asentamiento territorial más depredadores que los anteriores, la preser- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 1 vación del ambiente emerge más que nunca como una responsabilidad de los ciudadanos y sus localidades. Los gobiernos locales y regionales gozan de una mayor capacidad de representación y de legitimidad con relación a sus representados: son agentes institucionales de integración social y cultural de comunidades territoriales. En ese contexto, los conferencistas magistrales que han sido invitados, abundarán sobre algunos aspectos particulares de este “asumir diferencias para definir acciones”, compartiendo sus experiencias en los respectivos espacios en los que se desenvuelven: España, Cuba y México. El Dr. Ángel Rivero Rodríguez, mostrará lo que se ha hecho en España para construir una conciencia ecológica y en este sentido sostiene que en la última década, la discusión sobre el significado de la ciudadanía en las democracias contemporáneas se ha abierto a campos nuevos de comprensión. Uno de ellos ha sido el de la formulación del concepto de Ciudadanía Ecológica en el que se intenta acomodar, por una parte, la percepción ya instalada en la conciencia pública de muchas sociedades desarrolladas de que la naturaleza es un bien intrínseco que debe ser respetado y que, por tanto, tiene derechos específicos. Y, por otra, se buscaría hacer sitio en dicho concepto a la percepción, también sentida en muchas sociedades desarrolladas, de que tenemos obligaciones específicas hacia el medio ambiente que rebasan lo que se ha denominado hasta ahora una ética de la tierra. La ciudadanía ecológica hace referencia al tipo de derechos y obligaciones que tenemos en relación al medio ambiente o mejor, a la Naturaleza. La Naturaleza, el espacio de la vida, es evidentemente una comunidad, pero no es una comunidad política. Es, a un tiempo, un tipo de comunidad más abstracta pero, debido al carácter global de los problemas medioambientales, es cada vez una comunidad que percibimos como más próxima. Dado que nuestras tradiciones políticas han sido, al menos en occidente, antropocéntricas, la percepción de este punto de vista señala un cambio cultural muy importante. La consecución de dicho cambio es lo que podría llamarse el desarrollo de la conciencia ecológica. Por su parte la Arq. Rita María Hernández Gonzalo, presentará el interesante caso de la recuperación integral del Centro Histórico de La Habana, en Cuba, a través de una gestión novedosa que logró despertar 2 la sensibilidad cultural por medio de la participación comunitaria, preservando con ello la riqueza de su herencia cultural. Logrando al mismo tiempo conciliar el rescate y fortalecimiento de los valores culturales con el desarrollo socioeconómico, mediante un proceso autofinanciado. Con ello nos demuestra que el desarrollo de una economía local dinámica, tecnológicamente avanzada y con alto nivel de autosustentabilidad, no sólo es compatible con la restauración y conservación de la zona, sino que resulta indispensable como garantía de la recuperación. La obra social, relacionada con la elevación de la calidad de vida de la población residente, se vincula directamente a la cultura que se inserta en la comunidad. Preservar, exponer y divulgar el patrimonio tangible e intangible principalmente mediante acciones con la comunidad que mejore su vida espiritual utilizando diferentes vías que contribuyen al conocimiento y disfrute de ese patrimonio. Nos mostrará cómo uno de los mayores logros ha sido la consolidación de un amplio programa cultural, dirigido a promocionar la cultura cubana, a la vez que enlazan los componentes de otras nacionalidades y culturas que tienen su espacio en este lugar. Finalmente el Dr. Alfonso Iracheta Cenecorta, ofrecerá una reflexión sobre los principios que se deben rescatar para dar pasos más firmes a favor de una gobernanza democrática que tenga en las autoridades locales verdaderos agentes de desarrollo humano; nos expondrá cómo la gobernanza y el desarrollo local pueden ofrecer un nuevo camino hacia la sustentabilidad. Afirma que si se parte de la base que la responsabilidad y sentido esencial del gobierno local es el desarrollo, en el sentido de proceso, para que la comunidad eleve de manera sistemática y permanente sus capacidades y calidad de vida; para que los beneficios del desarrollo, se distribuyan de manera justa y equilibrada entre los miembros de una comunidad; para que la relación entre sociedad y naturaleza / territorio, sea lo más equilibrada posible y cercana a la sustentabilidad, se reconocerá que debe cumplir con una serie de principios de orden político, entre los que destacan: • La gobernanza como modelo socio-político. 1 1 Como nos recuerda Aguilar, Luis, 2006: Gobernanza y gestión pública. FCE. México. (pp. 35-36), gobernanza fue originalmente una expresión antigua que denota la acción y efecto de gobernar o gobernarse y que, a partir de 2001, en el Diccionario de la Lengua May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México • La política que va más allá del gobierno y los partidos políticos para incluir a la sociedad. • La democracia representativa y participativa como elemento consubstancial de la gobernanza. • La participación social como un valor. • La vida urbana como proyecto comunitario. En este sentido, “asumir, unir y vincular las diferencias para definir acciones” es la clave para transformar los espacios que habitamos, tal vez porque se refiere específicamente a que los habitantes de las ciudades deben intervenir en las actividades públicas representando no sus intereses individuales, sino los colectivos, sumándolos al asumirse diferentes, lo cual se reflejará en beneficios y mejoras en su entorno inmediato. Resulta fundamental, sin embargo, crear compromisos y asegurar las condiciones institucionales para que esto sea posible. Debe entenderse que es el espacio local, el ámbito cotidiano, desde la comunidad, en donde esta tarea podría resultar más exitosa. Para que la vecindad territorial y física se traduzca en una labor de construcción conjunta de realidades, de calles, colonias, barrios, jardines, en ese sentir suyo el espacio como un proyecto colectivo, será necesario trabajar con un alto sentido de responsabilidad, participación y concertación. Elementos indispensables para que esa proximidad efectivamente genere nuevas modalidades de interacción entre ciudadanos y autoridad; entre vecinos, entre gobiernos, entre los actores políticos del proceso, en una vinculación permanente y cotidiana, en una nueva forma de asumir las diferencias para definir acciones concretas, que son urgentes. Dra. Beatriz Rodríguez Villafuerte Profesora/Investigadora Facultad de Arquitectura Universidad Veracruzana Española, se define como arte o manera de gobernar que tiene el objetivo de alcanzar un desarrollo económico, social e institucional duradero, promoviendo un sano equilibrio entre el Estado, la sociedad civil y el mercado en la economía. “Se trata del paso de la democracia como doctrina de forma de gobierno a la democracia como gobierno con capacidad gubernativa” (p.39). Linking Differences / Defining Actions On March 26, 1995 we attended our first EDRA Annual Congress in Boston, Massachusetts. On that occasion we presented the final projects of the Specialization in Bioclimatic Housing for the Humid Tropic of the Golf of Mexico at the School of Architecture in Córdoba of the Universidad Veracruzana. Since the first moment of the congress, we were impressed by the multidisciplinary character of this association, most of all, the intellectual camaraderie and exchange, and the particular form in which edra-ites discuss the environmental problems and issues surrounding preservation, conservation, care and construction of all types of sustainable environments. Since 1995 the presence of the Universidad Veracruzana has been constant at EDRA through the presentation of the academic work of both students and faculty members. After several years of presenting to the EDRA Board of Directors our proposal to host an Annual Conference in Veracruz and competing with other countries and venues to host the conference, we finally were accepted as the host for the 2008 Conference. Our interest focused on creating a theme that could be discussed by all the presenters and attendants of the Conference, which would reflect the richness, diversity and plurality of the existing points of view and many theories that relate to analyzing the built environment and its relationship to human being with or without intention. This focus has affected our conference in an important way, and at the same time reflects the efforts that had been made, particularly here locally in the State of Veracruz, to make decisions that seek to respect and preserve those environments. We are convinced that the environmental challenge must be assumed as a shared responsibility, our experience has shown, that decisions around making cities are collective and should be based in a participatory, strategic and inclusive planning efforts. There is no other way to be successful - consensual decisions are the type of decisions that will help citizens and its governments to make better cities and to plan the future of urban spaces. This decision making process must be well informed and steeped in data from academia, from scientific research, and from professional practice. This data should be applicable and best support the projects occurring in specific spaces and territories. The Universidad Veracruzana assumes this challenge and its different academic areas works collaboratively for sustainability. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 3 The socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, territorial, and geographic differences which exist here (and everywhere) result in more complex definitions of action. Never the less, if those decisions are assumed with a plural vision, specifically searching to link those differences with information that supports them, we can be sure that the decisions made in regards to space and the built environment will be more complete with respect for diversity. Contemporary cities are the scenario of flourishing of urban cultures, enriched and diverse, which intend to acknowledge citizen’s rights and duties. New urban actors and new forms of relating with the territory emerge as cultures and cities change. Traditional planning practices tend to transform using new participative modalities that seek democratic arrangements between civil society, the State and the private sector. That is why the city and its management must make us all compromise to work together in order to create projects that guarantees individuality simultaneously with community; compromises that preserve the urban diversity and characteristics of each place, but at the same time preserves natural elements, as fundamental requirements for improved life quality of all human beings. Recent experiences in many countries shows that it is precisely through civil society and citizen participation that it has been possible to manage, protect and preserve natural resources, in addition to finding a more direct path to guarantee a harmonic relationship between individuals and their habitat. Discussions that may emerge during this Conference seek to find elements which give some answers to the challenges that local governments face in offering new, creative and sustainable solutions for rebuilding the environment and creating future sceneries in which democratic environmental respect and responsible management of resources and population prevail. It seems that in front of more depredating territorial settlement patterns, environmental preservation emerges more than ever as a responsibility of citizens and its localities. Local governments and regions have a bigger representation and legitimist capacity in relation to the areas and people they represent: they are institutional agents, responsible for the social and cultural integration of territorial communities. In this context, our Keynote Speakers will discuss some particular aspects of “linking differences, defining actions” by 4 sharing their experiences from the respective places where they practice: Spain, Cuba and Mexico. Dr. Ángel Rivero Rodríguez, will show what steps have been made in Spain to build an ecological consciousness. He argues that in the last decade, discussion regarding the meaning of citizenship in contemporary democracies has begun to include new comprehensive fields. One of them has been the field that formulates the concept of Ecological Citizenship, in which is intended to explain, on one hand, the perception already installed in public conscience of many developed societies that nature is an intrinsic good that must be respected and, therefore, has specific rights; and on the other hand, recognizes that we have specific obligations toward the environment that go beyond what has been called the ‘ethics of earth’. Ecological Citizenship refers to the type of rights and obligations that we have in relation to the environment, or to say it more appropriately, to Nature. Nature, the space of life, is an evident community, but it is not a political community. It is a more abstract kind of community but, because of the global character of environmental problems, it is more often a community that we perceive more. Since our political traditions have been, at least in the occident, anthropocentric, the perception of this point of view indicates a very important cultural change. The results of this change is what we could call the development of an ecological consciousness. Arq. Rita María Hernández Gonzalo, will present the interesting case of the integral recovery of the Historical Center of La Habana in Cuba, through an innovative management that sought to awaken the cultural sensibility of the region through community participation aimed at preserving the richness of its cultural heritage. Conciliating at the same time the rescue of cultural values with the socioeconomic development, through a self financial process. In this way she demonstrates that the development of a local dynamic economy, technologically advanced and with a high level of auto-sustainability, is not only compatible with the area’s efforts toward restoration and conservation, but becomes indispensable as a guarantee for its recovery. The social work, related to improving the resident population life quality, links directly with the culture that exists in that community. These efforts preserve, expose and divulgate the tangible and intangible patrimony, mainly through actions with the com- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México munity aimed at improving their spiritual life through different ways that contribute to the knowledge and enjoy of that patrimony. One of the major goals has been the consolidation of a wide cultural program, focused on promoting Cuban culture, and at the same time linking components of other nationalities and cultures that play a role in that place. Finally, Dr. Alfonso Iracheta Cenecorta, will offer a reflection about the principles that must be restored to give more firm steps for a democratic governance, especially a governance that has true local development agents in local authorities. He will explain how governance and local development can offer a new way of functioning and providing guidance through sustainability. He assures us that if part of the basis of community is that responsibility and essential sense of a local government is developed, so too that community can raise systematically and permanently its capacities and life quality. In this manner development benefits are be distributed in a more fair and equitative way among the members of the community. This results in the relation between society and nature/territory being as equilibrated as possible moving toward selfsustainability, which must should follow a series of principles of political order, among them: • Governance as sociopolitical model • The politic that goes over the government and political parties to include society. • The representative and participative democracy as consubstantial element of governance. • Social participation as an important value. • Urban life as community project. possible. It should be understood that it is from the local space, from the daily ambit, where this goal becomes most successful. So that territorial and physical neighborhood can turn out to be a joined construction of realities, streets, neighborhoods, barrios, gardens, and public areas - all feeling as if to be of the same space and working as a collective project. In order to achieve this it will be necessary to work with individually and collaboratively with a high sense of responsibility, participation and consensus. Indispensable elements must be generated so that links and proximity can effectively create new ways of interaction between citizens and authorities; between neighbors, between governments, between political actors and the process in a permanent and daily link - a new way of assuming differences defining concrete actions which are urgently needed in order to address the existing issues. We hope that EDRA39 offers you not only insights, but the encouragement and skills necessary to begin effectively linking differences and defining actions. Dra. Beatriz Rodríguez Villafuerte Professor / Researcher Faculty of Architecture Universdad Veracruzana Veracruz, Mexico In this sense, “assuming, adding and linking differences to define actions” is the clue to transforming the spaces in which we live, because it refers specifically to the way inhabitants in cities should participate in public activities representing not their individual interests, but the collective interests as well by linking rather than assuming themselves to be different from one another. This will result in benefits and improvements in the immediate environment. It is fundamental, never the less, to create compromises and assure institutional conditions so that the improvements remain and others become Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 5 Keynote Presentations La ciudadanía ecológica y España The Ecological Citizenship and Spain Dr. Ángel Rivero Rodriguez (Titular Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain) Mayo de 2008 RESUMEN En la última década, la discusión sobre el significado de la ciudadanía en las democracias contemporáneas ha rebasado la definición del contrato de pertenencia a una comunidad política, sustanciado en derechos y obligaciones, para abrirse a campos nuevos de comprensión. Uno de ellos ha sido el de la formulación del concepto de Ciudadanía Ecológica en el que se intenta acomodar, por una parte, la percepción ya instalada en la conciencia pública de muchas sociedades desarrolladas de que la naturaleza es un bien intrínseco que debe ser respetado y que, por tanto, tiene derechos específicos. Y, por otra, se buscaría hacer sitio en dicho concepto a la percepción, también sentida en muchas sociedades desarrolladas, de que tenemos obligaciones específicas hacia el medio ambiente que rebasan lo que se ha denominado hasta ahora una ética de la tierra. Un ciudadano es, en su sentido más simple, el miembro de una comunidad política, sujeto de derechos y obligaciones. Ciudadanos son, de manera variable, todos aquellos que viven en un país pues todos están sujetos a obligaciones y derechos. Ahora bien, el pleno disfrute de los derechos es lo que hace que unas personas sean ciudadanos legalmente, en un sentido jurídico, y otros sean ciudadanos en un sentido distinto. No quiero profundizar esta idea, sino sólo apuntar que la ciudadanía ecológica se encuentra a caballo de estas dos maneras de entender la ciudadanía: como contrato de pertenencia a una comunidad particular, con derechos y deberes explícitos, y como aquello que se espera de toda persona que forme parte de una sociedad. Esto es, aquella conducta que se espera que tenga hacia la sociedad, su civismo, y aquello que espera recibir de esa sociedad, a lo que le da derecho justamente, su comportamiento en la sociedad. Linking Differences / Defining Actions La ciudadanía ecológica no hace referencia a la pertenencia a una comunidad política particular, hace referencia, por el contrario al tipo de derechos y obligaciones que tenemos en relación al medio ambiente o mejor, a la Naturaleza. La Naturaleza, el espacio de la vida, es evidentemente una comunidad, pero no es una comunidad política. Es, a un tiempo, un tipo de comunidad más abstracta pero, debido al carácter global de los problemas medioambientales, es cada vez una comunidad que percibimos como más próxima. Es decir, la comunidad a la que referimos la ciudadanía ecológica no es tal o cual país, sino la comunidad de los seres vivos y de aquello que permite la vida. La comunidad de la ciudadanía ecológica es Gaia, el sistema de vida del planeta Tierra. En este contexto, aquellos ciudadanos sujetos de derechos no son únicamente los humanos, sino los seres vivos y el medio. Sin embargo, aquellos sujetos a obligaciones en relación a la comunidad son únicamente los humanos. En el plano de los derechos, sin embargo, hay derechos que son propios de los humanos y derechos que son propios del medio y de los seres vivos. Respecto a los primeros, éstos tienen derecho a un medio ambiente rico y saludable que permita el desarrollo de una vida humana de calidad. En este sentido, la ciudadanía ecológica formaría parte de la lógica del desarrollo de la ciudadanía que formuló T.H. Marshall: la ciudadanía como un proyecto que aumenta la dignidad de las personas y de la vida humana al ir creando cada vez más derechos para su protección: así, en las oleadas de desarrollo de la ciudadanía, encontraríamos en primer lugar los derechos civiles; después los políticos; tras estos los sociales; después quizás los culturales; y ahora los ecológicos. En relación a los seres vivos no humanos y al medio ambiente, la ciudadanía ecológica amplia la comunidad de ciudadanos al otorgar a la riqueza natural un valor propio, en sí mismo, que debe ser protegido. De este modo, los derechos no sólo sacralizan la vida humana, sino que otorgan un valor igualmente importante a la Naturaleza como algo rico, valioso, en sí mismo y sujeto, por tanto, de derechos que han de ser protegidos por los Estados. Dado que nuestras tradiciones políticas han sido, al menos en occidente, antropocéntricas, la percepción de este punto de vista señala un cambio cultural muy importante. La con- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 7 Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations secución de dicho cambio es lo que podría llamarse el desarrollo de la conciencia ecológica. Del mismo modo que el respeto de los derechos de los otros humanos forma parte del elenco elemental de la vida cívica, esto es, de la vida en sociedad y de las obligaciones que comporta, en el terreno de la ciudadanía ecológica esto significa el desarrollo de esta actitud de respeto en relación a la Naturaleza. Esto quiere decir que, en este contexto, no se espera que los ciudadanos manifiesten meramente una actitud afectiva o comprensiva hacia lo natural sino que entiendan que los límites de su libertad como ciudadanos encuentran Invited Papers los derechos no sólo de los demás ciudadanos sino & Presentations también de la naturaleza. El desarrollo de la conciencia ecológica en ocEDRA39 cidente, ha atravesado tres estadios y aún dista mucho Keynote Presentations de haberse completado: la naturaleza como enemiga; la naturaleza como algo valioso para el hombre; y la naturaleza como algo valioso en sí mismo. La teoría política clásica, inspirada en sus fuentes bíblicas, veía la naturaleza como una amenaza a la vida del hombre, como un espacio de brutalidad, miseria y arbitrariedad propicias para la guerra pero no para la vida civil. Este significado radicalmente negativo de la naturaleza comenzó a cambiar con el romanticismo y su valoración del paisaje, el sentimiento y la naturaleza como caracterizado esencialmente por la libertad frente a las cadenas de la sociedad. Esta segunda visión de la naturaleza es sin duda más positiva puesto que la naturaleza es recuperada como algo valioso para el hombre: ofrece algo completamente distinto donde, en su contemplación y disfrute, el individuo se siente libre. De modo que el romanticismo hizo florecer en Europa occidental una percepción distinta de la Naturaleza que, a la postre, generó una conciencia ambiental de la que participaron (en determinados países) todas las ideologías: liberalismo, socialismo y hasta fascismo. Por último, en el occidente post-industrial, amenazado sucesivamente por el fantasma de las crisis energéticas, del agotamiento de recursos, por el problema de los residuos y de la sombra del calentamiento global, está aflorando una nueva conciencia ecológica en la que la Naturaleza es un valor en sí mismo que debe ser respetado. Esta nueva conciencia ecológica tiene dos manifestaciones principales. Por una parte, 8 el ambientalismo que sostiene la congruencia entre las formas de vida occidentales y el respeto por la naturaleza y, por otra, el el ecologismo profundo (deep green). Este último, ha rechazado explícitamente la aproximación ambientalista a la Naturaleza y, de forma revolucionaria, ha intentado construir un discurso biocéntrico en el que la ética de la tierra sustituye al antropocentrismo característico de todas las ideologías políticas. De esta forma, el ecologismo contemporáneo constituye un discurso político original. Por tanto, en la dimensión de los derechos implícita en el concepto de ciudadanía tenemos, cuando ésta se refiere a la ciudadanía ecológica, a) los derechos de las personas en relación al medio ambiente b) los derechos de los demás seres vivos y de la naturaleza que hace posible la vida. Estas dos dimensiones de derechos deben ser objeto de protección por parte de los Estados y de las instituciones transnacionales. Pero, como he señalado, la ciudadanía no sólo se compone de derechos sino de obligaciones. En este caso, las obligaciones asociadas a la ciudadanía ecológica corresponden únicamente a humanos. Puesto que estamos hablando de obligaciones de ciudadanía, no nos referimos únicamente a una ética de la tierra, esto es, al tipo de obligaciones morales que podemos asumir según nuestra conciencia individual de forma libérrima. No, esta ética de la tierra es importante para la ciudadanía ecológica porque, a medida que se extiende, hace que lo que es una opción individual se pueda convertir en una norma colectiva. Por tanto, en la dimensión de las obligaciones de la ciudadanía ecológica, el avance de la conciencia ecológica es esencial para el avance de una legislación ambiental pero, al mismo tiempo, el desarrollo de una legislación ambiental que no sólo proteja los derechos de los humanos sino que reconozca los derechos de los seres vivos y las obligaciones de respeto que tenemos hacia ellos, es esencial para el avance de esa conciencia ecológica. En esta conferencia mostrare qué se ha hecho en España hasta ahora para construir esa ciudadanía ecológica. Para ello examinaré cuáles son los problemas ambientales que más preocupan a los españoles; qué derechos ambientales tienen los ciudadanos españoles y cómo surgieron y se desarrollaron; cómo se protege la naturaleza en España y cuando nació May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México esta idea de que la naturaleza debía ser protegida; y, en tercer lugar, mostraré cuáles son las obligaciones que tienen los españoles en relación a la protección del medio ambiente. Por último, examinaré cuál es el grado de desarrollo de la conciencia ecológica en España. Bibliografía: Ernest Callenbach, La ecología. Guía de bolsillo, Madrid, Siglo XXI editores, 1999. Andrew Dobson, Citizenship and the Environment, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003. Invited Papers & Presentations Aldo Leopold, Una ética de la tierra, Madrid, Los libros de la Catarata, 2000. EDRA39 Keynote Presentations Ángel Rivero, “Tres espacios de la ciudadanía”, Madrid, Isegoría, 24, junio 2001. Ángel Rivero, “¿Es incompatible el liberalismo con la idea de una sociedad sostenible?, Madrid-México, Revista Internacional de Filosofía Política, , 13, Julio 1999. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 9 Centro Histórico de La Habana: una gestión novedosa para su recuperación integral La Habana Historical Center: Innovative management for integral recovery Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations Arq. Rita Maria Hernández Gonzalo, (Architect, Master Plan of the History Man Office, Historical Centre, Cuba) Abril de 2008 “En este centro histórico se ha despertado la sensibilización cultural a través de la participación comunitaria y se han creado riquezas a partir de la herencia cultural que ha llegado a nuestros días”. Herman van Hooff, Director de la Oficina de la UNESCO en La Habana y de la Oficina Regional de Cultura. El Centro Histórico de La Habana, conjunto urbano de excepcional belleza y altos valores patrimoniales, actualmente constituye un referente nacional e internacional. La labor de rescate por su recuperación integral lo ha convertido en modelo de descentralización y proyecto sustentable para la revitalización de estos singulares sitios. La importancia por su cuidado y preservación lo han hecho merecedor de significativas distinciones, declaratorias y respaldo legal. En 1978 es declarado Monumento Nacional, por cumplir los requisitos que demanda la Ley No. 1 y 2 de Protección de Monumentos. Es declarado por la UNESCO en 1982 “Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad”, junto al Sistema de Fortificaciones. Debido a difíciles exigencias económicas del país, en 1993 queda respaldado por el Decreto Ley 143, que lo designa “Zona priorizada para la conservación” otorgando a la Oficina del Historiador las prerrogativas legales que le permitan su recuperación. Posteriormente, en 1995 el acuerdo 2951 lo declara “Zona de alta significación para el turismo” que amplía las disposiciones sobre el suelo y su patrimonio construido. Fundada en 1519, la villa San Cristóbal de La Habana, manifestó desde sus inicios las cualidades que la distinguirían por su importancia económica, política 10 y cultural a lo largo de su historia. Su situación al borde de la bahía favoreció la condición de puertoescala que asumiera desde épocas tempranas, así como su configuración urbana que le otorgó el título de ciudad y capital del país desde finales del siglo XVI. De calles estrechas y relativa ortogonalidad, la trama urbana se caracteriza por constituir un conjunto armonioso donde destaca el sistema de plazas y plazuelas, protagonistas de este tejido único, acompañado por las fortificaciones, ejemplo de arquitectura militar. Esta privilegiada localización la acompañó en todo su desarrollo urbano, al crecer sin abandonar el borde de mar, embelleciéndola con el paisaje marino que forma parte de su imagen urbana. El modo en que se desarrolló este proceso determinó una imagen coherente con la estructura urbana del Centro Histórico. El Centro Histórico de La Habana, con una extensión de 2,14 km. cuadrados, tiene un fondo construido de 3 370 edificaciones, con alrededor de 530 inmuebles de muy altos valores patrimoniales. El modelo de gestión aplicado por la Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad tiene como premisas fundamentales contar con la voluntad política al más alto nivel, el reconocimiento de una autoridad única para la gestión del territorio, la existencia de un fuero legal especial que la ampara jurídicamente, la capacidad para planificar el territorio estratégica e integralmente, la descentralización de los recursos financieros generados en el propio territorio y la disposición de un fondo inmobiliario. Para su aplicación, ha creado y consolidado una estructura organizativa capaz de responder a principios de desarrollo social y cultural junto a mecanismos de autofinanciamiento y administración de los recursos generados por diferentes medios con la explotación adecuada del patrimonio recuperado. Tiene como objetivo fundamental la rehabilitación del Centro Histórico conciliando el rescate y fortalecimiento de los valores culturales con el desarrollo socioeconómico, siempre bajo la óptica de mantener el carácter residencial, mediante un proceso autofinanciado y criterio integrador de los recursos disponibles y rentabilidad económica. Esta tarea se realiza bajo la óptica de conservar los valores patrimoniales tangibles e intangibles, las características arquitectónicas y tipológicas, así como la heterogeneidad funcional y social que caracterizaron May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México al territorio y que le otorgaron el carácter de centralidad que ha conservado a lo largo de su historia. La revitalización integral del Centro Histórico es un proceso inseparable del desempeño de la economía de esta parte de la ciudad. El desarrollo de una economía local dinámica, tecnológicamente avanzada y con alto nivel de autosustentabilidad, no sólo es compatible con la restauración y conservación de la zona, sino que resulta indispensable como garantía de la recuperación. Actualmente se cuenta con la capacidad para desarrollar un fuerte programa sociocultural y económico, en virtud de fomentar el desarrollo humano en su concepto más abarcador. La obra social, relacionada con la elevación de la calidad de vida de la población residente, se vincula directamente a la cultura que se inserta en la comunidad. Preservar, exponer y divulgar el patrimonio tangible e intangible principalmente mediante acciones con la comunidad que mejore su vida espiritual utilizando diferentes vías que contribuyen al conocimiento y disfrute de ese patrimonio. erados rebasan los 11000, impulsando la economía y beneficiando prioritariamente a la población local. Se trabaja directamente con el gobierno municipal garantizando el apoyo financiero. Hay un programa sistemático de atención especializada a grupos vulnerables conjuntamente con instalaciones de excelencia especializadas para esos fines, y se han concertado criterios empresariales para el desarrollo del sector terciario que garantizan la sostenibilidad del proceso. El éxito fundamental radica en haber construido la base económica de sustentación de la propuesta, que le permite ser sustentable en el tiempo, dinamizadora de la economía local y promotora de la calidad de vida de la población. EDRA39 Keynote Presentations “Todo árbol grande y frondoso vive de lo que tiene debajo”. Eusebio Leal Uno de los mayores logros ha sido la consolidación de un amplio programa cultural distribuidos en sus cincuenta y cuatro instalaciones, dirigido a promocionar la cultura cubana, a la vez que enlazan los componentes de otras nacionalidades y culturas que tienen su espacio en este sitio. Aún cuando son incontables los méritos alcanzados, también están los retos que debemos enfrentar, principalmente cuando el deterioro está presente en la lucha contra el tiempo y los desastres naturales, que dejan su huella cada año, al perderse partes o edificios valiosos del fondo construido. Alcanzar los niveles adecuados de vida para una población que ha devenido por decenas de años en arrastrar las ausencias de condiciones materiales y espirituales, luchar con las mejoras de las infraestructuras ya obsoletas, buscar cada día una mayor revitalización de la economía local, estudiar las oportunidades que ofrecen los campos internacionales para la inserción de nuevos proyectos económicos, nuevas tecnologías que minimicen los altos costos de la restauración. Es necesario destacar que el modelo de gestión aplicado ha logrado incrementar paulatinamente los ingresos anuales que repercuten de forma inmediata en los programas inversionistas. Los empleos gen- Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Invited Papers & Presentations 11 Gobernanza y desarrollo local, nuevo camino para la sustentabilidad Governance and Local Development, New Way to Sustainability Dr. Alfonso Xavier Iracheta Cenecorta (Consejo Mundial Asesor de UN-HABITAT, El Colegio Mexiquense / Architect of Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) Mayo de 2008 Invited Papers & Presentations • La política que va más allá del gobierno y los partidos políticos para incluir a la sociedad. • La democracia representativa y participativa como elemento consubstancial de la gobernanza. • La participación social como un valor. • La vida urbana como proyecto comunitario. De esto trata este breve texto; ofrecer una reflexión sobre estos principios que se deben rescatar para dar pasos más firmes a favor de una gobernanza democrática que tenga en las autoridades locales verdaderos agentes de desarrollo humano. - Alfonso Iracheta INTRODUCCIÓN EDRA39 Cuando se propone que los gobiernos locales son Keynote los organizadores colectivos del desarrollo humano Presentations en las ciudades, se está aludiendo a una función poco desarrollada en la administración pública: El gobierno local como líder de los esfuerzos de la comunidad; el gobierno local como promotor / gestor de mejores condiciones de vida para la población. El gobierno local –municipal- como líder real; es decir, reconocido por su comunidad, para organizar, promover y gestionar acciones que permitan elevar los niveles de desarrollo de la sociedad, implica de entrada, un reconocimiento a que el proceso para acceder al poder y la forma en que se actúa desde el gobierno, tienen bases democráticas, en el sentido de que cuentan con un amplio reconocimiento y legitimidad por parte de los actores sociales locales y que el sostenimiento en el poder se debe fundar en el ‘buen gobierno’. Si se parte de la base que la responsabilidad y sentido esencial del gobierno local es el desarrollo, en el sentido de proceso, para que la comunidad eleve de manera sistemática y permanente sus capacidades y calidad de vida; para que los beneficios del desarrollo, se distribuyan de manera justa y equilibrada entre los miembros de una comunidad; para que la relación entre sociedad y naturaleza / territorio, sea lo más equilibrada posible y cercana a la sustentabilidad, se reconocerá que debe cumplir con una serie de principios de orden político, entre los que destacan: 1 • La gobernanza como modelo socio-político11. Como nos recuerda Aguilar, Luis, 2006: Gobernanza y gestión pública. FCE. México. (pp. 35-36 ), gobernanza fue originalmente 12 1. Cinco revoluciones que están cambiando las formas de vida y el gobierno en el mundo 1.1. Globalización de los mercados y las economías. Las sociedades nacionales enfrentan retos monumentales cuando intentan armonizar los procesos de invasión de los mercados mundiales en las estructuras económicas locales y tradicionales. La apertura comercial en casi todos los países y la reducción de barreras arancelarias, ha dejado en claro que los grandes actores con mayor capacidad de decisión sobre políticas de desarrollo dentro de las naciones, no son siempre sus gobiernos sino los organismos financieros multilaterales, las grandes empresas trasnacionales e inclusive los personajes que dominan la economía. Si partimos de la premisa que la mayor parte (en calidad y en cantidad) de los intercambios económicos ocurren en las ciudades y que entre estas predominan las metrópolis y/o regiones urbanas, es dable suponer que los grandes actores que dominan los sectores de la economía globalizada, cada día se interesan más por lo que ocurre en estas ciudades, porque son las arenas para la acumulación y la productividad. una expresión antigua que denota la acción y efecto de gobernar o gobernarse y que, a partir de 2001, en el Diccionario de la Lengua Española, se define como arte o manera de gobernar que tiene el objetivo de alcanzar un desarrollo económico, social e institucional duradero, promoviendo un sano equilibrio entre el Estado, la sociedad civil y el mercado en la economía. “Se trata del paso de la democracia como doctrina de forma de gobierno a la democracia como gobierno con capacidad gubernativa” (p.39). May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México En consecuencia, las estructuras socio-espaciales, las condiciones de gobierno local, la calidad de vida y la oferta de servicios, se convierten en elementos estratégicos de decisión para ubicar o no inversiones que provienen de espacios externos a la ciudad. Si las metrópolis y las regiones urbanas se conforman por municipios (o equivalentes), como jurisdicciones político-administrativas con amplia autonomía y libertad de acción, debería suponerse que, siendo parte de un todo mayor –la metrópoli- serán capaces de generar acuerdos inter-pares para promover el desarrollo y la inversión en la metrópoli. Es decir, que cooperarán. La realidad en buena parte de los países y regiones, es que los gobiernos locales compiten entre sí para atraer inversiones y empleo, porque no se alcanza a percibir con claridad el significado que tiene el todo con relación a cada uno de sus elementos. El papel de la realpolitik es fundamental, porque los atavismos de los partidos políticos se traducen en aislamiento y competencia, independientemente que se compartan partes de un todo integrado, social – económica – territorial y ambientalmente, más no institucionalmente. Desde otra perspectiva, es claro que las actividades productivas modernas y más competitivas se asientan en las grandes ciudades, provocando procesos de convivencia –en ocasiones productiva y en otras de explotación- en relación con las actividades económicas tradicionales. Surge lo que nos adelantó desde la década de 1980 Milton Santos2; la coexistencia de 2 grandes circuitos económicos: el moderno de alta tecnología y globalizado con el tradicional de baja productividad y tecnología. En los países subdesarrollados o emergentes, la tendencia a la acumulación en el sector moderno a costa, aunque sea parcialmente, del sector tradicional es parte del modelo socio-económico. La multitud de servicios urbanos de baja renta y productividad permiten un incremento en la renta de quienes los reciben, como es el caso de los servicios domésticos, de mantenimiento, comercio informal, entre otros, que son proveídos por trabajadores informales y de baja capacitación, a las familias y empresas con mayor capacidad de acumulación. 2 Santos, Milton, 1990: Metrópolis corporativa fragmentada: o caso de São Paulo, Novel Secretaría de Estado da Cultura, São Cuando más de la mitad del empleo generado anualmente en las grandes ciudades del mundo subdesarrollado es de origen informal (carece de los beneficios sociales y laborales básicos, no paga impuestos y ocupa espacios públicos en las ciudades, entre otras características), tiende a profundizarse la brecha entre ambos circuitos de la economía urbana. El resultado, desde la óptica territorial, es una ciudad que, por una parte, permite la sobre posición de ambos circuitos como condición para que funcione la economía; es decir, comparten espacios en las áreas de la ciudad donde radican los grupos de medio y alto ingreso y en las zonas de concentración de las actividades productivas modernas y, por la otra, la separación espacial de los espacios habitacionales, con lo cual la urbe se fractura, porque segrega claramente por estrato de ingreso a los grupos sociales en barrios, colonias y distritos claramente identificables y, también, porque la sociedad y el gobierno tienden a no atender las necesidades socio-espaciales de estos sectores tradicionales y de baja renta, porque los escasos recursos públicos se dirigen a elevar la competitividad urbana como base para atraer más recursos e inversiones al conjunto de sectores ‘modernos’. El papel del gobierno local resulta entonces central. Los gobiernos locales deben comprometerse con el desarrollo integrado, bajo el principio que una ciudad menos desigual y fracturada es más productiva y más competitiva y, especialmente, menos injusta socialmente. ¿Cómo compensar las acciones de los gobiernos orientadas, por una parte, a otorgar facilidades a las inversiones ‘modernas’ y, por la otra, a la promoción de la economía globalizada, con las necesidades de los sectores que siendo mayoritarios, han sido relegados de las oportunidades del desarrollo? Es esta la pregunta central para un gobierno local que debe orientarse a alcanzar el liderazgo en la promoción del desarrollo integrado por encima de solo proveer servicios básicos urbanos. 1.2. Transformación del conocimiento, la educación y las telecomunicaciones Las actividades económicas y sociales modernas y de mayor productividad, se asocian al desarrollo del conocimiento –humanístico, científico y tecnológico- , Paulo, Brasil. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 13 Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations porque es su fuente primordial de avance y transformación. Estas actividades se localizan en las grandes ciudades porque en estas se concentran las instituciones de educación e investigación; igualmente, porque son los nodos de comunicación, especialmente telecomunicaciones, con el resto del territorio nacional e internacional. La metrópoli, como sede del conocimiento y de la información y como emisora y receptora de las comunicaciones, adquiere el papel más importante en los procesos de acumulación económica y de desarrollo Invited Papers social y cultural de una nación, al grado que muchas & Presentations metrópolis tienen mayor importancia económico – EDRA39 política que el resto del territorio nacional. Keynote Los gobiernos locales de las grandes aglomeraciones Presentations adquieren responsabilidades fundamentales en la promoción y desarrollo del conocimiento, la información y las comunicaciones. Conforme avanzan en las grandes ciudades los programas de desarrollo de la educación y de la investigación académica; los de vinculación del conocimiento con la producción y con el desarrollo social; los de crecimiento de los medios y sistemas de información y de difusión de esta de manera más abierta, transparente y plural, más rápido se acercan estas a ser parte de las redes info-globales. Sin embargo, sin una transformación de la educación, sin la democratización y pluralización de las telecomunicaciones, no hay posibilidad alguna de democracia y gobernanza urbana y por, ello, de desarrollo. Igualmente desde el gobierno local, no basta promover el desarrollo del conocimiento y la comunicación entre los actores sociales; desde dentro, la aportación y manejo de información pertinente y de calidad y la oferta de conocimiento sobre la ‘cosa pública’ que es legitimado por los actores sociales, es la fuente de las buenas decisiones y del avance democrático. Por ello, el desarrollo de nuevas estructuras institucionales para el desarrollo de sistemas de información, como los Observatorios, debe ser cuidadosamente considerado en las políticas públicas. 1.3 Las nuevas formas de la política En la mayor parte de las grandes ciudades, el gobierno local no tiene ni los recursos ni la capacidad 14 política y de gestión para resolver todas las necesidades de su comunidad. Una explicación importante sobre el deterioro de las grandes metrópolis en el mundo subdesarrollado, es que sus gobiernos no se han desarrollado a la par que las condiciones de la economía, el conocimiento y las comunicaciones. Por ello, se aprecian ciudades que amplían sus capacidades para vincularse a los mercados globales y sin embargo, sus gobiernos no logran atender todos los problemas y necesidades que la metropolización implica. Contrario sensu, los gobiernos locales que han entendido sus limitaciones y que han creado nuevas condiciones y espacios participativos para decidir sobre los asuntos públicos, avanzan de manera paralela a la economía y sociedad metropolitanas. Las condiciones principales que ubican a estas últimas en el campo de las ciudades globales y a las otras en el de las megaciudades, son variadas; las más importantes son: • La reducción sistemática de la desigualdad económica y la pobreza dentro de la ciudad. • La elevación sistemática del nivel académico de la población. • El desarrollo y modernización de los nodos de comunicaciones y transportes (desde las telecomunicaciones hasta la movilidad de las personas dentro de la ciudad (trenes y sistemas BRT) y con el exterior (aeropuertos). • La reducción de la inseguridad ciudadana y comunitaria. • El cumplimiento de un proyecto urbanístico de largo plazo y que es compartido por la sociedad y la persistencia de disciplina en el crecimiento y ordenamiento territorial y ambiental. Un ingrediente principal para avanzar o no desde el gobierno local en estas materias, es la concepción de la política y la administración pública que ejercen las autoridades, que en estricto sentido se ubica en dos grandes tendencias: la que pretende recuperar el carácter y la naturaleza pública de la administración gubernamental y la que se orienta a recuperar las capacidades administrativas del gobierno; gobierno frente a gerencia. La primera, pretende recuperar el carácter público del gobierno que no es otra cosa que un verdadero servicio civil a favor de la comunidad, con transpar- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México encia, honestidad, pluralidad y la exigencia de que los ciudadanos y sus organizaciones sean parte deliberante de la cosa pública. Por su parte, la segunda, pone el acento en los procesos administrativos, la eficiencia y eficacia del gobierno y la calidad de los servicios, de manera que la acción conjunta con la ciudadanía permita generar valor agregado a los activos comunitarios. En buena parte del mundo urbano y particularmente en las grandes metrópolis de América Latina, conforme se agotó el modelo desarrollista y se enfrentó el colapso fiscal, político y administrativo de formato autoritario, las sociedades se movieron hacia el otro extremo y se asumieron posiciones pesimistas sobre las capacidades del gobierno al grado que predominó la apreciación que buena parte de las tareas del gobierno podían ser mejor resueltas por agentes extra-gubernamentales, como los mercados y las organizaciones de la sociedad (Aguilar, op.cit, 35). Por ello, se llegó a afirmar (ibid, 36), que la mejor administración pública era la menor administración y que la mejor política pública era la política de los negocios. Este modelo es resultado de las transformaciones de la política mundial; desde el final de la década de 1970, se impuso en el mundo occidental el modelo económico que privilegia al mercado y restringe la acción del Estado; posteriormente, a partir del fin de la de 1980, se extingue la ‘guerra fría’ y se intenta imponer a nivel global un nuevo modelo político unipolar fundado en el american way of life. Una característica de esta forma ‘neoliberal’ de hacer política, ha sido la irrupción de los actores de la economía globalizada, especialmente los empresarios y las organizaciones empresariales, en el control y orientación de las políticas públicas, si no es que en el gobierno directamente, con la consecuente transformación de las bases conceptuales de la política pública: • Más libertad de acción de los agentes privados en la economía y menos restricciones y normas gubernamentales para su operación. • Criterios de planificación gubernamental basados en los esquemas ‘estratégicos’ de las empresas privadas. • Mayor participación de los actores sociales en la ‘cosa pública’, primordialmente los miembros del llamado sector privado. Linking Differences / Defining Actions • Privatización de empresas y organismos estatales y reducción sistemática del tamaño y papel del Estado en múltiples materias. • Traslado al mercado y a las organizaciones sociales de funciones tradicionalmente públicas, ante la supuesta falta de recursos fiscales para su desarrollo: vialidades, sistemas de transporte urbano, manejo de residuos sólidos, sistemas de agua y alcantarillado; una parte de la seguridad pública, entre otras. • Transformación del ciudadano en ‘cliente’, ‘usuario’ y ‘consumidor’ del gobierno y, con ello, la incorporación de sus necesidades y aspiraciones para decidir los rumbos de la acción pública. Igualmente ocurre con los enfoques de planificación del desarrollo y del ordenamiento territorial. Como avanza y se asienta el modelo neoliberal en la política pública, la definición de ‘las reglas del juego’; es decir, la planificación como acuerdo socio-político para resolver los problemas de la comunidad y para poner en valor los recursos y aprovecharlos a partir de un proyecto compartido y legitimado, tiende a desdibujarse, dejando en manos de las fuerzas del mercado las decisiones de distribución de las inversiones y acciones de desarrollo local, entre los sectores de la economía y la sociedad y entre los territorios. El resultado en la mayor parte de los países de América Latina ha sido, por una parte, el crecimiento muy acelerado de los espacios de la modernidad y la globalización, especialmente en las grandes ciudades y, contradictoriamente, la persistencia y el agudizamiento de la desigualdad socio-espacial, confirmando la tendencia a la fragmentación de los territorios. Desde la política –la de los políticos y la de los empresarios- la búsqueda de nuevas formas de planificación que recuperen la responsabilidad del estado de orientar, ordenar, conducir, facilitar y controlar los procesos sociales y espaciales, ante la crisis de gobernabilidad que enfrentan las ciudades, es una necesidad sentida que empieza a generar algunos resultados. Ya sea el Estatuto da Cidade de Brasil o la Ley 388 de Colombia o el surgimiento de un conjunto de Institutos Municipales de Planeación con enfoque participativo e integral en México, son evidencias de un cierto fracaso de la política ‘de empresarios para empresarios’ (Fox dixit)3. 3 Fox, Vicente, 2000: Discurso de Toma de Posesión de la Presidencia de la República Mexicana, 1 de nov. De Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 15 Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations Si bien existen principios del mundo empresarial que pudieran aplicarse al dominio del gobierno, siguiendo a Harvey4, no es posible simplemente trasladarlos de un dominio al otro, sin haber antes especificado las reglas de traslado. Al predominar en estos traslados, procesos un tanto mecánicos y acríticos, se han tenido entre otras consecuencias, la tendencia a convertir en clientes y consumidores a quienes son ciudadanos. ¿Cómo se resuelve la exigencia de pago a precios internacionales de mercado de los servicios urbanos básicos, a una población a la que el precio de su única mercancía: la mano de obra, se le controla, Invited Papers ya sea por la vía de acuerdos políticos cupulares (ej & Presentations México), o por medio de estrategias de mercado (resto EDRA39 de países de América Latina)? Keynote ¿Cómo se resuelve la contradicción de gobiernos Presentations locales que pretenden mantener posturas verticalistas y autoritarias, como producto de la historia reciente de sus naciones, cuando carecen de recursos, fuerza política y legitimidad para gobernar? ¿Cómo se sostiene un modelo mercantil de política pública, cuando buena parte de la sociedad está excluida de los beneficios del mercado y cuando este tiende a generar una ciudad fragmentada desde lo social y lo espacial? Para enfrentar estas cuestiones, se requiere de la concertación con los actores sociales para definir y comprometer un proyecto de ciudad para el largo plazo. Y esto significa, reconocer a los ciudadanos como entes políticos con capacidad de organización y decisión sobre los fenómenos y problemas que les aquejan y, también reconocer, que la autoridad local se debe preparar para la gobernanza democrática, lo que implica: • Tener la sensibilidad política para recuperar el enfoque público y comunitario de la política. • Tener el conocimiento de los procesos socio-espaciales y sobre las capacidades sociales para desarrollar nuevos caminos e instrumentos de planeación y gestión de políticas públicas. • Tener las herramientas (información, instrumentos…) para enfrentar la complejidad de los fenómenos socio-espaciales y desarrollar las capacidades de gestión social. 2000, Méx. DF. 4 Harvey, David, 1992: Social justice, postmodernism and the city. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. E.U. 16 • Hacer de la práctica democrática y la gestión concertada el día a día, lo que significa dejar atrás, poco a poco, el modelo político vertical y autoritario y de muy baja participación efectiva de los actores sociales en las decisiones de políticas públicas. 1.4. Las expectativas sociales Una consecuencia lógica de un modelo político y social fundado en el mercado como motor y guía de las decisiones públicas, que fomenta y apoya la economía moderna y globalizada y que sostiene buena parte de su aparato en los procesos de publicidad e información en los medios de comunicación de masas, es la tendencia a construir expectativas en la población sobre sus posibilidades de tener lo que los políticos y los gobiernos prometen y lo que los mercados ofrecen. Si la lógica del desarrollo se sostiene en dos pilares: el mercado moderno y global y la comunicación en tiempo real, la población se encuentra atrapada en un mundo de expectativas. ¿Qué pasa cuando los ciudadanos menos favorecidos encuentran que su nivel de vida y su capacidad de compra se reducen? ¿Qué pasa cuando el conflicto, por el espacio, por los recursos, se ubica en el centro de las relaciones sociales? ¿Y cuando los medios de comunicación, la política y el mercado, han creado expectativas sociales que no se cumplen? Lo que ocurre es que tiende a dispararse la inconformidad social como resultado de la persistencia de la desigualdad y la pobreza, especialmente dentro de las ciudades. Estas, se han convertido en un grave riesgo para la democracia y la participación social en América Latina. Por ello, crece la “participación” violenta en las ciudades y se amplían las brechas entre los modelos políticos dominantes y los que generan las redes y organizaciones sociales contestatarias. 1.5. Los cambios territoriales y ambientales Las profundas transformaciones reseñadas en la economía, el conocimiento, la comunicación, la política y las expectativas sociales, tienen que materializarse en el territorio y el ambiente de una manera peculiar, dando pie a una transformación más: el patrón de ocupación territorial y el consumo ambiental. Como producto de la diversidad de posibilidades que tienen las empresas para instalarse (y des-instalarse) en casi cualquier país y ciudad y como resultado May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México de la reducción de barreras entre naciones, la movilidad física de la población y las inversiones ha alcanzado cifras y dinámicas no conocidas en el pasado. El mundo enfrenta el siglo XXI como el de las migraciones. Millones de personas buscan oportunidades de desarrollo en otras latitudes, proceso fomentado fuertemente por las economías dominantes, sus gobiernos y sus medios de comunicación. El resultado es, por una parte, que las corrientes migratorias se están redirigiendo en muchas regiones del mundo hacia los mercados más dinámicos, ahí donde se crean los empleos o, cuando menos, están dejando las naciones más atrasadas y emproblemadas políticamente; por la otra, que los volúmenes de emigrantes son muy numerosos y la velocidad de emigración es muy alta5, dando pie a actitudes contra-globales en muchas naciones, destacando los EUA y diversos países europeos. Territorialmente, la movilidad de población en el mundo, impacta los patrones de ocupación del territorio, especialmente en las grandes ciudades, creando nuevos espacios y nuevas formas de cultura urbana; al tiempo, reproduciendo actitudes políticas de rechazo por la inconsistencia de las sociedades más desarrolladas que, por un lado, requieren de trabajadores de otras latitudes y, por la otra, cultural y socialmente los rechazas, permitiendo el resurgimiento de manifestaciones fascistas en Europa y EUA, principalmente6. Un segundo impacto de los procesos de globalización de los mercados y los flujos de toda natu5 Un ejemplo paradigmático es México, que ha ‘exportado’ del orden de medio millón de mexicanos a los EUA por año a partir de 2000 y que en 2008, las remesas de dinero que envían los migrantes a sus familias en México, rebase los 25 mil millones de dólares, conformándose en la segunda fuente de divisas del país, solo después del petróleo. Otros ejemplos relevantes como la emigración nor-africana a Europa (especialmente España), derivada de las pésimas condiciones socio-económicas y políticas, ponen en aprietos al modelo global, que cada vez reconoce con más apremio la necesidad de facilitar el flujo de dinero entre países y contradictoriamente, restringir el flujo de personas entre naciones. 6 Las reacciones en España ante la presencia creciente de población sahariana o latinoamericana, hace recordar los peores momentos del fascismo franquista; igualmente, las reacciones en EUA, del gobierno federal y los estatales, así como de la sociedad, que se traduce en muros, grupos caza-migrantes y otras aberraciones o la creación de guetos en la periferia de París y otras ciudades europeas para población emigrada de Asia y África, son evidencias de los profundos cambios que la globalización está teniendo en los territorios. Linking Differences / Defining Actions raleza, es la urbanización, especialmente en países de desarrollo relativo o subdesarrollo. La urbanización avanza aceleradamente y la población y las actividades productivas y sociales tienden a aglomerarse en grandes regiones urbanizadas, porque en estas se dan las condiciones –externalidades y economías de aglomeración- para atraer los recursos y las inversiones del exterior. Por ello, la Red de Ciudades Globales es cada día más extensa e incluye más sectores y actividades. También destaca la competencia entre ciudades por ofrecer mejores condiciones para que empresas y ciudadanos eleven su productividad y calidad de vida. Las que tienden a ganar, son aquellas que cuentan con un proyecto o una visión para el largo plazo, y que lo están construyendo desde sus espacios locales con el concurso de sus ciudadanos; las que tienden a perder, son aquellas que persisten en el desorden, la desigualdad, la baja movilidad y la insustentabilidad. Las evidencias indican7 que una responsabilidad fundamental en estos procesos recae en los gobiernos locales, que se convierten en los actores principales del desarrollo. Se debe destacar que, como avanza la urbanización, igualmente la concentración de población y actividades en grandes regiones metropolitanas, implicando nuevos problemas que involucran directamente a sus gobiernos locales. Es el caso de la coordinación metropolitana ya que el gobierno y la administración de las regiones metropolitanas exigen una clara coordinación entre autoridades locales (frecuentemente de diferentes partidos políticos). Finalmente, el incremento de la producción en todos los sectores de la economía, las crecientes capacidades para distribuir bienes y servicios y para ubicar en cualquier país y ciudad las fuentes de producción, de acuerdo con cálculos de mercado e las empresas trasnacionales, ha tenido como efecto un consumo 7 Experiencias exitosas en diversas regiones del mundo, apuntan a esfuerzos basados en gobiernos locales fuertes, democráticos y con proyectos claros, donde la participación ciudadana es un valor real porque aporta corresponsablemente , no solo recursos, sino capacidades para decidir y realizar proyectos de interés comunitario. Las visiones de largo plazo y su cumplimiento independiente de partidos políticos, es evidencia de los caminos a recorrer para las ciudades que aún no logran definir concensuadamente un proyecto. Ya sea Barcelona, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Pórtland, Bogotá, Medellín, entre otras muchas, la característica es que la autoridad local cuenta con la fuerza política y el respaldo ciudadano para diseñar y ejecutar una proyecto integrado en el largo plazo. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 17 Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations acelerado e los recursos naturales y la exacerbación de los problemas ambientales en el mundo. En muchos países, especialmente los menos desarrollados, los recursos se están agotando y el ambiente se está deteriorando a niveles de conflicto, porque no solo carecen de reglas adecuadas para la protección ambiental, sino que tienden a flexibilizarlas para que las inversiones internacionales se instalen en sus territorios, al margen de los impactos ambientales que significan8. Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations 2. Nuevos principios para el gobierno de los territorios Ante los profundos cambios que están ocurriendo a nivel mundial y que afectan directamente las comunidades locales, se impone una reflexión sobre las bases conceptuales que soportan a los gobiernos locales. Los cambios en la economía y en la forma de hacer negocios avanzan de manera muy dinámica; igualmente, las transformaciones en las ciudades son muy apreciables y, sin embargo, buena parte de las ideas que sostienen las políticas públicas y la administración pública son lentamente cuestionadas y peor aún, transformadas, porque los actores de la realpolitik (partidos políticos y gobiernos) siguen concentrados apenas en la versión electoral de la democracia y no en sus contenidos esenciales. 2.1. La gobernanza como modelo socio-político Gobernar es orientar y conducir las acciones de la colectividad y para ello, se requiere de la acción pública entendida no solo como la acción del gobierno, sino también la de la sociedad en un sentido de complemento, en el que un actor es interdependiente del otro. Esto es así, porque hoy el Estado ha perdido su carácter monolítico, tiende a fragmentarse en agencias 8 Ejemplos sobran. Una parte importante de los desarrollos turísticos con capitales internacionales se están orientando a las playas y costas del mundo tropical, donde el riesgo de destrucción de manglares y la primera duna de las costas se está convirtiendo en realidad. El incremento de impactos negativos por huracanes u otros desastres ‘naturales’ es una evidencia de los cambios ambientales producto de las presiones económicas globales. De igual manera ocurre con procesos industriales ‘sucios’ que no siendo aceptados en sociedades desarrolladas, se trasladan a los países donde con tal de incrementar la inversión extranjera (y la local), se flexibilizan las normas ambientales. 18 y organismos diversos, en racionalidades parciales, en intereses y perspectivas en ocasiones encontradas; igualmente, la sociedad civil no solo se fragmenta por razones de clase social, sino que se bifurca en intereses, se diferencia, se pluraliza cada vez más, en ocasiones se atomiza en una gran diversidad de preferencias, de grupos, de necesidades y de convicciones9. El resultado es que la acción pública se debe construir colectivamente y no solo como producto del Estado. Entender y aplicar esto resulta central cuando se quiere construir un modelo de administración pública que tenga como ingredientes fundamentales la participación organizada y corresponsable de la sociedad para construir, con el gobierno, un modelo más adecuado a las circunstancias de la modernidad; que atienda las contradicciones socio-espaciales y las limitaciones estructurales del Estado como gran hacedor de la acción pública y que eleve sustancialmente la calidad y los resultados de la acción pública y del ejercicio de los recursos fiscales. En este sentido, la gobernanza como modelo socio-político se caracteriza porque pone en valor los recursos y las capacidades locales de un territorio. La idea es que el gobierno democrático debe acreditar más que solo el adecuado conteo de votos; debe ser un agente capaz de dirigir, orientar, conducir los destinos de una comunidad y hacer bien las cosas; es decir, gobernar bien y ofrecer resultados apreciables que resuelvan los problemas socio-espaciales. 2.2. La Política que va más allá de la administración pública y los partidos políticos El debate sobre la administración pública tiende a poner el acento en las dos grandes orientaciones reseñadas antes: el rescate de lo público o el énfasis en la administración / gerencia. Lo que está claro, es que ambas perspectivas ponen el acento en la participación del ciudadano en las deliberaciones de las cuestiones que conciernen a la administración pública y al gobierno. Con ello, se reconoce que hacer política no es un asunto de políticos profesionales solamente y no se restringe a los espacios tradicionalmente consagrados para ello; el gobierno y los partidos políticos. Hoy, como producto de las transformaciones en todas las esferas de la vida social, especialmente la ir9 Cabrero, Enrique, 2005; Acción pública y desarrollo local, FCE, México, DF, pp. 19. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México rupción del conocimiento y las comunicaciones como palancas del poder y del desarrollo, todas las tribunas y todos los espacios permiten ‘hacer política’. Por ello, la política está también en la sociedad y en sus organizaciones. Los ejemplos más representativos ocurren en las tribunas de la academia, en las organizaciones sociales comprometidas con asuntos de la sociedad (ambientalistas, filántropos) y en la gestión de proyectos y acciones comunitarias, que mezclan visiones de advocacy planning y advocacy action, con gestión más instrumental de proyectos y acciones de interés social. La idea es que la administración pública no puede reducirse más a solo el conjunto de organizaciones, agencias, instrumentos y recursos que maneja el gobierno, que deja fuera a las organizaciones sociales y los ciudadanos de la posibilidad de incidir en las decisiones y orientaciones que tienen que ver con la provisión de bienes y servicios públicos, con la planificación de la economía y el territorio e inclusive, convertirse mediante organizaciones sociales y/o privadas, en actores de la administración pública con efectos reales en las decisiones públicas. 2.3. La Democracia representativa y participativa como principio consubstancial de la gobernanza Si en efecto se reconoce que las nuevas tendencias de la administración pública moderna, claramente apuntan a la participación de la sociedad y a las posibilidades de asociación público-privada y públicosocial para enfrentar las múltiples carencias de la sociedad, los procesos democráticos requieren necesariamente extenderse a la búsqueda desde la política de nuevos caminos para la atención de las necesidades sociales fundamentales: seguridad, empleo digno y bien remunerado, elevación de la calidad de vida, acceso universal a la educación, la alimentación, la salud, la vivienda, respeto a las condiciones del entorno ambiental, cuando los modelos vigentes solo han profundizado las contradicciones sociales y exacerbado la fragmentación socio-espacial. Implica que la democracia debe convertirse en fuente de creación de ciudadanía; debe ofrecer herramientas para que exista corresponsabilidad entre actores sociales cuando se trata de desarrollar acciones o proyectos e interés comunitario; debe permitir y promover la gestión compartida, entre sociedad y go- Linking Differences / Defining Actions bierno y entre actores sociales, de proyectos y acciones de atención a las necesidades sociales. En síntesis, debe otorgar legitimidad política, especialmente a las acciones del gobierno, lo que implica revalorizar la política creando nuevas formas de relación gobierno – sociedad, en las que el buen gobierno y la entrega de resultados tangibles, medibles y pertinentes a las necesidades sociales, por una parte, y la participación corresponsable y asociada de los ciudadanos y sus organizaciones en las decisiones de la administración pública, por la otra, conforman dos ingredientes fundamentales que ya no pueden ser soslayados. 2.4. La Urbanización como proyecto El año 2007 fue declarado por ONU-HABITAT el momento en que la población mundial mayoritariamente se convierte en urbana porque más de la mitad se asientan en ciudades. Resulta claro que el gobierno y la administración pública actual, son diseñados desde y para la ciudad, aunque lamentablemente persisten en la mayor parte de los países de bajo desarrollo relativo masas de habitantes en el medio rural, prácticamente al margen de las oportunidades que ofrece la acción de gobierno y la aplicación de los recursos públicos. La tendencia es entonces a crecientes procesos de aglomeración de la población en ciudades y particularmente en grandes regiones urbanizadas, integradas por conjuntos de jurisdicciones político-administrativas de orden local y poli-céntricas, cuyos gobiernos deberán crear nuevas condiciones para acordar visiones integradas y de largo plazo para cada ‘pedazo de territorio’ cuyo conjunto sea una verdadera visión de totalidad. Enfrentamos entonces un proceso de urbanización acelerado e irreversible, que permite saber que en el futuro próximo la mayor parte de los habitantes serán ciudadanos en el sentido territorial del término; también, que como resultado de la lentitud de gobiernos y administración pública para adaptarse a la realidad socio-espacial, existirán múltiples problemas para gobernar y administrar esos grandes conglomerados, especialmente si persisten visiones de política partidistas y de gobiernos verticalistas y autoritarios. ¿Cómo hacer del proceso de urbanización un proyecto conciente y conducido por la sociedad y su Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 19 Invited Papers & Presentations EDRA39 Keynote Presentations gobierno? ¿Cómo reducir la incertidumbre que provoca una urbanización incontrolada e inconciente de la que el gobierno es un actor social poco responsable y eficaz, especialmente en el ámbito local? Pareciera ser que el camino más claro es hacer de la ciudad el soporte territorial de la gobernanza; en otras palabras, aprovechar la densidad de las relaciones sociales y la necesidad de actuar en concierto sociedad y gobierno para que las decisiones de la administración pública se conduzcan bajo principios de gobernanza democrática organizada desde los territorios. Implica reconocer a la participación social como Invited Papers un valor y un medio para una mejor ciudad y para & Presentations un proyecto de desarrollo local. Se fundamenta en la búsqueda de cohesión socio-espacial que es perteEDRA39 nencia, tolerancia, reconocimiento a las diferencias, Keynote Presentations búsqueda de nuevo conocimiento, acuerdo de objetivos comunes. Igualmente, se fundamenta en la revisión y modernización de las estructuras, instrumentos y procesos públicos del gobierno, para reconstruirlos de manera que la asociación pública-social y pública-privada sea realmente un modelo participativo que tenga como principio la atención de las necesidades de la comunidad y su territorio. 2.5. El gobierno local es clave para la gobernanza democrática Cuando las presiones que enfrentan las grandes ciudades provienen de la necesidad de involucrar a sus economías y su sociedad en procesos globales y de concentrar sus apoyos a las actividades urbanas más modernas, existe la tendencia a prestar menor atención a los problemas de la población local, especialmente la de menor ingreso. Sin embargo, es precisamente el gobierno local el más apto para determinar qué, cuándo y cómo involucrar a las ciudades en procesos globales, porque tiene la mayor proximidad socio-espacial con los actores sociales de la ciudad y porque ningún fenómeno del desarrollo local le es ajeno. Por ello, es necesario preparar a las autoridades locales para que, además de la gestión de sus responsabilidades tradicionales relacionadas con la provisión de los servicios públicos, la planeación territorial y la seguridad pública, asuman los retos que derivan de la sociedad globalizada, lo que implica necesariamente 20 crear las condiciones para un desarrollo participativo, integrado y con visión de largo plazo. El enfoque participativo la obliga a propiciar la gestión relacional con todos los actores sociales para alcanzar compromisos de desarrollo local para la acción. Implica construir desde la política, un liderazgo capaz de organizar a los actores sociales para actuar; repartir roles y responsabilidades de manera concertada y no tanto dirigir las acciones y proyectos de la sociedad, concertar los contenidos en las materias, sectores y áreas del territorio; es decir, el qué e igualmente, el cuándo y con qué de las grandes decisiones para el desarrollo. En síntesis, debe promover la organización y la gestión compartida con los actores sociales como base del progreso, lo que implica: desarrollar el sentido de comunidad, ganarse la legitimidad política a partir de un ‘buen gobierno’, promover y apoyar el desarrollo del conocimiento y la educación para elevar la calidad del capital humano. El enfoque integrado del desarrollo, obliga a las autoridades locales a buscar procesos de planificación que en un solo esfuerzo integren las políticas, estrategias y proyectos de desarrollo socio-económico, con las visiones territoriales y ambientales del desarrollo. El significado de este enfoque es que la ciudad – metrópoli se asume como una totalidad y por ello, el enfoque territorial/ambiental del desarrollo se convierte en el hilo conductor del proceso de planeación, haciendo que los ‘sectores’ –de la economía y del desarrollo social- reconozcan las necesidades territoriales como la guía de sus procesos de planificación (dentro y fuera del gobierno). May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Refereed Full-Papers Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados The following selection of papers showcases the broad scope of fields that characterize environmental design research. Issues and concerns about environment and behavior relationships in diverse societies are emphasized in these texts. These papers focus upon a wide array of place types, concepts, methods and theories; all which contribute to advancing research within the field of environmental design. Underlying each of these different approaches is the need and desire for less formulaic options that are a) conducive to contemporary social, cultural, economic and political arrangements; b) representative of a diverse group of environments, such as office space, public space, production sites, and neighborhoods, among others; and c) demonstrative of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Each of these papers offers an insightful view of larger social and economic challenges and their effect on specific sites. These papers each focus upon a different avenue of environmental design, yet all illustrate how environmentbehavior research is beneficial in both understanding and improving our world through linking differences and defining actions. 22 EDRA39 wishes to thank the following paper reviewers: Beatriz Rodriguez, Elviria Saínz Sanchez, Luis De le Llave, Keith Diaz Moore, Habib Chaudhury, Nana Kirk, Peter Hecht, Robert Ryan, Arza Churchman, Patricia Taylor, Victoria Chanse, Kapila Silva, Vicente Mantero, Stephan Kaplan, Susan Rowley, Dennis Doxtater, Robert Riley, Jack Nasar, Andrew Kaufman, Ann Devlin, Donovan Finn, Marie Alice L’Heureux, Gary Scott Danford, Lena Sorensen, John Zeisel, Mahbub Rashid, Perver Baran, Lynn Paxson, Lubomir Popov, Lynda Schneekloth, Robert Shibley, Cherie Peacock, David Green, Rachel Kaplan, Debajyoti Pati, Kunio Funahashi, David Seamon, Nisha Fernando, Joongsub Kim, April Allan, Ingrid Stefanovic, Joseph Juhasz, Shauna Mallory Hill, Guy Newsham, Andrew Alden, Rula Awwad-Rafferty, Dina Battisto, Debarati Majumdar, Catharine Ward Thompson, Daniel Stokols, Lynne Dearborn, Saif Haq, Sudeshna Chatterjee, Andrew Kaplan, Michael Murtha, Umut Toker, Lorraine Maxwell, Saundra Murray Nettles, Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges, Mary Alice Torres-MacDonald, Robert Gifford, Janetta McCoy, Meldrena Chapin, Nancy Cheng, Darcy Varney, Marcie Benne, Bettye Rose Connell, Mardelle Shepley, Lee-Anne Milburn, Helen Wooley, Jena Ponti, Henry Sanoff, Peter Lippman May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México 18th & 19th Century Sustainable Design Technologies in the Eastern U.S. Tecnologías del diseño sostenible de los siglos décimo octavo y decimonoveno en el este de Estados Unidos by Lisa Tucker (Virginia Tech) Abstract A survey of historic buildings in the eastern part of the United States provides an excellent overview of environmental design practices that were once in use. This paper will look at one plan type, the single-pile, center-hall plan (also known as the I-house), as constructed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Virginia. Multiple examples show that local craftsmen and builders followed a series of vernacular practices that responded to the local climate and terrain. These can be divided into three basic categories: plan design, materials use, and building construction. This tripartite system led to natural ventilation, cooling in the summer, heating in the winter and the use of locally available materials that were plentiful. Many examples of the I-house type and accompanying outbuildings from across the rural landscape demonstrate self-supporting and self-contained complexes that maximized location specific features. This paper looks to eco-cultural vernacular solutions found within traditional architecture, specifically the I-house type, and then examines how this sort of information can inform new green building rating systems that are predominantly eco-technical. These traditional building strategies include a system of integrated technologies such as vernacular day lighting and ventilation strategies, plan organization, porch placement and more as a readily available and regionally responsive solution to material and construction deficits in the construction of new homes. Using LEED for new homes (LEED NH) and other sustainable house building guidelines created to inform the design of new homes, this research will demonstrate how traditional, vernacular practices Linking Differences / Defining Actions can enhance new and technological approaches to home building in order to better meet current needs. Shortcomings of some technologically-based sustainable design guidelines with relationship to site specific building adaptations will also be addressed in this paper. The I-house, a predominant eighteenth and nineteenth century house form, provides a possible source for meaningful methods of solving location specific challenges inherent in home design and construction. Introduction A survey of historic buildings in the eastern part of the United States provides an excellent overview of environmental design practices that were once in use. This paper will look at one plan type, the single-pile, center-hall plan, as constructed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Virginia. Multiple examples show that local craftsmen and builders followed a series of vernacular practices that responded to the local climate and terrain. These can be divided into three basic categories: plan design, materials use, and building construction. This tripartite system led to natural ventilation, cooling in the summer, heating in the winter and the use of locally available materials that were plentiful. Multiple examples of the I-house type and accompanying outbuildings from across the rural landscape demonstrate self-supporting and selfcontained complexes that maximized location specific features. The call for sustainable practices within the design fields today—including the construction of new homes--often focuses on the use of new technologies, or what Simon Guy and Graham Farmer have called an “eco-technic” approach, to solve the problems humans have created with regard to natural resources. In their article “Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: The Place of Technology” (2001) Simon Guy and Graham Farmer provide six different frameworks for how people approach sustainable building design. The six typologies are as follows: eco-technic, eco-centric, eco-aesthetic, eco-cultural, eco-medical and ecosocial. Each type considers one area of emphasis to be of predominant concern. Integrated technology and a scientific approach to design and building characterize the Eco-technic approach to sustainable architecture. Just as tech- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 23 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados nology has created many of today’s environmental woes, it can be used to solve the problems we face as well. An Eco-centric approach emphasizes harmony with nature and its systems. The Eco-aesthetic paradigm calls for a new understanding of ecological knowledge and an expanded consciousness about nature. Vernacular local traditions highlight the Ecocultural method of architecture. Eco-medical stresses a nontoxic emphasis focused on health and well-being while Eco-social involves community participation to achieve an organic, decentralized and democratic architecture. This paper looks to eco-cultural vernacular solutions found within traditional architecture, specifically the I-house type, and then examines how this sort of information can inform new green building rating systems that are predominantly eco-technical. These traditional building strategies include a system of integrated technologies such as vernacular day lighting and ventilation strategies, plan organization, porch placement and more as a readily available and regionally responsive solution to material and construction deficits in the construction of new homes. Using LEED for new homes (LEED NH) and other sustainable house building guidelines created to inform the design of new homes, this research will demonstrate how traditional, vernacular practices can enhance new and technological approaches to home building in order to better meet current needs. Shortcomings of some technologically-based sustainable design guidelines with relationship to site specific building adaptations will also be addressed in this paper. The I-house, a predominant eighteenth and nineteenth century house form, provides a possible source for meaningful methods of solving location specific challenges inherent in home design and construction. Background This paper was inspired by approximately four years of survey work conducted in Virginia as a consultant to the Department of Historic Resources. The author surveyed hundreds of historic buildings— alone and with other consultants—in the following locales: Cumberland County, Falls Church, the City of Norfolk, the City of Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and Roanoke County—representing a cross section of 24 the state. The knowledge acquired as an architectural historical and surveyor was later put to use when learning about and applying sustainable design practices. Figure 1: Map of Virginia showing survey locations from www. dhr/virginia.gov That there is an overlap between Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design has been frequently acknowledged over the past five years. Articles have appeared in the Journal of Interior Design, the APT Bulletin and other venues. Most of the focus has been on building reuse. While the materials use and retention of an existing building are considered sustainable strategies within the design world, little study of historic building forms as a source for additional sustainable lessons has been conducted and incorporated into everyday practice of residential construction in the U.S. Figure 2: Henry Glassie, House Type 14 from Folk Housing in Middle Virginia This research takes a single form, the single-pile, center hall plan house form, and examines the way in which it was traditionally built across rural Virginia May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México to respond to the specific climatic needs of the region. The I- house as it has come to be known is a predominant form of vernacular domestic architecture throughout Virginia. Henry Glassie’s classic study, Folk Housing in Middle Virginia (1975), chronicled the plan types he found in Middle Virginia. Of the 164 houses he surveyed in this region of the country, Glassie found house Type 14 (a typical “I” house) to be in the majority with 33% of the dwellings falling into this category. House 14 (2/3) was a variation on type 14 and accounted for an additional 10% of the houses surveyed. The two-room and four-room house forms comprised 93% of the house designs. The two-room house consisted of two rooms on the first floor while the four-room had two rooms above on the second floor as well. Glassie’s research demonstrates the frequency of the single pile, hall-parlor plan I-house in middle Virginia. Recent reconnaissance survey work conducted across Virginia and documented within the online database, Data Sharing System, of the Department of Historic Resources supports Glassie’s research (VDHR, 2008). Traditional Environmental Features Plan Design There are several traditionally derived environmental features inherent in this particular plan type. The single-pile arrangement allows for windows to be located across from one another in all rooms thus promoting cross ventilation. The central doors at both front and back also allow for cross ventilation. A feature common to many eighteenth and nineteenth century houses built in Virginia is a south-facing front door. This placement allowed for sun in the winter to warm the front door that could also be shaded through the use of deciduous trees and a front porch in the summer. A small portico or entry porch would often provide additional protection from the elements. Materials By necessity the majority of houses constructed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Virginia were made of locally available materials. While there are some notable high-style exceptions, this applies to most of the houses surveyed. Local materials included stone quarried near the site, trees felled on the Linking Differences / Defining Actions Refereed Full-Papers Figure 3: typical I-house plan property, and hand made bricks manufactured from the Virginia red clay that was abundant. Local sand and oyster shells were used within the mortar. Oftentimes, faux painting was used to simulate marble and exotic woods on the interior. Natural pigments provided the standard palette of colors for wall and trim paint. Builders mixed plaster on site using locally available lime and horsehair to be used on the interior walls. Builders planed locally harvested heart pine for use as flooring. Building Construction In the two-story version of the house, the central stair hall acts as a ventilation shaft during the summer drawing heat from the first floor. Transom windows located above doors facilitate this process. End chimneys, associated with this plan type in Virginia, provided heat and thermal mass to hold the heat generated by the fires within. Composed of brick or stone, these large masonry masses extended to the roof and provided an excellent source of insulation to the interior of the home as well as a way of holding heat during the winter. Single-pile plan arrangements allowed natural day lighting to penetrate into the entire depth of a room thus providing additional warmth in the winter. The front porch provided shielding to these same rooms during the summer months. Prior to the standardization of dimensional lumber, builders used local wood in variable lengths. Heavy timber framed houses and later balloon framed houses featured high ceilings. High ceilings provided a place for heat to rise in the summer and allowed for the use of interior and exterior door transoms. The Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 25 Papeles Seleccionados interior and exterior transoms facilitated air movement within the home during the summer months. During the winter months, beds often featured curtains designed to encapsulate the heat around the homeowners. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Figure 4: Typical I-House Features By necessity, houses were placed in close proximity to water sources. Some properties included cisterns to capture rainwater as well. Homeowners placed kitchen gardens to the rear of the house along with summer kitchens for cooking. This arrangement resulted in reduced heat build up during the summer as well as a reduced danger of fire. Other appurtenances on the building site often included ice houses, spring houses, smoke houses, corn cribs and out houses. The entire complex was designed to be self-sustaining for long stretches of time. Literature Review - Empirical Studies To date little empirical research has been conducted to quantify ecological features of extant historic buildings. In a 1998 article, “Energy Simulation of Historic Buildings: St. Louis Catholic Church, Castroville, Texas,” Anat Geva used a computer program to simulate the historic conditions of a church in Texas both with and without mechanical interventions. Using a program, ENER-WIN, to run simulations, Geva identified non-mechanical energy conservation strategies. “The case study of St. Louis Catholic Church indicated that major improvements in thermal comfort can be accomplished through natural ventilation. Reopening of the windows eased 26 the discomfort of summer heat and humidity and decreased energy consumption.” (Geva, 41) Although several authors have pointed to this type of approach and provided normative research to indicate that historic buildings often provide efficient and sustainable solutions to specific locales, little empirical research exists, making Geva’s study an important beginning. Geva and others have also conducted similar computer simulations for vernacular single-family houses, house museums, Greek Revival Houses and other buildings in various climatic conditions. The rise of the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in architectural practice provides a useful tool for modeling historic buildings. Multiple software programs are now available which allow practitioners to model buildings three-dimensionally and to make decisions regarding the building envelope, mechanical systems and many other building related decisions in a three-dimensional computer model prior to actual construction. This same software could easily be used to determine the ecological efficiency of an existing historic structure prior to making alterations to the building in the name of energy efficiency. Sun angles could be tested as could room depth to see if these features are in fact maximized in the design of historic houses. This would also provide a rich database for new building design, particularly with regard to locally appropriate solutions for single-family houses. Sustainable Design Framework for Historic Buildings Several authors have written about sustainable design, sustainable architecture, green design and related topics. A few authors have tried to define what these terms mean, and they clearly mean different things to different people. Guy and Farmer’s article mentioned above provides a useful framework for contending with the large body of resources on the subject in an attempt to provide clarity to the many differing positions towards sustainability as they relate to buildings. By and large, the most prevalent approach to sustainable design among practitioners is eco-technic which can be quantified using scientific testing. This approach relies heavily on governmental policy and is founded in a scientific approach to problem solving. Environmental management by existing institutions May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Guy and Farmer’s Logic Source of Environmental Knowledge Technologies Eco-technic Technological and scientific Integration of global concerns into conventional building strategies Eco-centric Systemic ecology Autonomous Metaphysical holism Renewable Recycled Intermediate Eco-aesthetic Eco-cultural Sensual postmodern Pragmatic new Science Nonlinear organic Phenomenology Local low-tech Cultural ecology Commonplace Vernacular Eco-medical Medical Passive non-toxic Clinical Natural tactile Refereed Full-Papers Ecology Eco-social Sociology and social ecology Papeles Seleccionados Flexible Participatory Appropriate locally managed Table 1: (Based on Table 1 from “Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture” by Guy and Farmer) is considered sufficient to solve any problem with the world environment. The LEED Rating system and other sustainable design rating systems tend to follow this model. Points are assigned, energy is measured, and materials are weighed. Energy reduction, material recycling, and water conservation all take place within an existing system of design and construction without any radical rethinking of how we do things. This can be contrasted with the eco-centric approach that asks us to consider our core values with relationship to the planet. The current state of the world is thought to be far beyond science’s ability to fix things. According to Guy and Farmer “This rhetoric generates a viewpoint in which nature becomes viewed as fragile and where natural equilibrium is easily disrupted.” (Guy and Farmer, 143.) The logic underlying this approach to sustainable design aligns closely with the original foundations of historic preservation in the United States and still represents the viewpoint of some preservationists: it is morally correct and our duty to “save” historic buildings. This approach contrasts with eco-technic logic where one might classify the Secretary’s of the Interior’s Standards, section 106 work, and historic tax credit legislation. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Eco-cultural logic invokes phenomenology and the need to belong to a specific time and place. Local traditions, vernacular architecture and local climate inspire this type of bioregionalism. This underscores a major component missing from many green-building rating systems. Local climates, local materials and local labor are all realities of construction. Traditional, local practices, as argued in this paper, provide answers for how to contend with the regional demands a specific locale, its climate and its people. Eco-medical approaches focus on the health of the building’s occupants and users. Indoor air-quality, access to day lighting, individual control within the interior environment and other health and welfare related issues fall under this domain. From an historic preservation perspective the primary eco-medical concerns are the removal or encapsulation of lead and asbestos as environmental toxins frequently found in historic buildings. Sustainable Preservation Work When mapping these frameworks onto Sustainable-Preservation work, three emerge as perhaps the most relevant: eco-technic, eco-centric, and ecocultural. The combination of these three underlying logics provides a holistic approach to this form of Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 27 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados practice. It also parallels, albeit informally, the logic underlying vernacular house forms. These forms are subject to building codes and other legislation as they have developed over time, they are reflective of our personal belief and passions about how we want to live, and they reflect the indigenous culture of a given location. Eco-cultural features of the single pile, central hall plan house include all of the traditional ecological features mentioned above. Local materials, high ceilings, cross-ventilation, and careful siting with regard to water, prevailing winds and sunlight all exemplify an adaptation of the house form to a specific location. Figures 5 and 6: Features of the I-House As regards traditional ecological features, current green rating systems such as LEED NH have been slow to integrate eco-cultural concerns into their frameworks. The goal of a single rating system for all has tended to look to a more generic and scientificbased solution to sustainable house design instead of a site specific, regionally responsive solution. 28 Overview of LEED Rating System for New Homes and Other Green Building Guidelines for Home Construction LEED for New Homes (LEED NH Version 1.11a) includes eight categories under which points may be achieved: Innovation and design process, Location and linkages, Sustainable sites, Water efficiency, Energy and atmosphere, Materials and resources, Indoor environmental quality, and Awareness and Education for a total possible points of 130. All eighteen pre-requisites are required to even be considered for certification. To be certified, a project must also accumulate at least 45 points. Sixty points are required for Silver Certification, 75 for Gold, and 90 for Platinum Level certification. Of the 130 available points, only 4 points are available for innovative/regional design. While these four innovative/regional design points were added to the newest LEED NH Rating System (1.11a) no technologies or strategies for achieving these points have yet been included in the rating manual document. The majority of the LEED points fall into the energy and atmosphere category, 38 points (20%) of the points. Sustainable sites accounts for 21 points (16%); Indoor environmental quality for 20 points (15%); Materials and resources for 14 points (11%); Water efficiency 15 points (11.5%); Location and linkages for 10 points (8%) and Awareness and education for 3 points (2%). LEED NH is not alone in its emphasis on an eco-technic approach to sustainable homes. The emphasis on energy efficiency and working within the existing regulatory structure also characterizes the U.S. Department of Energy’s Green Building Guidelines: Meeting the Demand for Low Energy, ResourceEfficient Homes (2004) and New Home Construction: Green Building Guidelines (2002) developed for Contra Costa County, California. The overview introductory page of the Department of Energy guidelines document acknowledges “This book is intended to be national in scope, and as a result, the construction information and many of the example details do not fit all climates or circumstances. The Contra Costa County Guidelines include a section on building site but this section does not address home orientation. Section B, site, does address recycling job waste, donating unused materials, installing drip irrigation, May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México and minimizing disruption to existing plants and trees (Contra Costa, 18). How to Amend Green Building Rating Systems to Reflect the Lessons of Historic Building Strategies The LEED NH Rating System and other generally applicable green building systems for home design and construction would benefit from the infusion of vernacular, regional-based solutions to building construction. A section could easily be added devoted to regional variations. For example, solar orientation of the building, placement of the house with respect to the prevailing winds and its proximity to a water source, and other site features could be added to the site section of the guidelines. Credit or points could also be awarded for the use of a historic building or other existing home, as is done in other LEED Rating Systems. Window placement and size, door placement, the use of transoms and other interior features that support natural ventilation might be awarded points when included as well. By adding a section for local solutions, LEED NH and other such rating systems would result in the creation of homes that were even more sustainable and reflective of the local community in which they are constructed. respond to the very specific needs of various regions of the country. Notation: During the final revisions of this paper, LEED NH 2008 was released. Under “Innovation and Design” 1.5, Building Orientation for Solar Design has been added. For this, a project receives one point out of the 136 total possible points. References: Contra Costa County.(2002). New Home Construction: Green Building Guidelines. Berkeley California: Celery Design Collaborative. Geva, A. (1998) “Energy Simulation of Historic Buildings: St. Louis Catholic Church, Castroville, Texas. APT Bulletin, 29:1, 36-41. Glassie, H. (1975). Folk Housing in Middle Virginia. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press. Guy, S. & Farmer, G.(2001) “Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: The Place of Technology,” Journal of Architectural Education 54:3, 140-148. USGBC. (2007). LEED for New Homes Version 1.11a Green Building Rating System. Retrieved from www. usgbc.org November, 2007. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (2008). Data Sharing System. Retrieved from http://www. hrdss.state.va.us/DSS/jsp Summary Clearly, historic homes provide a legacy of environment appropriate strategies developed overtime in specific locations from which green building rating systems might benefit. These regional practices illustrate the accumulated knowledge of local solutions that stand the tests of time. Additional empirical research studies, such as that conducted by Geva, would make normative historic design practices quantifiable and more likely to be integrated into a point-based system such as LEED NH. The sustainability movement in its current iteration stresses the need to save the planet. One very important element in this mission is to learn from those who have long interacted with the local ecology, climate, and materials. The LEED NH Rating System and others like it provide an excellent starting point for a more sustainable approach to houses. If it were expanded to include regional solutions, it could make an even bigger impact on the home building industry in the United States. A “one size fits all” approach is overly general and fails to Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 29 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Designing For Addiction Recovery: Reflections from an Architectural Case Diseñando para la recuperación de la adicción: reflexiones de un estudio de caso arquitectónico Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Brian Schermer, Caitlin Boyle, Emi Kiyota, Matt Jaroz (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee) and Newton D’Souza (University of Missouri – Columbia) This paper discusses and architectural case study that affords a unique opportunity to better understand how physical places are implicated in addiction recovery. The Milwaukee Alano Foundation is a club and drop-in center for recovering alcoholics. As the owners of a historic, but rundown residence, the members sought assistance from the authors to renovate the building. The authors proceeded to conduct scenario planning, assessment of organizational and architectural fit, pre-design programming, and schematic design. These activities paralleled, in a very real sense, the kind of critical selfinventory and removal of character defects associated with addiction recovery. In addition, while places can support and enhance recovery through instrumental and symbolic mean, they can also play a dual role as both the object and instrument of recovery. In other words, people recovering from substance abuse, as suggested by this case study, may seek to rehabilitate their physical setting in order to rehabilitate themselves. The case study also suggests that ownership and control over places for recovery can be a critical factor in recovering from substance abuse. This research stems from an architectural project for the Milwaukee Alano Foundation, a nonprofit group that serves as a meeting, social support, and gathering place for recovering alcoholics. The work, which was conducted by the authors through their affiliation with the Nonprofit Pre-Design Assistance Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, consisted of pre-design services and schematic design to help the organization renovate the historic home that they own and occupy. As a design case study, it affords a unique 30 opportunity to better understand how physical places are implicated in addiction recovery. While places can support and enhance recovery through instrumental and symbolic mean, they can also play a dual role as both the object and instrument of recovery. In other words, people recovering from substance abuse, as suggested by this case study, may seek to rehabilitate their physical setting in order to rehabilitate themselves. At the same time, undertaking a project like this is also a potential source for organizational dissension and possibly detrimental to the group cohesion that is critical to their collaborative treatment efforts. While this case is atypical, it does provide a unique way to think about how places that might be utilized and leveraged in the service of recovery from alcohol and substance abuse. This paper discusses current conceptions of place and recovery in the literature, followed by a discussion of the case, and then concludes with reflections about what the case study suggests about places for recovery. Literature Review While there is an extensive design research literature on the role of health care settings as it relates to healing, notions about how to design places for recovery have yet to be developed. Studies of addiction recovery often begin by addressing questions like what is addiction? How is it treated? And, to a lesser extent, where does recovery happen? The place of recovery is not explicitly pursued further than basic categories like “hospital” and “residential,” though the interrelationship among addiction, treatment, and place is apparent (Landry). The fact that the place of recovery is seemingly taken for granted may be problematic. Each theoretical conception of addiction and the terminology employed to discuss addiction treatment can indicate powerful assumptions that translate into the physical setting of recovery. Canter and Canter (1979) categorize six therapeutic models: custodial, for example prisons, in which the individuals and the community are separated from one another; medical, in which the patients are unhealthy and are taken to a place to be treated; prosthetic, in which physical or mental deficits are compensated, for instance by handrails or ramps, or social prostheses such as care-givers; normalization, which aims to prevent the dependence of prostheses, including group May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México homes in which people retain autonomy and control; enhancement, for example, playgrounds for handicapped children and simplified wayfinding for Alzheimer’s patients, in which normal may be too optimistic a goal; and, individual growth model, which aims to help people grow to their full potential, implying that therapy and therapeutic milieu can change over time with developmental changes. With regard to recovery from substance abuse, Landry (1996) associates the term “treatment setting” with the “level of treatment intensity” and categorizes four main treatment types that imply specific place types: hospitalization (hospitals, residential treatment (group homes, correctional facilities), intensive outpatient treatment (clinic, counseling office), and outpatient treatment (club, drop-in center). The physical setting in which these approaches occur communicates the expected roles of persons within it, and the intensity of the treatment/approach/place. One clear example of this relationship between approach and setting is the medical treatment in a clinic. In this instance, addiction is considered a physical dependence. The clinic is a sterile place where a doctor can treat and cure the symptoms. This is an impersonal, objective approach. In contrast, if addiction is considered the manifestation of some deeper set of problems or instabilities that a person is facing, the treatment will be very different. Unlike the medical approach, in this scenario, the cause is not as tangible, but is a complex web of mental conflict, for which the addiction is a coping mechanism. In order to address the patient’s needs, the treatment will be personalized, involving counseling that focuses on resolving underlying issues rather than the drug abuse itself. There are alternative holistic approaches and combinations of the above-mentioned techniques. Alternative medicines offer one such example. Wesa and Culliton (2004) , for example, discuss the need to create an “optimal healing environment,” although the conception of the physical environment is not well developed beyond providing space for such activities such as meditation, yoga, and gardening . The Oxford House group home model for recovering alcoholics offers a more concrete connection between recovery and a place of healing, while also emphasizing the importance of a larger group support. In an assess- Linking Differences / Defining Actions ment of Oxford Houses in the United States, Ferrari, et al (2006) note that every room in the homes they assessed is personalized (residents had hung pictures on the wall), the houses are well-maintained, and they blend in with their surrounding neighborhoods. These facts, combined with interviews of former residents and other observations, led the authors to conclude that a sense of home was one of the most important qualities for a recovery environment. This merging of sense of community, collective construction of non-dependent patterns of living, and physical setting is significant to the discussion of environments for recovery. The twelve-step model associated with Alcoholics Anonymous articulates sequential stages of recovery. These include acknowledging one’s powerlessness and turning to a higher power for assistance, conducting a “moral inventory” of one’s deficiencies, and seeking to remove all one’s “defects of character.” Twelve-step programs expect participants to “surrender” to the group. The story-telling tradition at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings is as much a reminder for “old-timers” as an act of progress for new members (Nowinski, 1992). This relationship between people at different stages of recovery is an important part of group recovery settings. This treatment approach takes place in a wide range of settings, including clubs and drop-in centers like the Milwaukee Alano Foundation as well as in more ad hoc meeting spaces (church basements, community centers, and even former taverns). Consulting Case Study Milwaukee Alano Foundation has been a social gathering place for recovering alcoholics since 1947. It is are the oldest “club” of its type in the U.S. Members meet to share their experiences, strengths, and hopes with each other about their common goal of achieving and maintaining a life free from the use of alcohol and drugs. Alano is loosely connected to Alcoholics Anonymous international, and adheres to the well-known twelvestep program for recovery described in AA’s “Big Book.” The members, who elect a nine-member board from among their ranks, wholly manage the organization. They are from every rung of the socio-economic ladder, from poor inner city dwellers to wealthy members of Milwaukee’s power elite. Alano occupies a handsome but rundown, historic residence on Milwaukee East Side neighborhood. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 31 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Though it has many distinct architectural features, the building has fallen into disrepair and subjected to poorly executed and ill-conceived adaptations and decorating efforts over the five decades that it has been in the foundation’s possession. Ironically, the building was built by one of Milwaukee’s yeast barons in the late 1800s. In 1955, he yeast baron’s daughter, who was a recovering alcoholic, gifted to the house to the organization. Fifty years later, Alano members began to raise funds to restore the building to its original condition and to expand the range of services to its members. residence. such as job training, computing classes, and relationship counseling. Jack informed us that raising enough funds would not be a problem. Alcoholism, he explained, does not discriminate according to socio-economic status. There would be plenty of wealthy members who would be willing to pay for it. The Directors had recently voted to establish a five-member Board of Trustees to oversee fundraising. They were looking to the authors for assistance in establishing a budget and documentation that they could use to solicit donations. We approached the planning for foundation as both an organizational and architectural intervention, following a three-stage process that they utilize in working with other nonprofit organizations: (1) scenario planning to explore alternative organizational futures; (2) assessment of organizational and architectural fit to see if likely scenarios could be easily accommodated by the building; and (3) development of an strategy and architectural program to specify the scope and nature of the project. For this case, we were also able to work collaboratively with a design team from the UW-Milwaukee’s Institute for Historic Preservation to develop schematic plans from which Alano could obtain construction estimates and also use renderings to solicit donor funds. Throughout the pre-design programming process, we attempted to provide a means for members to question their assumptions, and where appropriate, to point out issues that would need to be addressed in order to manage internal conflicts. Over the years, the house has served as a comfortable, if disheveled place for members to congregate for the dozens of AA meetings that are held each week. In addition to AA meetings, the building also serves as a drop-in center that provides camaraderie and social support for members, especially new ones, who might otherwise relapse. Our involvement, through UW-Milwaukee’s Nonprofit Pre-Design Assistance Center, with Alano began with an email from Jack (AA member typically maintain anonymity by using first names only), who served on Alano’s Board of Directors, asking for assistance. Although the Board of Directors did not know where to start, they did have a vision of what they wanted to achieve: to restore the residence as fully as practicable and to expand their offerings of services and programs, Scenario planning We pointed out that while the vision of a restored property and full array of services might be ideal, there were perhaps other less rosy scenarios that might unfold. We raised the possibility that fundraising might proceed too slowly to implement big plans for a long time to come. What would happen if the building required a major repair, or worse, a fire? Might it be wise, we asked, to sell the building, establish a trust and relocate to a more manageable setting? In a different vein, we learned that not all the members support the renovation. There are some who are quite comfortable with the current rundown condition, or at least are concerned about the place becoming too stodgy and self-conscious for their liking. This tension suggested other unhappy scenarios that we shared with Papeles Seleccionados Figure 1. Milwaukee Alano Foundation’s historic, but rundown 32 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México the members. Even if the funds could be raised and the building could be restored, might the renovation create a rift between those who supported renovation and those who supported the status quo. Additionally, would Milwaukee Alano Foundation be able to support its programs and afford the upkeep? Might the foundation need to establish a new executive director position to oversee the property and operations, instead of the current on-site manager who was paid $450 per week. In short, we tried to point out where their plans might go off track, and that even though their vision was a compelling, sometimes architectural clients are not always in a position to create the reality they seek. Nevertheless, the Board of Directors wanted to proceed. Assessment of organizational and architectural fit Mindful of the importance of this property to the organization, we felt it important to encourage the members to consider how the building could be used to support and enhance Alano’s activities and programs, and more specifically as an aid in recovery. As we delved into the issues, we learned that architectural changes would also necessitate operational and organizational adjustments in order to achieve the image envisioned by the members. We prepared a document called “Decisions, Decisions” to facilitate discussion about several critical organizational issues that need to be addressed before architectural and engineering plans could be drawn. These included: Accessibility: Membership to Alano is advertently barred to people with mobility impairments because requires traversing several step from either the front porch or back stairs. To serve people who use wheelchairs and to accommodate members as they become older, renovation to the property will require elevator access to all four levels of the house. Smoking: Many members are addicted to tobacco and are heavy smokers., The smell in the building is overwhelming and health hazards associated with second hand smoke, however, is overwhelmingly negative for many non-smokers, to the point where it deters some people from joining. Alano will need to ban smoking or restrict it to certain areas. Designating smoking areas will necessitate investment in some kind of air filtration system to mitigate the impact on others. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Refereed Full-Papers Figure 2. Seating Area at Building Entry Papeles Seleccionados Figure 3. Existing Interior Coffee Bar Building image: From the exterior, the building appears rundown, with peeling paint that covers the stonework and original cream colored brick, sparse landscaping, and a rusting fire escape. Plastic patio chairs and crude benches are placed on the front porch and a patch of concrete in the front. The interior is furnished with a hodgepodge of mismatched built-ins, cast-off furniture, wall colors, as well as a plethora of posters and announcements that clutter the walls. There are also two features that are deemed inappropriate by some members because they serve as cues for addictive behaviors: video games consoles in the front foyer, and a grill and counter with barstool seating on the first floor that conveys the image of a greasy spoon diner, if not a tavern. Alano needs to determine type of image they wish the interior to convey, whether it being true to the original style of the home, an contemporary Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 33 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados coffee bar with club chairs, upscale hotel or some other appropriate image. Activities and programs: Much of the socializing occurs in bar counter area where members sit around the counter and enjoy conversation. Alano also sponsors special events like dinner, lectures, musical performances, and game nights. However, they may not be able to provide activities for people in different generations, background, and intentions. Variety of activities and program can be expanded to serve the needs of diverse population, including cooking classes, teen lounge, physical exercise, meditation, and gardening. Pre-design program We attempted to frame the critical design issues associated with specific rooms, using room data sheets and annotated plans. For each room, we described: (1) current conditions and uses, including critical flaws and sources of organizational conflict (2) new uses and ways in which the design of the space can their common goal of achieving and maintaining a life free from the use of alcohol and drugs (3) Design considerations about layout, furnishings, and signs; (4) preliminary plans to illustrate various design suggestions and considerations. The current bar and grill area provides a useful example. We included a description of this setting’s current use as a place for food preparation, eating, smoking cigarettes and chatting with others. We also pointed out some members view the bar as a smoky, dingy hangout for former barflies, which is all too close in character to the kind of settings they are seeking to avoid. We suggested that this room, which was once an elegant dining room with built in cabinetry, fireplace, and a built-in ceramic planter, could be transformed into a friendly coffee shop that offers a cozy atmosphere and a variety of seating choices. The existing counter will be removed, and replaced, perhaps by a coffee bar that is compatible with the existing woodwork. 34 Figure 4. Interior Plan Elements of Interest Schematic design The schematic design addressed the handicapped accessibility and fire egress through the addition of an elevator and stair tower. Because of the historic nature of the property and the surrounding area, it was deemed that the only feasible option would be to locate this tower at the rear of the building. Landscaping and a new walkway along the south façade would link the rear entrance to the front. This new construction, along with upgrading mechanical and fire safety systems, restoration of floors, walls, plaster, and sandblasting paint off the brick façade, was estimated to cost approximately $1.8 million. Discussion The Milwaukee Alano Foundation case, though unique, is significant because, unlike traditional clinical settings, or even the Oxford House group home model, the members own and have complete control over their place of recovery. The choice to channel their energy in the direction of restoration suggests that such ownership might be a heretofore overlooked factor. Common ownership and control over a place of healing may provide a means to facilitate group identity and cohesion. It may be a rallying point for members that may strengthen the organization, and in turn facilitate the recovery process. We began our consultation with the assumption that the rehabilitation of Alano’s property would serve the May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México instrumental function of supporting and enhancing the organization activities, as a powerful symbol of the organization, and perhaps as a concrete metaphor for rehabilitation and recover to which the members could aspire. Yet, we also mindful that the project might also exacerbate organizational tensions between those who find comfort in the building as is and those who seek to restore it. Since group cohesion is so important to the twelve-step process, and because the rehabilitation might be destructive to that cohesion, it raises the question of whether there is something is more important than just a good metaphor. Upon reflection, we see our process of scenario planning, assessment of organizational and architectural fit, pre-design programming, and schematic design, as parallel to and complementary to AA’s steps for recover. By pointing out alternative scenarios to the organizational and architectural future sought by Alano, we were in effect underscoring that sometimes that architectural projects unleash forces that are beyond our power to control. Our investigation of building problems, from peeling paint to the acrid cigarette smell, to the lack of accessibility, constitute, in a sense, the kind of “fearless moral inventory” that AA requires of its members. Our report is as much a record of neglect and abuse on the part of Alano in caring for their building and addressing the needs of its members, as it is a list of issues to address in design. The architectural program and subsequent schematic design, in that same sense, are an attempt to remove what AA terms all those “defects of character.” If implemented, they would restore the moral character of the building and by extension the foundation and its members. For the champions of the restoration project, the building is both object and instrument of recovery. Their effort to restore the building—to champion the project through the board of directors, to sell the idea to the members, and to raise a hefty sum in order to achieve it—is propelled by the same force that drives individual members through the twelve-step process. In a very real sense, the members seek to rehabilitate the building as part of rehabilitating themselves. The renovation itself has the urgency on a moral imperative, and in a sense, has been the focus of a recovery process Linking Differences / Defining Actions that is very much parallels the addition recovery of the membership. As of this writing, the members have possession of the architectural program and the schematic plans, and they have been deliberating what to do next. They have yet to raise the necessary funds and put the project out to bid. Hence, we cannot know at this time whether the process and final product will be a boon or a bane to Alano. But, as long as the members owns and occupies the house, even if it is never fully restored, it will serves as a reminder, much like the stories of old-time members, or even as old-timer itself, that beneath the flaws there is a pure, unadulterated self waiting for recovery. References Canter, S. and Canter, D. (1979) “Building for Therapy,” Designing for Therapeutic Environments. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, 1-28. Ferrari, et. al. (2006) Creating a home to promote recovery: the physical environments of Oxford House. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, volume 31 (1/2), 27-39. Landry, Mim. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1996) Overview of Addiction Treatment Effectiveness (DHHS Publication No. SMA 96-3081). Rockville. MD: National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. Mercer, Delinda. (2000) Description of an addiction counseling approach. Approaches to Drug Abuse Counseling (NIH Publication No. 00-4151). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Nowinski, Joseph and Stuart Baker. (1992) The Twelve-Step Facilitation Handbook. New York: Lexington Books. Schaub, Bonney and Richard Schaub. (1997) Healing Addictions: The Vulnerability Model of Recovery. New York: Delmar Publishers. Wesa, Kathleen and Patricia Culliton. (2004) Recommendations and guidelines regarding the preferred research protocol for investigating the impact of an Optimal Healing Environment on patients with substance abuse.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, volume 10, Supplement 1, S-193-S-199. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 35 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados The Effects of Commercial Signs on Users’ Sense of Visual Quality in Historic City Centers of Different Urban Contexts Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Los efectos de muestras comerciales en el sentido de los usuarios de la calidad visual en los centros de ciudad históricos de diversos contextos urbanos Adriana Portella (University College London, United Kingdom) ABSTRACT This paper focus on the relationship between visual quality of the built environment and commercial signage in historic city centres. It identifies the physical aspects of commercial signs and buildings that should be taken in account in the development of a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres of different urban contexts. This study suggests that while some visual preferences are influenced by users’ urban contexts, others can be universals and applied to define general urban design principles. This study explores whether user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media has some influence on (i) user satisfaction with commercial street facades, (ii) user perception and evaluation of order, color variation and complexity, and (iii) user feeling of pleasure and interest in relation to the appearance of commercial streetscapes in historic city centres. The findings (i) show that there are common visual preferences among users from different countries, and (ii) suggest that these can be applied to develop a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres. 1.0 INTRODUCTION This study concerns the problem of visual pollution in historic city centres. “Visual pollution” is an established expression commonly used in countries of North, Central and South America. It is usually given to unattractive visual elements of a streetscape; commonly 36 cited examples are billboards, commercial signs, litter, graffiti, telephone lines and poles. In this paper, this expression concerns the degradation of the visual quality of historic city centres caused by commercial signs displayed on building facades and in public spaces. It is often said that historic city centres have being damaged by the uncontrolled display of commercial signs on the streetscape (Figure 1). This phenomenon is evident in contemporary urban settings in many countries, and it is not new as the literature demonstrates (Cullen, 2000; Passini, 1992; Nasar, 1988a; Ashihara, 1983; Herzog, Kaplan & Kaplan, 1976; Rapoport & Hawkes, 1970). Many researchers have already analysed this problem and explored the negative consequences that it can have on user perception and evaluation of commercial street facades (Portella, 2006a, 2006b, 2003; Klein, 2000; Nasar & Hong 1999). Despite the fact that the problem is well described and familiar to many, there is a lack in the literature of any evidence which might relate the physical aspects of commercial street facades with perceptions and evaluations of users from different urban contexts; and which could allow clear conclusions to be drawn about the universality of this relationship. This paper recognizes that other studies have already proved that user visual preferences for street scenes can differ among people from distinct backgrounds and urban contexts (Coolican, 2004; Oliver, 2002; Golledge & Stimson, 1997; Bartuska &Young, 1994; Lang, 1988; Lynch, 1960). What this paper proposes is that, as argued by Nasar (1988b), some visual preferences are common to the majority of users independent of their backgrounds and urban contexts, and these common views can be applied to develop a general theory to control commercial signs in historic city centres. In light of this issue, this study seeks to: (i) contribute to the understanding of which physical aspects of commercial signs and buildings should be taken in account in the development of a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres in different urban contexts, and (ii) inform the debate about the distinction between universal and individual visual preferences, thus helping to inform better urban design principles to guide development control of advertising and facade treatment. Seeking common views among users from different case studies and countries, the objective of this study is to understand whether user perception and May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media has some influence on (i) user satisfaction with commercial street facades, (ii) user perception of order, color variation and complexity, and (iii) users’ feelings of pleasure and interest in relation to the appearance of commercial streetscapes in historic city centres. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados (A) (B) (C) Figure 1. Example of visual pollution in historic city centres of different countries: (A) Pelotas in Brazil, (B) Madurai in India, and (C) Lisbon in Portugal (Source: author). 2.0 CASE STUDIES AND METHODOLOGY The case studies were selected in order to cover a variety of aesthetic aspects that can be present in different historic city centres. The main criteria used to select countries to allow a comparison among user preferences were: (i) a country where a national approach to help local authorities to guide and control commercial signs in historic city centres is applied in practice, and (ii) a country where there is no national approach to control commercial signs leaving local authorities with the responsibility to develop commercial signage controls, and to decide whether these controls are necessary in historic city centres. England and Brazil were chosen because they satisfy these criteria, respectively. Three historic cities were defined as case studies: the city centre of Oxford in England, as an example of a city where a national commercial signage approach is applied, and the city centres of Gramado and Pelotas in Brazil. In the first Brazilian city, commercial signage controls are applied by the City Council, whereas in the second city these controls have never been applied (Table 1 and Figure 2). Linking Differences / Defining Actions Having chosen these three case studies, two commercial streets in each city centre were selected representing typical streetscapes. Ideally, to ensure maximum realism the users from the two countries would observe the same streets in situ. However, because of the impracticality of bringing users from England to Brazil and vice versa, the experiment was based on color photo-simulations, which were shown to residents in Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas (Figure 3). As already discussed by other researchers, methods using stimuli such as color photos and photo simulation are scientifically valid (Sommer & Sommer, 2002; Stamps, 2000; Sanoff, 1991; Rosenthal & Rubin, 1986; Light & Pillemer, 1984). The responses of two user groups were analysed: professionals (architects, urban designers, civil engineers, and planners) and lay people. The respondents were randomly selected through articles published in local newspapers inviting people to participle of the survey. A total of 361 people contacted the researcher to answer a questionnaire (114 users from Oxford, 120 users from Gramado, and 127 users from Pelotas). The questionnaire comprised of 28 close-questions and 8 Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 37 open-questions was designed to identify users’ visual preferences for six commercial street facades. A focus group discussion in each case study was also organized (20 participants in each city) in order to better understand the reason for some of users’ visual preferences. Participants were also invited to the focus group through local newspapers. The photo simula- tions of the six commercial street facades were printed out in a poster size A1 and showed to the respondents when the research questionnaire was being completed (Figure 3). Non-parametric statistical analysis was carried out to analyze the data (Howitt, 2005; Sommer & Sommer, 2002; Howell, 1997; Siegel, 1988; Rowntree, 1981). CASE STUDIES Refereed Full-Papers OXFORD CITY CENTRE (ENGLAND) Papeles Seleccionados MAIN DIFFERENCES • Commercial signage controls are applied in order to preserve the historic character of buildings and public spaces. • Result: commercial street facades ordered in terms of commercial signs and buildings and characterized by preserved historic buildings. GRAMADO CITY CENTRE (BRAZIL) • Commercial signage controls are applied as a tool to reinforce the manufactured image of the city promoted by the City Council as the “Brazilian Switzerland”. This image is mainly represented by contemporary buildings known in Brazil as “Neo-Bavarian”. • Result: commercial street facades ordered in terms of commercial signs and buildings and characterized by a manufactured character. PELOTAS CITY CENTRE (BRAZIL) • Commercial signage controls exist but not applied. • Result: commercial street facades disordered in terms of commercial signs and buildings and characterized by historic buildings harmed by these media. Table 1. Main differences among the streetscapes in the city centres of Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas (Source: fieldwork 2007). (A) (B) (C) Figure 2. (A) Oxford city centre in England, (B) Gramado city centre in Brazil, (C) Pelotas city centre in Brazil (Source: fieldwork 2007) 3.0 FINDINGS 3.1 Preliminary Findings Before discussing the results from user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media, it is useful to mention those commercial street facades chosen as the best and the worst streets in terms of appearance by respondents from the three case studies. This study asked the respondents from each case study to rank the streets from 1 (users like the most) to 6 (users like the least). Taking into account responses of users from the whole sample, Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas, the results show 38 that the commercial street facades located in Pelotas city centre, where commercial signage controls exist but are not applied and where the historic character is strongly damaged by shopfront and window displays, were ranked as the worst streets in terms of appearance (streets 5 and 6). In addition, the street facades located in Oxford case study, where commercial signage controls are applied in order to preserve the historic character of buildings and public spaces and preserved historic buildings characterize the streetscape, were ranked as the best streets in terms of appearance (streets 1 and 2). Moreover, as predicted by Kaplan and Kaplan (1982) and Lang (1987), user familiarity with May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Refereed Full-Papers Figure 3. Technique applied to take the photographs to make the photo-simulations and the poster attached to the questionnaire showing the commercial street facades selected in each case study (Source: fieldwork 2007). the streetscape and symbolic meanings attributed to buildings influenced on some users’ preferences, but this influence has been demonstrated as complex rather than positive or negative. The findings of this study suggest that user familiarity with a particular streetscape and symbolic meanings attributed to buildings can influence users’ preferences: street 3, located in Gramado city centre, was ranked as the best street by residents in Gramado who, in a focus groups discussion, mentioned that the historical and cultural importance of some of the buildings influence their satisfaction with this street (Table 2). Differences between perception and evaluation of users from Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas were also found: (i) street 1 (located in Oxford) and street 5 (located in Pelotas) were evaluated more positively by users from Oxford than by users from Gramado and Pelotas; (ii) streets 3 and 4 (located in Gramado) were evaluated more positively by users from Gramado than by users from Oxford and Pelotas; (iii) street 6 (located in Pelotas) was evaluated more positively by users from Pelotas than by users from Gramado; (iv) street 2 (located in Oxford) was evaluated more positively by users from Pelotas than by users from Oxford and Gramado. This study does not identify the factors that result in those differences, but it suggests that, in the cases which residents prefer the streets from their cities, user familiarity with the streetscape and symbolic meanings attributed to buildings can be influencing user responses. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Furthermore, similarities and differences between lay people and professionals were found. Taking into account responses of users from the whole sample, the results show that the commercial street facades located in Gramado, where commercial signage is ordered and the streetscape is built to promote a manufactured image of the city, tend to be popular with lay people more than with professionals. Professional preferences tend to be higher with the streets located in Oxford and Pelotas, while lay people preferences tend to be higher with the streets located in Gramado. At the same time, similarities between both these groups were verified: street 1 has the highest user evaluation, while street 6 has the lowest user evaluation; and streets 4 and 5 are placed in fourth and fifth places, respectively, by both these user groups. When responses of users from the case studies of Oxford and Pelotas were analysed, two common tendencies were found between lay people and professionals: lay people tend to evaluate street 3 most positively, while professionals tend to evaluate street 6 most positively. Common views between these users groups were also identified in Oxford and Pelotas: lay people and professionals from Oxford classified street 1 as the best and street 6 as the worst streets in terms of appearance, while both these users groups from Pelotas mentioned street 2 as the best and street 5 as the worst streets in terms of appearance. In Gramado, both users groups agreed that street 6 was the worst street in terms of appearance, however street 3 was men- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 39 Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers tioned as the best street by lay people, while professionals indicated street 1. Based on these findings, the following tendencies were verified in more than one case study: according to the majority of users (lay people and professionals), (i) commercial street facades where commercial signage controls are applied and preserved historic buildings characterize the streetscape are ranked as the best streets in terms of appearance (streets 1 and 2), and (ii) commercial street facades where commercial signage controls have not been applied and Papeles Seleccionados historic buildings are harmed by commercial signs are ranked as the worst streets in terms of appearance (streets 5 and 6). The findings also show that users who prefer commercial street facades characterized by preserved historic buildings do not sympathize with commercial streets characterized by contemporary buildings designed to create a manufactured image of the city. Moreover, streetscapes characterized by a mix of historic and contemporary buildings seem to have a positive effect on user perception and evaluation of commercial street facades. Street 1: High Street in Oxford city centre. Street 2: Cornmarket Street in Oxford city centre. Street 3: Borges de Medeiros Avenue in Gramado city centre. Building 1 Building 3 Street 5: General Osorio Street in Pelotas city centre. Street 6: Sete de Setembro Street in Pelotas city centre. Table 2. Commercial street facades chosen as the best (streets 1, 2 and 3) and the worst (streets 5 and 6) streets in terms of appearance. 40 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México 3.2 Main Findings Looking for common perceptions and evaluations among users from the different case studies, three hypotheses were tested: (i) there is no relationship between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and user satisfaction with the commercial street facades; (ii) the higher the user satisfaction with commercial street facades, the lower the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs; and (iii) the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade covered by these media, the less pleasant, the more interesting, the less ordered, the more colorful, and the more complex the commercial street facades. 3.2.1 Hypothesis One: There is no relationship between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and user satisfaction with the commercial street facades When responses of users from the whole sample (361 users) was analysed, the results show that there is no relationship between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and user satisfaction with the appearance of streets 1, 2 and 3. However, taking those streets classified as the worst streets in terms of appearance, the following relationship was identified: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, the lower the user satisfaction with the commercial street facade (street 5: Spearman, rho= - 0.35, p=0.01; street 6: Spearman, rho= - 0.33, p=0.01). Street 5 has the lowest number of commercial signs compared to the other streets in the sample but it has the highest percentage of building facade covered by these media (11.31% of the streetscape = 79.97m²). At the same time, street 6 has the second highest number of commercial signs compared to the other streets in the sample, and the second highest percentage of building facades covered by these media (9.11% of the streetscape = 93.34m²). In this regard, this study suggest that user satisfaction is influenced by the percentage of building facades covered by commercial signs rather than by the number of shopfronts and window displays. When the responses of users from Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas were analysed individually, there is no rela- Linking Differences / Defining Actions tionship between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and user satisfaction with streets 1 and 3. On the other hand, taking into account users from Pelotas, the following relationship is found when street 2 was analysed (Spearman, rho= - 0.33, p=0.02): the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, the lower the user satisfaction with the commercial street facade. Street 2 has the second lowest number of commercial signs compared to the other streets in the sample but the highest percentage of building facade covered by these media (5.62% of the streetscape = 54.56m²) when compared to street 1 (2.70% of the streetscape = 34.60m²) and street 3 (3.48% of the streetscape = 30.54m²). In this regard, the percentage of building facade covered by signs seems to (i) increase user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, and (ii) influence user satisfaction with the appearance of street 2. A significant relationship was also found between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, and user satisfaction with streets 5 and 6 when responses of users from Oxford (Street 5: Spearman, rho= - 0.48, p=0.01; Street 6: Spearman, rho= - 0.40, p=0.01) and Pelotas (Street 5: Spearman, rho= - 0.32, p=0.01; Street 6: Spearman, rho= - 0.38, p=0.01) were analysed. The results show that: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, the lower the user satisfaction with the commercial street facades. In this regard, as explained before, this study suggests that user satisfaction has been influenced by the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs rather than by the number of these media. If the number of shopfronts and window displays was affecting user satisfaction with the appearance of commercial street facades, a correlation between these variables should be found when street 1 was analysed (street 1 has the highest number of commercial signs), and not when street 5 was analysed (street 5 has the lowest number of commercial signs). Considering these results, the hypothesis “there is no relationship between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and user satisfaction with the commercial street facades” was verified when streets 1 and 3 were analysed. Although this hypothesis was not supported by the results from streets 2, 5 and 6, the findings suggest that user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs can be influenced Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 41 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados by the percentage of building facade covered by these media. In addition, it is relevant to note that the commercial street facade chosen by the highest number of users as the best street in terms of appearance (street 1) has the highest number of commercial signs (46 signs) compared to the other streets in the sample; while one of the two commercial street facades chosen as the worst street in terms of appearance (street 5) has the lowest number of commercial signs (25 signs) compared to the other streets in the sample. These findings just help to support the Hypothesis One. 3.2.2 Hypothesis Two: The higher the user satisfaction with commercial street facades, the lower the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs Taking into account responses of users from the whole sample (361 users), there is a relationship between user satisfaction with commercial street facades and user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs. This relationship was found when street 2 (Spearman, rho=-0.27, p=0.02), street 5 (Spearman, rho=-0.35, p=0.001) and street 6 (Spearman, rho=-0.35, p=0.001) were analysed. Taking into account responses of users from each case study, a relationship between those variables was also found when responses of users from Pelotas in relation to street 2 (Spearman, rho=-0.21, p=0.01), and responses of users from Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas in relation to streets 5 and 6 were analysed (Oxford - street 5: spearman, rho=-0.54, p=0.001; street 6: rho=-0.65, p=0.001; Gramado - street 5: spearman, rho=-0.21, p=0.02; street 6: rho=-0.21, p=0.02; and Pelotas - street 5: spearman, rho=-0.28, p=0.002; street 6: rho=-0.20, p=0.03). In all these cases, the following tendency was verified: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs, the lower the user satisfaction with the commercial street facades. In this regard, the hypothesis “the higher the user satisfaction with commercial street facades; the lower the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs” was verified. It is relevant to note that the street chosen by the highest number of users as the best street in terms of appearance (street 1) has the lowest percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs (2.70% 42 of the streetscape = 34.60m²). On the other hand, the street chosen by the highest number of users as the worst street in terms of appearance (street 6) has the second highest percentage of building facade coverage by these media (9.11% of the streetscape = 93.34m²). These findings help to confirm the hypothesis, and they also show that what influence user satisfaction with commercial street facades is the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs rather than the number of shopfronts and window displays. In addition, the results have shown that street 2, which has the highest percentage of streetscape covered by commercial signs (5.62% of the streetscape = 54.56 m²) and the highest square meter of commercial signs per street meter (0.68 m2/m) when compared to streets 1 and 3, was perceived and evaluated by the majority of users from each case study as having “small” or “very small” percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs. On the other hand, almost the majority of respondents from each city indicated that: (i) street 1, which has only 2.70% of the street facade coverage by this media (34.60 m²) and 0.31 m² of commercial signs per linear street meter, and (ii) street 3, which has the lower percentage of street facade covered by commercial signs (3.48% of the streetscape = 30.54m²) than street 2 and only 0.25m² of commercial signs per linear meter of street, have moderate percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs. Taking into account the physical characteristics of streets 1, 2, and 3, one plausible explanation for these results is the localization of shopfronts on building facades. This analysis suggests that when almost all shopfronts are located in similar places on different buildings (base, body or coronation), user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs decreases. This may happen because these media are concentrated in one zone of building facades, living the others clean of signs. This is the main difference between the commercial signage in street 2 and in streets 1 and 3. In street 2, almost all shopfronts are aligned and located on the top part of ground floor of every building facades, while on streets 1 and 3 there is more variety regarding this aspect (Figure 4). May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Figure 4. The majority of shopfronts are located on the top part of the ground floor of every building facade living the other zones of these buildings free of signs (Source: fieldwork 2007). Analyzing streets 5 and 6, the majority of respondents from each case study agreed that the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs is “very much” or “a lot” in both these streets. These results can be related to the following aspects: (i) street 5 has the highest coverage of building facade by commercial signs (11.11% of the streetscape = 79.97m²) compared to the other streets in the sample, and 0.85m² of commercial signs per linear street meter; and (b) street 6 has the second highest coverage of building by commercial signage (9.11% of the streetscape = 93.34m²) compared to the other streets in the sample, and the highest square meter of commercial signs per street meter (1m²/m). In this regard, this study suggest that a minimal amount of 9% of a street facade coverage by commercial signs, and a minimal amount of 0.85m² of commercial signs per linear street meter can increase user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade coverage by these media, and, consequently, decrease user satisfaction with the appearance of commercial street facades. 3.2.3 Hypothesis Three: The higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade covered by these media, the less pleasant, the more interesting, the less ordered, the more colorful and the more complex the commercial street facades Taking into account responses of users from the whole sample, the following tendency was found: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, the less pleasant (verified in relation to street 1), the more interesting (verified in relation to streets 1 and 6), the less ordered (verified in relation to streets 1, 2 and 6), the more colorful (verified in relation to streets 1, 2, 5 and 6), and the more complex (verified in relation to street 1) the commercial street facades. In addition, the Linking Differences / Defining Actions same tendency was verified when user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facades coverage by commercial signs was analysed: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs, the less pleasant (verified in relation to street 6), the more interesting (verified in relation to street 5), the less ordered (verified in relation to streets 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6), the more colorful (verified in relation to streets 1 and 2), and the more complex (verified in relation to streets 1 and 3) the commercial street facades (Table 3). Analyzing responses of users from each case study, the following results were found: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, the less pleasant (verified with users from Gramado), the less ordered and the more complex (verified with users from Oxford) street 1. In addition, taking into account the streets classified as the worst streets in terms of appearance, similar tendency was verified: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs, the less pleasant (verified with users from Gramado in relation to street 5 and with users from Pelotas in relation to street 6), the more interesting (verified with users from Oxford in relation to street 5), the less ordered (verified with users from Oxford in relation to street 5 and with users from Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas in relation to street 6), the more colorful (verified with users from Gramado and Pelotas in relation to street 5 and with users from Pelotas in relation to street 6), and the more complex (verified with users from Pelotas in relation to street 5) the commercial street facades (Table 4). Analyzing user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facades coverage by commercial signs, the same tendency was found: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade coverage by Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 43 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados commercial signs, the less ordered (verified with users Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados from Oxford in relation to street 1) and the more complex (verified with users from Oxford in relation to streets 1 and 2) the commercial street facades chosen as the best streets in terms of appearance. Focusing on the streets chosen as the worst in terms of appearance, the following results were verified: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facades coverage by commercial signs, the less pleasant (verified with users from Oxford and Pelotas in relation to street 6), Variable C: Variables User perception and evaluation of >x<: Pleasant Variable A: User perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs. Interest Order Color Complexity Variable B: User perception and evaluation of the percentage of building façade covered by commercial signs. the more interesting (verified with users from Oxford in relation to streets 5 and 6), the less ordered (verified with users from Oxford in relation to street 5 and with users from Pelotas in relation to street 6), the more colorful (verified with users from Pelotas in relation to streets 5 and users from Pelotas in relation to street 6), and the more complex (verified with users from Oxford and Pelotas in relation to street 6) the commercial street facades (Table 4). THE WHOLE SAMPLE (N=361 users) Street 1 Street 2 Street 3 Street 5 Street 6 N=153 users N=74 users N=106 users N=149 users N=169 users none none none none none none none none none none rho= 0.18, p=0.02 rho= 0.22, p=0.004 rho= - 0.22, p=0.004 rho= 0.28, p=0.001 none none none none rho= - 0.31, p=0.001 rho= -0.18, p=0.02 rho= - 0.46, p=0.001 rho= 0.17, p=0.03 rho= 0.31, p=0.001 rho= - 0.34, p=0.003 rho= 0.36, p=0.002 Pleasant none none none none rho= - 0.22, p=0.004 Interest none none none rho= - 0.21, p=0.01 none rho= - 0.42, p=0.001 rho= 0.25, p=0.002 rho= - 0.34, p=0.003 rho= 0.36, p=0.002 rho= - 0.23, p=0.02 rho= - 0.18, p=0.05 rho= - 0.20, p=0.009 none none none rho= 0.25, p=0.002 none rho= 0.25, p=0.01 none none Order Color Complexity Legend: Bold = Moderate Correlation. Table 3: Spearman correlations found between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs (variable A) and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media (variable B) and user perception and evaluation of pleasant, interest, order, color variation and complexity (variable C) – the whole sample. The findings show that the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media influence on user perception and evaluation of order, color variation and complexity and on user’s feelings of pleasure and interest in relation to the appearance of commercial street facades. The results also show that this influence is verified when analyzing the commercial street facades classified as the best and the worst streets in terms of appearance where the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs is different. Taking into account that user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs can be influenced by the percentage of street facade coverage by these media, these outcomes 44 suggest that to increase user perception and evaluation of pleasure and order, the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs should be controlled. At the same time, this control will decrease user perception and evaluation of color variation and complexity, what can be positive factors in historic city centres streetscapes. According to the literature, too high color variation and complexity can provoke chaos and decrease user satisfaction with the appearance of street facades. In addition, if users are bombarded with high levels of commercial signage and building variation, they will experiment saturation losing the enjoyment of variety, and becoming insensitive to this succession without order (Weber, 1995; Nasar, 1988). May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Variable C: Streets OXFORD GRAMADO PELOTAS N = 114 users N = 120 users N = 127 users Pleasant none rho= - 0.39, p=0.01 none Order rho= - 0.29, p=0.01 none none Complexity rho= 0.45, p=0.01 none none Pleasant rho= 0.53, p=0.002 none none Order none none rho= - 0.30, p=0.02 User perception and evaluation of >x<: Street 1 Variable A: User perception and evaluation of the number Street 5 of commercial signs. Street 6 Street 1 Street 3 Variable B: User perception and evaluation of the Street 5 percentage of building façade covered by commercial signs. Street 6 Color rho= 0.41, p=0.02 rho= 0.29, p=0.003 none Interest rho= -0.26, p=0.04 none rho= -0.30, p=0.04 Color rho= - 0.40, p=0.001 none none Complexity rho= 0.37, p=0.003 none none Order rho= - 0.31, p=0.008 none none Complexity rho= 0.28, p=0.001 none none Complexity rho= 0.57, p=0.001 none none Pleasant rho= 0.38, p=0.03 none none Interest rho= - 0.38, p=0.03 none none Order rho= - 0.51, p=0.003 none none Color none none rho= 0.29, p=0.02 Pleasant rho= 0.34, p=0.008 none rho= - 0.32, p=0.03 Interest rho=-0.38, p=0.002 none none Order none none rho= - 0.49, p=0.001 Color none none rho= 0.43, p=0.003 Complexity rho= 0.27, p=0.04 none rho= 0.40, p=0.006 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados There is no correlation when user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs was analysed in relation to streets 2 and 3. There is no correlation when user perception and evaluation of the percentage of buildings facade coverage by commercial signs was analysed in relation to street 2. Legend: Italic = Moderate Correlation. Bold = Strong Correlation. Table 4: Spearman correlations found between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs (variable A) and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media (variable B) and user perception and evaluation of pleasant, interest, order, colour variation and complexity (variable C) – case studies of Oxford, Gramado and Pelotas. 4. CONCLUSION One of the main conclusions of this study is that: (i) commercial street facades, where a national approach to help local authorities to guide and control commercial signs in historic city centres is applied in practice and preserved historic buildings characterize the streetscape, are ranked as the best streets in terms of appearance by users from the different case studies. At the same time, (ii) commercial street facades, where commercial signage controls exist but are not applied and the streetscape is harmed by shopfronts and window displays are ranked as the worst streets in terms of appearance by users from the different case studies. Linking Differences / Defining Actions The evidence presented in this paper suggest that a general approach to control commercial signage in historic city centres is fundamental in promoting commercial streets evaluated positively by users from different urban contexts. In the development of this approach, user familiarity with particular streetscapes and symbolic meanings attributed to buildings should be taken into account as both these factors influence on user perception and evaluation of commercial streetscapes. This study has also demonstrated that this approach should take in account the following issues: (i) users who prefer commercial street facades characterized by preserved historic buildings do not like commercial street facades comprised of contemporary buildings designed to create a manufactured Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 45 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados image of the city, and (ii) streetscapes characterized by a mix of historic and contemporary buildings can positively influence user evaluation of commercial street facades. This investigation has also shown similarities between lay people and professionals in terms of perception and evaluation suggesting that common views between different users groups can be applied to develop a general commercial signage approach. Taking into account responses of users from the whole sample, the commercial street facades chosen as the best (street 1) and the worst (street 6) streets in terms of appearance by lay people were the same as those indicated by professionals. On the other hand, the findings have demonstrated that commercial street facades where commercial signage is ordered and the streetscape is characterized by a manufactured image tend to please more lay people than professionals. This result can explain one of the reasons that makes Gramado, in Brazil, such a popular and successful tourist destination from the point of view of people from several parts of this and other countries. This has also underlined the fact that public spaces which are seem negatively by design professionals, for example, can be attractive places for lay people. In this study, the professional group tends to sympathize with commercial street facades characterized by ordered commercial signs and historic heritage. The findings have shown that user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs have a significant influence on user satisfaction with the appearance of commercial street facades. On the other hand, there is no relationship between user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and user satisfaction with the appearance of commercial street facades. In addition, this study has indicated that user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs is influenced by the percentage of street facade coverage by these media. In this regard, this paper suggests that user satisfaction is influenced by the percentage of street facade covered by commercial signs and not by the number of shopfronts and windows displays. The evidence also show that the higher the user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facade coverage by commercial signs, the lower the user satisfaction with the appearance of commercial 46 street facades. Taking into account responses of users from the whole sample (361 users), it is relevant to note that (i) the street chosen by the highest number of users as the best street in terms of appearance has the lowest percentage of building facades coverage by commercial signs, and (ii) the street chosen by the highest number of users as the worst street in terms of appearance has the second highest coverage of building facades by commercial signage. These findings have reinforced the idea that what influences user satisfaction with the appearance of commercial street facades is the percentage of building facade covered by commercial signs. Moreover, this study has indicated that when almost all shopfronts are located in similar zones of different building facades in a street facade, user perception and evaluation of the percentage of building facades covered by these media decrease. This study suggests that a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres should instigate the development of polices to control the percentage of streetscape facade coverage by shopfronts and window displays and the location of these signs on building facades; these both factors influence satisfaction of users from different urban contexts. This approach should also take into account that a minimal amount of 9% of a streetscape coverage by commercial signs and a minimal amount of 0.85 square meters of these media per linear street meter are evaluated negatively by users from the different case studies. Furthermore, this study also suggests that: the higher the user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facades coverage by these media, the less pleasant, the more interesting, the less ordered, the more colorful, and the more complex the commercial street facades. In this regard, this investigation has indicated that this general approach to control commercial signage should focus on the control of the percentage of building facades coverage by commercial signs in order to increase user perception and evaluation of pleasure and order in commercial streets of historic city centres. Consequently, this control can lead to a decrease in user perception and evaluation of color variation and complexity, which when too high can affect negatively the visual quality of commercial streets. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México In conclusion, this investigation has identified common patterns of visual preferences among individuals from different urban contexts and distinct user groups (lay people and professionals). A possible future stage of this investigation might be the application of the same methodology in other case studies and countries in order to verify whether the same universal preferences would be found. If these findings can be found consistently among users from other urban contexts, then urban design principles that incorporate user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facades covered by these media can be addressed as theoretical concepts. These concepts could be applied to develop a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres of different urban contexts in order to promote commercial street facades evaluated positively by people from distinct countries. 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San Francisco: Ashgate Publishing Company. 48 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Environmental Evaluation of Hospital Waiting Rooms: Relationships of psychoenvironmental variables Patricia Ortega-Andeane and Cesareo EstradaRodriguez (School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) According to some theories (Canter and Canter, 1979), physical environment can play a decisive role in the effective functioning of hospitals, since it can help promote patient recuperation and staff activity and offer a comfortable, secure, and well-attended stay for users. In order for environmental characteristics to function for and not against therapeutic work, it is necessary to pay attention not only to architectural design but also to psychological concepts, which can define the difference between a positive and a negative environment. In this sense, Environmental Psychology has generated substantial information to improve the design of hospitals, supported by systematic findings, which analyze and evaluate the interaction of human relationships between environment and behavior. Rubin and Owens (1995), as well as Ulrich and Zimring (2004), have reviewed studies on the impact of physical environment in hospitals and reached the conclusion that most studies accept the hypothesis that environmental effects on patient health do exist. They emphasize the importance of further research in this field to suggest environmental improvements, which may favor patient recuperation. On the other hand, Shumaker and Pequegnat (1989) maintain that environmental organization and hospital design can directly affect patient recuperation or the well-being of users in two ways: one is the obstruction of effective and immediate provision of healthcare, since, from the patient’s point of view, the hospital layout interferes with the movements necessary for prompt healthcare; this is supported by the results reported by Reizenstein, Grant, and Simmons (1986) and Shumaker and Reizenstein (1982). On the other hand, physical features such as deficient lighting, excessive noise, inadequate localization of medical equipment, or large distances between related areas can indirectly hinder immediate Linking Differences / Defining Actions attention and create a stressful environment for users. Stress can be defined as the “condition manifested by a specific syndrome which consists of all non-specific modifications indicated within a biological system” (Selye, 1956, p. 54). However, this definition does not discriminate between psychological and physiological responses to stress. Various investigators (Baum, Singer and Baum, 1981; Evans and Cohen, 1987; Evans, 2001) have emphasized the psychological variables of stress and define it as “unpleasant physiological and psychological reactions to new stimuli which are demanding and frequently persistent” (Ittelson, Proshansky, Rivlin, and Winkel, 1974, p. 298). For Lazarus and Folkman (1984), stress is any demand or threat that seriously challenges the person’s adaptive abilities. Threat intensity of any potential stress source depends on primary appraisal, in other words the subject’s interpretation of the situation, as well as secondary appraisal, or evaluation of the subject’s own abilities and resources to cope with a potential stressor. Such interpretation is a function of the overall context within which the event occurs; it includes aspects of the individual’s physical, social, and psychological environment (previous experiences with a given stressor, motivation, attitudes, etc.) and transactions among these three factors (Stokols and Shumaker, 1981). Responses to a stressful event may be behavioral, physiological, and cognitive, and isolated or combined. The efficiency of a coping strategy depends on the context within which stress occurs and the individual’s ability to execute it (Shumaker and Reizenstein, 1992). Constant exposure to stress can deteriorate the organism’s physical and psychological resources (Selye, 1973). Patients can also become highly vulnerable to stress because their coping resources are diminished. As Folkman, Schaefer, and Lazarus (1979) point out “...a sick, tired, fragile, or somehow weakened person has less energy to cope” (p. 29). Coping resources are also diminished because of role dependency or because persons find themselves in unknown environments that depersonalize them and do not offer possibilities to control either themselves or the surrounding environment in which specific physical factors can represent obstacles to recovery. It is, then, extremely important to reduce the environmental influences that cause stress, which will otherwise jeopardize the process of convalescence or even prolong the patient’s illness. Stressing Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 49 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados factors of the physical environment at healthcare facilities can be classified, based on the theoretical assertions of Reizenstein, Grant, and Simmons (1986), in four fields: physical comfort, social contact, symbolic meaning, and wayfinding. The present study refers only to the factors that interfere with users’ physical comfort, among them humidity and noise. A major factor in the physical environment is air temperature, which is closely related to relative humidity and air movement: at the same temperature, humid, stagnant air is perceived as being much warmer than dry, moving air. When heat is excessive, physiological regulatory mechanisms are weakened and it becomes impossible to keep internal temperature within normal limits. Symptoms are uneasiness, weakness, nausea, and in their most severe form heat shock. Other symptoms include asthenia, characterized by easy fatigue, substandard physical and mental performance, irritability, loss of appetite, and insomnia. When heat levels are above 25ºC, people become uncomfortable, irritable, and, after prolonged exposure, fatigued (Bell and Greene, 1982). Noise is another environmental stress-causing factor. Noise is defined as unwanted sound characterized by its intensity, frequency, periodicity, and duration. Other important characteristics include predictability, source, and controllability. High noise levels (above 90 decibels) have been shown to increase catecholamine levels, blood pressure, heart rate, and skin conductance. Some research on noise shows that when subjects are instructed to reduce noise levels, cognitive effort decreases, as well as epinephrine and heart rate levels (Evans, 2001). Acute exposure to noise under laboratory conditions produces stress, tension, and annoyance. Some studies have found that aggression and hostility increase when the subject is exposed to noise, particularly if his anger or aggression has been aroused previously (Cohen and Spacapan, and Rule and Neasdale, cited in Evans and Cohen, 1987). Noise seems to interfere with the ability to differentiate features of people who play an important role in the individual’s interpersonal relationships, such as his best friend, for example. Unpredictable or uncontrollably high noise levels frequently cause a decrease of altruistic behavior or an increase of aggression. Some evidence mentions that constant exposure to noise leads to greater suscepti- 50 bility of learned egotism or lack of solidarity (Rotton, Olsewski, Charleston, and Soler and Cohen, cited in Evans and Cohen, 1987). In the case of patients in waiting rooms (McLaughlin, 1976), the waiting period can affect the expectations of the treatment they are about to receive. For visitors, the waiting period may vary from minutes to hours, in which they can be intensely bored or anxious. The size of the waiting room must therefore be planned considering the size of the expected population and anticipated waiting times. McLaughlin recommends spacious waiting rooms, with mobile furniture, which can easily be adapted to different circumstances. Thus, places to rest, talk, or be private can be created. Visual privacy can be achieved with small barriers or flowerpot stands. Acoustic privacy can be achieved by moving the furniture and with a carpet to muffle conversations. As described, physical environment plays an important role in preventing and diminishing stress producing factors at healthcare facilities. In this area, systematic results are needed to prove the existence of these stressing agents, which will in turn allow the application of preventive or reparatory measures which may not entail great expense but will represent great benefits for institutions, patients, and users. Based on the foregoing remarks, we propose to identify relationships between environmental conditions such as humidity and noise prevalent in hospital waiting rooms, waiting time before medical consultation, and perceptions of stress and exhaustion in patients waiting for medical consultation in three waiting rooms at a public general hospital. Method Site: Three waiting rooms: Room 1 is the hospital’s largest waiting area, measuring 118.80 square meters. It has 79 chairs divided by a corridor in two sections; on the right side there are 40 chairs for patients waiting for their first consultation, who, for this reason, have to first pass into the emergency ward; on the left side there are 35 chairs for patients with prior appointments in the outpatient ward. Waiting room 2 is a corridor with 48 chairs lined up on either side; it measures 66.24 square meters and is where patients wait to pass into consulting rooms 1 through 7 in the outpatient ward. This corridor has May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México windows facing a garden on the hospital grounds fronting the street. However, because the windows are positioned high in the wall they do not provide a view of the exterior, but offer only greater natural lighting and ventilation. Waiting room 3 is a corridor with 13 chairs arranged facing consulting rooms 8 through 15; it measures 52.92 square meters. It does not have natural lighting and is the internal access for people going to the hospital’s administrative offices. Sample: 253 women of ages ranging from 15 to 79 (x = 32.16), with educational levels of 24% (61 Ss.) with primary school, 35% (88 Ss.) with secondary school, 28% (70 Ss.) with high school, 9 % (22 Ss.) with university degrees, and 3% (8 Ss.) with no formal schooling. Measuring instruments and equipment: The Environmental Evaluation Scale (Ortega, 2002) was used to measure evaluation and perception of physical and socio-environmental factors, which consists of 35 pairs of opposite adjectives separated by six optional answer spaces. A factor analysis of principal components was used with Varimax rotation, which explains the 43% variance with four factors. The total reliability of the scale was obtained with the Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient, and was 0.89. For this study the factor known as Physical Evaluation was used with five bipolar pairs: cold-hot, silent-noisy, suffocating-cool, stifling-ventilated, tired-rested, which had an Eigen value of 1.49, explaining the 4.6% variance in the Environmental Evaluation Scale with 0.57 reliability. The Stress/Activation Adjective Check List developed by King, Burrows, and Stanley (1983) was translated and adapted to Spanish for the present study. Consists of 20 adjectives with a four-option answer scale: yes, certainly, maybe so, not sure, and not at all. Again, a factor analysis of principal components was conducted with Oblimin rotation, obtaining four factors with Eigen values greater than 1, which explain the 59% total variance. The factors are: I Stress, II Activation, III Exhaustion. For the present study we considered only the factors of stress and exhaustion. The total reliability obtained using Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.56. A Realistic Digital sonometer was used to measure ambient noise. A Brüel & Kjäer interior climate meter was used to record humidity. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Procedure Self reporting instruments were applied in the waiting rooms to patients who agreed to participate during outpatient ward service hours, and they were asked how long they had waited before their medical consultation. In parallel to this application, direct readings were taken at 30 minute intervals with the noise and humidity meters in all three waiting rooms. Results For a description of the environmental conditions that characterize the hospital waiting rooms studied, Figure 1 shows the intensity of environmental noise recorded (in decibels or dBA) with an average value of 59.5 dB(A) in a range of 55.17 dB(A) to 67.0 dB(A). These readings were taken over the course of a week between the hours of 8:00 and 2:30 p.m. We can observe a noise level of approximately 55-57 decibels at 8:00 a.m., which increases from 10:00 a.m. to noon with levels over 60 decibels, reaching approximately 67 decibels at around 10:30 a.m. and remaining above 60 decibels until the end of outpatient consulting hours. Figure 1. Mean environmental noise level in dB A in hospital waiting rooms. Figure 2 shows mean levels of environmental humidity in the three waiting rooms; according to applicable standards, values of 50% to 60% are considered pleasant; the readings obtained in the waiting rooms occasionally fall below 50%, resulting in a lowhumidity or dry environment, especially at the end of consulting hours. As regards environmental humidity, the average was 47.7% in room 1, 55.2% in room 2, and 53.8% in Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 51 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados room 3. Analysis of the variance revealed differences between the groups (F2,215 = 154.4, p = .000); on applying Scheffe’s test, we found significant differences between the average environmental humidity in rooms 1 and 2 (p<.000) and between rooms 1 and 3 (p < .000). Figure 2. Mean values of air humidity readings in waiting rooms during outpatient consulting hours. Waiting times reported by patients before receiving their medical consultation were in a range of 20 minutes and 4 hours and 30 minutes (x = 1 hour 28 minutes, DE = 1 hour); it is pertinent to mention that there are an average of 38 people in these rooms with between 8 and 62 people waiting for consultation, added to the fact that the waiting rooms are enclosed spaces with no natural or artificial ventilation. In order to determine the relationships between the perception of physical evaluation of the room and the corresponding physical evaluation, analyses were conducted with Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient for the factor physical evaluation of the room and the environmental variables of noise and humidity, as well as with the factors of stress and exhaustion and waiting time, obtaining the results shown in table 1. PHYSICAL EVALUATION OF THE ROOM HUMIDITY r = .309 p = .00 NOISE r = -.177 p = .03 STRESS r = -.193 p = .01 EXHAUSTION r = -.186 p = .01 WAITING TIME r =- .136 p = .05 Table 1. Correlations between variable if physical evaluation of the waiting room and levels of humidity, noise, stress, exhaustion, and waiting time before patients went in for their medical consultation in a public general hospital. Graph 3 shows averages for the factor “physical evaluation” in the three waiting rooms; an analysis of 52 variance detected significant differences (F2, 209 = 5.98, p= .00), identifying by means of Scheffe’s test (p < .002) a better physical evaluation in room 2 (with natural lighting and ventilation) than in rooms 1 and 3. Graph 3. Average perception of physical evaluation by type of waiting rooms. In other words, when patients evaluated their environment positively there were objectively observable optimum physical conditions of humidity and lower noise levels; at the same time, they reported a low level of stress and exhaustion and shorter waiting times before their medical consultation in the public general hospital for women. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results obtained and in the context of environmental research with a preventive orientation, we find that, using the theoretical assumptions of Environment-Individual Fit Theory (Kaminoff and Proshansky, 1982), which emphasizes the concept of maximum fit, (when the individual achieves her goals with a maximum of support and minimal interference from the physical environment) and the opposite (with minimal fit people receive a minimum of support and maximum interference from the environment), given that in our study we can identify conditions in which the physical environment does not support patients’ needs or requirements during their stay in waiting rooms. This lack of behavior-environment fit causes emotional states of stress, added to an institutional system that fails to adequately support the pursuit May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México of goals. More specifically, measurement of physical variables presents environmentally differential conditions: in relation to type of waiting room, room 1 has the poorest lighting and the lowest level of humidity, whereas room 3 lacks windows and has a low level of humidity. In general, all three have inadequate conditions, with humidity and noise levels that exceed acceptable standards during peak hours. Also, as regards perceptions of physical evaluation, waiting rooms are considered hot, noisy, suffocating, stifling, and tiring, especially in relation to the place patients waited and the time they had to wait. In other words, the evaluation of waiting rooms was worse when patients had to wait in an area used for transit to other parts of the hospital, which was consequently noisier and lacked adequate ventilation, and when they had to wait longer, resulting in more acute perceptions of stress and exhaustion. In conclusion, environmentally deficient spaces produce negative differential evaluations compared with those that are environmentally better equipped or enhanced. Similarly, the social system that supports a punctual (on schedule) medical consultation is important. In other words, perceptions of stress and the resulting exhaustion are accompanied by a negative evaluation of the physical conditions of places that fail to satisfy the needs of their principal users, in other words patients. The importance of considering waiting time coincides with the findings reported by Ortega and Aguilar (2003) in the sense that models for evaluating the quality of healthcare like that proposed by Donabedian (1993a, 1993b) should include the human components of a system to achieve total quality, and in particular those that allow providers to offer prompt and punctual attention. Similarly, Frenk (2003) underscores the importance of considering objective indicators such as waiting time before provision of medical services in institutional healthcare in order to raise the quality of healthcare in Mexico. The results of the present investigation coincide with the findings reported by Ortega, Reidl, Lopez, and Estrada (2000) in the sense that environmental conditions influence the spatial perception of hospital waiting rooms, and strengthen the validity of the previous results by measuring environmental conditions objectively add through self reporting in settings with different socio-environmental characteristics Linking Differences / Defining Actions and considering patients’ waiting time, and observing an increase in objective environmental indicators (noise and humidity), underscoring the importance of considering in the environment both human aspects and interior climate, noise, and waiting time before consultation, all of which directly influence spatial perception with the resulting impact on physical well being, considering, moreover, the physical and emotional vulnerability typical of the principal users of any hospital: its patients. References Baum, A., Singer, J. & Baum, C. (1981). Stress and the environment. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 4-35. Bell, P. & Greene, T. (1982). Thermal stress: Physiological, comfort, performance and social effects of hot and cold environments. In G. Evans (Ed.), Environmental stress (pp.75-104). London: Cambridge University Press. Canter, D. & Canter S. (1979). Building for therapy. In D. Canter & S. Canter (Eds.), Designing for therapeutic environments: A review of research, (pp.1-28). Chichester: Wiley. Donabedian, A. (1993a). Prioridades para el progreso de la evaluación y monitoreo de la calidad de la atención. Salud Pública de México, 35, 1, 94-97. Donabedian, A. (1993b). Quality assessment: The industrial model and the health care model. Clinical Performance and Quality Health Care, 1, 1, 51-52. Evans, G. & Cohen, S. (1987). Environmental stressors. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of Environmental Psychology. Vol. 1 (pp.571-610). New York : Wiley. Folkman, S., Schaefer, C. & Lazarus, R. (1979). Cognitive processes as mediators of stress and coping. In V. Hamilton & D. Warburton (Eds.), Human stress and cognition: An information processing approach. London: Wiley. Ittelson, W., Proshansky, H., Rivlin, L. & Winkel, G. (1974). An introduction to environmental psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Izumi, K. (1978). Fenómenos psicosociales y diseño de edificios. In H. Proshansky, W. Ittelson & L. Rivlin (Eds.), Psicología ambiental: El hombre y su entorno físico (pp.735-739). México: Trillas. Kaplan, S. (1983). A model of person-environment compatibility. Environment and Behavior, 15, 311-332. Kaminoff, R. & Proshansky, H. (1982). Stress as a consequence of the urban physical environment. In Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 53 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados L. Goldberger & S. Breznitz (Eds.), Handbook of stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects (pp. 380-409 ). New York: MacMillan Publishing. Kilday, P. (1979, July 8). Travellers go crazy in big Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Associated Press News Service, p. 8. King, M., Burrows, G. & Stanley, G. (1983). Measurement of stress and arousal: Validation of the stress/ arousal adjective checklist. British Journal of Psychology, 74, 473-479. Lazarus, R. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer. McLaughlin, H. (1976). The monumental headache: Overtly monumental and systematic hospitals are usually functional disasters. Architectural Record, 160, 1, 118. Ortega, P. (2002). Componentes físicos y sociales del ambiente generadores de estrés en hospitales. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Ortega, P. Reidl, L., López, E. & Estrada, C. (2000). La percepción social y su relación con variables físicas y socioambientales en un escenario para el cuidado de la salud. In Psicología Social en México. Vol. VIII (pp. 535-542). México: AMEPSO. Reizenstein, G., Grant, M. y Simmons, P. (1986). Design that cares. Chicago: American Hospital Publishing. Rubin, H. & Owens, A. (1995). A concept paper to develop a research agenda to determine the effects or the healthcare environment on patients’ health outcomes. Unpublished manuscript The Center for Health Design. Alhambra, California. Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York: McGrawHill. Selye, H. (1973). The evolution of the stress concept. American Scientist, 61, 692-699. Shumaker, S. & Pequegnat, W. (1989). Hospital design and the delivery of effective healthcare. In E. H. Zube & G. T. Moore (Eds.), Advances in environment, behavior and design. Vol. 2 (pp.161-199). New York: Plenum. Shumaker, S. & Reizenstein, J. (1982). Environmental factors affecting inpatient stress in acute care hospitals. In G. Evans (Ed.), Environmental stress (pp.179-223). London: Cambridge University Press. Stokols, D. (1977). Origins and directions of environment-behavior research. In D. Stokols (Ed.), Perspectives on environment and behavior. Theory, research and applications (pp. 149-171). New York: Plenum. 54 Stokols, D. & Shumaker, S. (1981). People in places: A transactional view of settings. In J. Harvey (Ed.), Cognition social behavior and the environment (pp.441-488). Hilldale, NJ: Earlbaum. Ulrich, R. & Zimring, C. (2004). The role or the physical environment in the hospital of the 21 century: A once in a lifetime opportunity. Report to the Center for Health Design. Unpublished manuscript. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Alternative Officing La satisfacción del trabajo y el compromiso organizacional en la alternativa laboral Seunghae Lee (Purdue University, Indiana) 1. Introduction Technological advances and economic and social changes have freed employees from traditional office settings, allowing them to work in non-traditional environments. The new workspaces, although taking many forms, both in and away from their corporate locations, are generally being referred to under the generic or umbrella phrase “alternative officing.” Increasingly, organizations in both the public and private sectors are considering or actually implementing non-traditional or alternative officing strategies. U.S. General Services Administration (USGSA, 2007) defined alternative officing as nontraditional workplace arrangement. The positive perception that alternative officing benefits employees and their organizations with high employee morale, productivity, flexibility and low turnover rate is widespread and generally accepted (Kurland & Bailey, 1999; O’Connell, 1996; Whiting, 1997; Gittleman, Horrigan, & Joyce, 1998; Lovelace, 2000; Wilkes, Frolick, & Urwiler, 1994). However, there is a very limited number of studies that show the specific factors that serve as positive or negative roles on perceptions and behaviors of employees who work under alternative officing. The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the relationship between various factors in alternative officing and employees’ attitudes such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction in an effort to test anecdotal assumptions about the relationship. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Alternative officing When developing an alternative officing strategy, organizations consider specific alternative officing choices Linking Differences / Defining Actions within two general types –onsite or offsite alternative work arrangements (Froggatt, 1998; Robertson, 1999). This study investigated both types of alternative officing strategies. Despite the reported benefits of alternative officing, studies have suggested a number of challenges related to alternative officing, including resistance to change, reduced communication, employees’ feelings of social isolation, and the costs of additional information technology, furniture, and equipment (Davenport & Pearson, 1998; Wilkes et al., 1994; Joice, 2000). A survey on alternative officing showed more than 50 percent of the organizations indicated that poor organizational support was the greatest obstacle to successful alternative officing (Piskurich, 1996). 2.2. Job Satisfaction Locke (1976) defines job satisfaction as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences.” Borgatta & Ford (1970) indicate that to provide more satisfaction for employees, it is important for organizations to find ways to motivate employees through organizational restructuring. One of the frequently studied topics in job satisfaction is its relationship to office environment (Zalesney & Farace, 1988). It is assumed that the dimensions and characteristics of alternative officing would affect job satisfaction because they would benefit employees in many ways, including providing a balance between work and life situations as well as flexibility. Job satisfaction research with respect to alternative officing is in the beginning stages. Whiting (1997) measured employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment in a traditional work environment and in an alternative office after they moved into it from a traditional one. The results showed that employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment did not decrease after they moved into an alternative office. A private consulting firm conducted another study, which indicated that more than half of the companies implementing alternative officing reported higher job satisfaction among employees than they had experienced before implementing it (Caldwell, 1997). Numerous have suggested that organizational commitment is related to job satisfaction (Mossholder & Bedein, 1983; Rousseau, 1985; Bateman & Strasser, 1984; Mathieu & Hamel, 1989; Morris & Steers, 1980). Good, Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 55 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Page, Jr., and Young (1996) reported that job satisfaction works as a mediator in the relationship of organizational commitment and its antecedents. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados 2.3. Organizational Commitment Studies have found that organizational commitment is related to employees’ absenteeism, intention to leave, and turnover (Ko, Price, & Mueller, 1997). This linkage from organizational commitment to employees’ withdrawal behaviors has attracted organizational researchers’ attention as organizations will achieve the advantage if they can manage these withdrawal behaviors (Colbert & Kwon, 2000). Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979) define organizational commitment as “the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization.” Recently, there have been a significant number of studies on organizational commitment (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 1982; Allen & Meyer, 1990). The increased interest in organizational commitment has resulted in developments of theory as well as research tools. Organizational commitment has several layers of concepts in its construct, which makes a measurement of organizational commitment harder and more complicated (O’Reilly, Sr. & Chatman, 1986; Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002). To resolve this complexity, Meyer, Allen, and colleagues (Meyer and Allen, 1984; Meyer, Allen, & Gellatly, 1990; Meyer, Bobochel, & Allen, 1991; Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993) developed a multifaceted tool with several dimensions of commitment. Their multifaceted tool includes three dimensions of commitment: affective, continuance, and normative. Affective commitment refers to an emotional attachment to the organization, such that employees remain because they want to do so. Continuance commitment is based on an employee’s perception about the cost of leaving. In other words, employees continue employment because they feel they have to do so. Normative commitment reflects a perceived obligation to maintain membership in an organization. Although research on the impact of alternative officing to organizational commitment is rare, it is assumed that alternative officing influences employees to be more motivated and committed to the organization. Studies have supported this possibility, showing that alternative officing reduces employee turnover rate 56 and absenteeism and improves employees’ productivity (Van Horn & Storen, 2000). 2.4. Perceived Organizational Support Organizational support is considered as an important factor in achieving a successful and effective alternative officing (Gittleman et al., 1998; Frogatt, 1998). Also, it will play an important role in employee job performance considering that they are in a new type of work environment and so would experience difficulties that they would not have to cope with in a traditional work environment. Employees personify the organization and expect care for their well-being from the organization when they commit themselves to the organization. The employeeorganization relationship is reciprocal in nature and perceived organizational support is based on such a nature (Laschinger, Purdy, Cho, & Almost, 2006). Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchson, and Sowa (1986) found that a positive relationship exists between perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. Shore and Wayne (1993) used a different method than Eisenberger et al. (1986) to study the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. They focused on perceived organizational support and organizational commitment as antecedents of employee behavior, studying such factors as organizational citizenship and impression management and found that perceived organizational support was a better predictor of organizational citizenship and impression management than was organizational commitment. 3. Methods 3.1. Subjects The population of this study consisted of employees who work one day or more per week in alternative offices including home offices, hoteling, satellite offices, telework centers, free-address offices, and shared offices. Self-employed workers are not considered as part of the population group in this study. Employees in different organizations of private and public sectors were invited to participate in an Internet survey. One hundred seventy employees participated in the survey, and one hundred forty-eight completed responses were used in the data analyses. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México 3.2. Variables 3.2.1. Perceived organizational support The nine-item short form of the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS; Rhodes, Eisenberger, & Armeli, 2001) was used to measure perceived organizational support. (Cronbach’s alpha= .92). The survey included questions such as (a) “My organization really cares about my well-being,” (b) “My organization strongly considers my goals and values,” (c) “My organization shows little concern for me,” (reverse coded). Hypothesis: Employees’ perceived organizational support is significantly related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment in alternative officing. 3.2.2. Alternative officing experiences Four items were presented to determine the level and nature of employees’ experiences with alternative officing. The subjects were asked to indicate if participating in alternative officing was voluntary or not. Subjects were asked to indicate by percentage the average work time they spend in their alternative offices per week among five choices: 1% to 20%, 21% to 40%, 41% to 60%, 61% to 80%, and 81% to 100%. Tenure in alternative officing was asked to indicate among four choices: less than 1 year, 1 year to 2 years, 3 year to 5 years, and over 5 years. The tenure related questions were derived from the study by Lease (1998). Tenure with the company was defined in this study as ‘time working at that particular company’ and tenure with job was defined as ‘time working at a particular job.’ Subjects were asked to indicate how long they have been with the job and the company. The choices for both questions are less than 2 years, 2 to 5 years, 6 to 10 years, 11 to 20 years, and over 20 years. Hypothesis: Employees’ alternative officing experiences including having multiple alternative offices, voluntary participation in alternative officing, work time percentage in alternative offices, and tenure with alternative officing are significantly related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment in alternative officing. 3.2.3. Employment characteristics Four items were identified to measure individual employment characteristics. Subjects were asked to indicate the number of hours they work per week among five choices: less than 20 hours, 20 hours to 30 hours, Linking Differences / Defining Actions 31 hours to 40 hours, 41 hours to 50 hours, and over 50 hours. Job types in this study included clerical, managerial, professional, sales, and other. Hypothesis: Employees’ employment characteristics including work hours, job type, tenure with job, and tenure with organization are significantly related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment in alternative officing. 3.2.4. Organizational commitment Examination of Eigenvalues, scree plot, and factor loadings all indicated a two factor solution of organizational commitment: affective commitment and continuance commitment (Cronbach’s alpha= .92 for affective commitment and .93 for continuance commitment). Affective commitment was measured with six items that were originally used by Rhodes, Eisenberger, and Armeli (2001) and Meyer, Allen, and Gellatly (1990) developed the tool and Rhodes et al. (2001) modified it into a short form. The previously reported reliability from Meyer and Allen was .86. Continuance commitment was tested with the 8-item measurement tool from Meyer, Allen, and Gellatly (1990). The previously reported reliability for the scale was .82. Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement using a 5-point Likert-type scale (strongly disagree=1 to strongly agree=5). Hypothesis: Job satisfaction is a mediator between independent variables and organizational commitment. 3.2.5. Job satisfaction. A six-item version of the Michigan Scale of Facetfree Job Satisfaction was modified from Sundstrom, Town, Rice, Osborn, and Brill (1994). Using the current data, the internal consistency reliability (i.e., Cronbach’s alpha) of .90 was found. 4. Results and Discussions 4.1. Correlations (see Table 4-1) Employees who reported more perceived support from their organizations reported more emotional commitment to their organizations. Employees with more than one alternative office locations reported more continuance commitment to their organizations. In this study, when employees reported that they spent more time in alternative offices, they reported higher job satisfaction. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 57 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Employees with longer working hours reported more affective commitment with their organizations and employees who worked with their organization longer reported higher affective commitment and job satisfaction. In addition, employees who had higher satisfaction with their job reported more affective commitment. Variables Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Perceived organizational support Having multiple alternative office Voluntary participation Work hours in alternative office Tenure with alternative officing Work hours Job type Tenure with job Tenure with organization Job satisfaction Affective commitment *p < .05; **p < .01, ***p<.001 Job Satisfaction .636*** .116 .055 .254* .123 .066 .043 .032 .221* Affective Commitment .637*** -.046 .009 .143 .172* .179* .049 .156 .383*** .634*** Continuance Commitment .029 .361*** .071 .070 .041 .031 -.056 .001 .061 .093 -.164 Table 4-1. Correlations between Variables 4.2. Multiple Regression Analyses and Path Analyses 4.2.1. The relationship between perceived organizational support and employees’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction (see Model 1 in Table 4-2) The variables that showed significant correlations with dependent variables were used for regression analyses. The findings suggested that employees’ perceived organizational support was a significant predictor of job satisfaction and affective commitment. This result is consistent with prior research that suggested organizational support is positively related to affective organizational commitment (Eisenberger et al., 1990). It was suggested from previous research that organizational support is one of the most important factors for successful alternative officing (Gittleman et al., 1998; Bergsman, 1995; Frogatt, 1998). Employees may consider the opportunity to be in alternative officing as their organizations’ efforts to support them, and this perception will make them feel satisfied with their job because they may assume that the benefit comes from having the job. Employees may also feel emotional attachment to their organizations. 58 4.2.2. The relationship between alternative officing experiences and employees’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction (see Table 4-2) In this investigation, having multiple alternative offices was positively correlated to continuance commitment. One explanation is that having more than one alternative office location gives more options to the employees and they feel that it would be hard for them to leave the organization because of the benefits they get from those flexibility. On the other hand, it is interesting to find that it did not affect employees’ emotional attachment to their organizations (affective commitment) or satisfaction with their jobs. 4.2.3. The relationship between employment characteristics and employees’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction (see Table 4-2) Tenure with organization had positive impact on employees’ affective commitment (Model 2). It may be because employees who worked in their organizations for a longer time stayed with their organizations because they feel more affective attachment to their organizations. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Variables Model 1 Job Satisfaction (ß) F-Value=11.40*** .60*** -.07 .14 .11 -.01 .08 Perceived organizational support Having multiple alternative office Work hours in alternative office Tenure with alternative officing Work hours Tenure with organization *p < .05; **p < .01, ***p<.001 Model 2 Affective Commitment(ß) F-Value=14.41*** .60*** - .01 -.01 .10 .09 .23** Model 3 Continuance Commitment(ß) F-Value=2.47* .05 .40*** -.05 .10 .07 -.01 Notes: ß = standardized betas Table 4-2. Multiple Regression Analyses in Direct Models Refereed Full-Papers 4.2.4. The mediating effect of job satisfaction from predictor variables to organizational commitment (see Table 4-3) Job satisfaction showed partial mediating impact from perceived organizational to affective commitment. Employees’ greater perceptions of perceived organizational support resulted in their stronger affective attachment to their organizations. In addition, employees who perceived more support from their organizations also felt more satisfaction with their jobs, and this satisfaction eventually led to loyalty and attachment to their organizations. On the other hand, job satisfaction affected the relationship between perceived organizational support and continuance commitment by fully mediating. These results indicate that when employees perceive more support from their organizations, they feel more satisfied with their jobs, reducing a feeling of entrapment to their organizations (Shore and Tetrick, 1991). The results on this mediating effect of job satisfaction from a predictor Variables Model 4 Affective Commitment(ß) F-Value=15.33*** Perceived organizational support Having multiple alternative office Work hours in alternative office Tenure with alternative officing Work hours Tenure with organization Job Satisfaction *p < .05; **p < .01, ***p<.001 variable to continuance organizational commitment is interesting and worth attention. Job satisfaction did not show any correlation with continuance commitment (see Table 4-1). However, job satisfaction showed a negative effect on continuance commitment in its regressional analysis with perceived organizational support in the analysis model (see Model 5 in Table 4-3). The perceived organizational support did not have any effect on the continuance commitment in the model (see Model 5 in Table 4-3). The perceived organizational support showed positive effects on job satisfaction in its regressional analysis (see Model 1 in Table 4-2). This path analysis shows the complete mediating effect of job satisfaction from perceived organizational support to continuance commitment. It indicates that even though employees perceive supports from organizations, if they do not feel satisfied with their job, it would not decrease their feeling of entrapment with their organizations. .40*** .01 -.05 -.06 .10 .20** .33*** Notes: ß = standardized betas Model 5 ContinuanceCommitment(ß) F-Value=3.08** .24 .38*** -.01 .14 .07 .02 -.32* Table 4-3. Multiple Regression Analyses in Indirect Models (with job satisfaction in the Model) Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 59 Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados 4.3. Limitations of Study The findings obtained are clearly preliminary and need replication –especially with larger samples from a more diverse setting in terms of different industrial types, alternative officing types, and geographic locations. In addition, a different method could be used to collect data from more diverse samples such as mail surveys, interviews, or telephone surveys to reduce bias due to limitations from the Internet survey method that did not include employees who chose not to participate in an electronic survey. Next, this study uses employees’ self-reports to measure both the independent and dependent variables, which increases the risk of shared-method variance. Hence, future studies may want to consider using multiple sources for data collection (e.g., company records of job tenure, or employer reports of organizations support). 5. Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that employees’ perceived organizational support plays an important role in the commitment process, helping to explain how employees’ perceived organizational support influences job satisfaction, and eventually, affective commitment and continuance commitment. Also, the results indicated that employees’ tenure with alternative officing and their work hours were positively related to organizational commitment. Having multiple alternative office locations was positively related to continuance commitment. Tenure with organizations was positively related to affective commitment and job satisfaction. The results not only contribute to an understanding of the organizational commitment process based on the empirical study, but also provide practical implications for managers. Future research designed to address the limitations of this study should provide an even greater understanding of organizational commitment. References: Allen, N. J. & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 53, 337-348. Bateman, T. S. & Strasser, S. (1984). A longitudinal analysis of the antecedents of organizational commitment. 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Job satisfaction as a mediator of the relationship between role stressors and organizational commitment. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17, 250-266. United States General Services Association. (2007). Alternative Officing Information. Retrieved June 10, 2007 from http://www.gsa.gov/ Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_ OVERVIEW&contentId=15261&noc=T Zalesny, M. D. & Farrace, R. V. (1988). Job function, sex, and environment as correlates of work perceptions and attitudes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 179-202. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 61 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Outdoor Space for Aging: Environmental Assessment and Survey of Assisted Living Residents and Staff Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados have been found to value outdoor space, and it is likely that even moderate amounts of time outdoors may potentially improve physical health and psychological well-being. Espacios abiertos para la vejez: contribución ambiental y la perspectiva de los residentes y el staff asistidos Susan Rodiek (Texas A&M University) PROJECT ABSTRACT OUTDOOR SPACE is an important component of residential care settings, and may potentially benefit the health and quality of life of aging residents. However, the usability of outdoor space depends largely on appropriate architectural design: where are the outdoor spaces located, how do they connect with indoor circulation routes, and how does the building envelope help shape the spaces? This study explored usable outdoor space from the perspective of assisted living residents and staff (N = 1490) at 68 randomly selected facilities, located in three climatically diverse regions of the U.S. Written surveys and videotaped interviews documented outdoor usage and preference for specific environmental features. An environmental assessment tool was developed to evaluate the main outdoor spaces and indoor-outdoor transition zones at each facility. Results found that outdoor usage was significantly correlated with residents’ physical activity levels, overall health, and satisfaction with the environment. PROBLEM STATEMENT Why do older residents need outdoor space? Recent research has found that spending time outdoors can have significant health benefits for older adults. Improvements in mood, sleep patterns, and hormone balance may be associated with outdoor usage, partly due to increased physical activity, exposure to bright outdoor light, and contact with nature elements (Babyak et al., 2001; Rodiek, 2006). For example, a large study in Tokyo found better health and significantly increased longevity in older adults with better access to outdoor green spaces (Takano et al., 2002). Seniors 62 Figure 1. Usable outdoor space can provide connectivity between buildings. Why is outdoor space often under utilized? In spite of known benefits and apparent interest in going outdoors, it is widely reported that many outdoor areas at existing facilities are under utilized (Cutler & Kane, 2005; Kearney & Winterbottom, 2005). While elderly residents have been found to highly value outdoor access, they may be discouraged from going outdoors by poor facility design and layout. With little or no increase in cost, the senior housing industry could encourage outdoor usage by using evidence-based design principles in planning outdoor space. Unfortunately, few studies have attempted to measure the relationship between outdoor space design, and subsequent usage by residents and staff. The following example shows how direct field observation helps us better understand residents’ needs and preferences: “A story that illustrates this issue involves housing in an Eastern city. The architect concerned with noise and fumes from traffic along an adjacent street sited the building away from this potentially annoying source. (An enclosed courtyard was created that)…included bench seating and other activities. Residents, however, found the street activity far preferable to the passive, deadly inactivity of the courtyard. Every day residents would carry light aluminum chairs around the building and position them to take full advantage of the activity along the heavily trafficked street away from which the building had been carefully oriented.” (Regnier 1985, p. 4) May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY Main objectives This study focused on learning more about seniors’ needs for outdoor access, so that future facilities may be designed to encourage optimal use of the outdoors, in order to potentially benefit residents’ health and quality of life. A major goal was to complete a more comprehensive examination than was previously available on this topic. Specific objectives were: - Assess a large number of facilities and residents in diverse climates - Develop an objective tool that could be used to evaluate outdoor environments - Examine how design affects outdoor usage and environmental satisfaction - Develop strategies for applying evidence-based principles to design projects This preliminary report provides descriptive findings and correlations between outdoor usage and satisfaction with 1) resident demographic factors, and 2) resident assessment of outdoor features and qualities, as well as correlations between staff and resident surveys. Figure 2. Outdoor areas can support multiple behavioral goals: security, autonomy, social interaction, contact with nature. METHODS: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TOOL Creating a valid instrument A focused literature review was conducted on published best-practice design guidelines and recent research in the fields of gerontology, therapeutic landscape design, and environmental design for aging, based on relevance to this topic. From this review, an Linking Differences / Defining Actions annotated matrix of specific design recommendations was developed, which was compared and correlated to develop themes. After cross-referencing and combining the design elements that appeared most frequently, several main categories emerged as being most important. These were then organized into seven categories according to the behavioral motivation or “affordances” provided for residents, rather than by different types of environmental elements (Figure 2 exemplifies this approach). This would allow future studies to compare outcomes from environmental interventions with the behavioral goals that have been established for the overall well-being of older adults. While many of the published guidelines used for reference were based on practitioner experience of designers and care providers rather than scholarly studies, the high levels of agreement between widely different sources helps to validate this information source and the resulting environmental assessment instrument. See Regnier (2002) for a comparative overview of behavioral goals compiled from multiple sources. Creating a reliable instrument After repeated pre-testing and revision, teams of evaluators visited different long term care facilities, and used the instrument to evaluate the outdoor space and indoor-outdoor connections. Inter-rater reliability testing on the seven domains was surprisingly high, even when evaluators were included with no prior knowledge or experience in this field. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were well above .90 on many of the separate principles and overall ratings, with a mean overall correlation of .93 (correlation of .70 is often considered minimally reliable; higher scores are considered good). Seven Principles of Outdoor Space for Aging Based on analysis and categorization in the literature review and matrix, the following “seven principles” were developed as the main elements included in the assessment instrument. Data were also collected on several other potentially relevant issues at the facility-wide level (e.g., outdoor activity programs, children’s playgrounds, policies toward pets, staff attitudes toward residents’ outdoor usage, ambient light, and noise levels in outdoor spaces). The underlying assumption is that all the environmental principles are hypothesized to encourage and support outdoor Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 63 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados usage by residents. The principles are described below in terms of the features/ qualities they would have in ideal circumstances: 1. CONTACT WITH THE WORLD BEYOND THE FACILITY: This outdoor area provides contact with the larger world residents have left behind, by creating opportunities to watch and/or interact with people, elements, and/or activities beyond the facility – this may include mail deliveries, nearby roads, etc. 2. INDOOR-OUTDOOR CONNECTION: This outdoor area is extremely easy to see and reach, because the doorway is very visible and convenient from the main indoor places where residents spend time. Comfortable transition zones are located both inside and outside the doorway, making it easy to linger near the doorway. 3. FREEDOM, CHOICE, and VARIETY: This outdoor space tends to foster a sense of freedom in residents. The physical environment supports their autonomy and independence by providing a variety of locations, activities, focal points, views, seating, etc., that allow residents to choose among alternatives. 4. COMFORTABLE AND ACCESSIBLE: Residents have little difficulty navigating and using this outdoor area in comfort, because it is designed and maintained with their diminished physical, functional, sensory, and cognitive abilities in mind. 5. ENJOYMENT OF NATURE: This outdoor area allows residents to view, enjoy, and relate to a variety and abundance of nature elements, especially those found to be preferred by older adults, such as flowers, greenery, trees, water, and wildlife. 6. PLACE TO BE ACTIVE: This outdoor space provides well-landscaped, safe, and comfortable walkways. It may also provide places for feasible activities such as games, stretching/ exercise stations, swimming, etc. 7. SAFE AND SECURE: This outdoor area allows residents to feel safe and secure while outdoors, especially in terms of the risk of falling, because it is designed and maintained to minimize elements that may be hazardous or dangerous. 64 Figure 3. Resident getting exercise on outdoor walkways Conducting environmental assessments At each facility, the most heavily-used outdoor areas were identified and evaluated separately, using a checklist. Evaluators used a scale from 1-10 to rate sets of sub-principles (total = 63) listed under each of the seven main design principles (these scores were later averaged to obtain the overall rating for each principle, in each of the outdoor spaces). Two trained research assistants independently completed the assessments; their scores were averaged for the final ratings. The same two individuals conducted the environmental assessments at all facilities and regions throughout the study, to reduce confounding factors. Assessments were scheduled at the times of year determined to have the most favorable weather conditions for each region, according to recent NOAA weather records (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, 1997-2007), in order to increase the likelihood of resident outdoor usage during the study. No assessments were conducted in extreme conditions such as rainstorms or weather that was locally considered unseasonable. METHODS: RESIDENT AND STAFF SURVEYS Developing appropriate questionnaire forms The pencil-and-paper survey forms were designed specifically with the needs of older adults in mind, so they would be easy to understand and respond to, and not have so many questions they would be fatiguing. The typeface, questions, and response formats were pre-tested extensively with residents in non-participating facilities; all were revised several times to make the survey as clear and effortless as possible for May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México residents. Staff surveys were designed to be completed very quickly. The final surveys had 44 questions for residents, and 40 for staff; both included optional write-in response categories. Choosing regions and facilities Of the ten largest “megapolitan” areas currently emerging in the U.S., three were identified as having the greatest comparative diversity of climate: ‘Gulf Coast’, ‘Midwest’, and ‘Cascadia’ (Lang & Dhavle, 2005; Fovell & Fovell, 1993). As assisted living facilities are more prevalent in urban areas (Hawes, 2003), this study was conducted in the largest city at the core of each of these megapolitan areas: Houston, Chicago, and Seattle (see Figures 4, 5). This provided examples of: a warm-winter climate with very hot summers (Houston), a moderate-summer climate with very cold winters (Chicago), and a year-round mild-temperature climate with high levels of rainfall (Seattle). Recruiting facilities, residents, and staff Within each region, a two-hour driving diameter was established that included the majority of assisted living facilities found in that vicinity. From this area, the participating facilities were randomly selected from the state list of all registered assisted living facilities with resident capacity of 50 or greater. Facilities were recruited by telephone, with a participation acceptance rate of about 70%. About 15% of participating facilities were not-for-profit; the remainder were for-profit. A randomized selection process for individual participants was pre-tested and determined to be unfeasible within the constraints facilities typically operate under, so residents and staff were recruited directly by facility administrators. About 80% of participating residents, and 90% of staff, were women. Staff were recruited from all levels, in fairly equal numbers. The average resident age was 84, and the average staff age was 44. A team of research assistants traveled to each facility, and helped residents fill out survey forms as needed. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Figure 4. Primary emerging megapolitan regions in different climates (Lang & Dhavale 2005) Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Figure 5. Cities used in this study: Houston, Chicago, and Seattle ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Data preparation and analysis Surveys were coded during data entry to protect the confidentiality of responses. Environmental assessments and surveys were aggregated into a database, so individuals and facilities could not be identified. Descriptive statistics were prepared using SPSS software, and correlational analyses used Spearman rho and Pearson correlation coefficients. Survey highlights The surveys indicated that residents and staff had strong interest in using outdoor space at their residential communities, with about 95% of both categories indicating they cared about spending time outdoors. About 65% of residents said that spending time outdoors made them feel “better than before”, and a surprising 95% of staff reported feeling better after being outdoors. Over 80% of residents preferred to do their walking “mostly outdoors” or “half indoors/ half outdoors”, but about 40% reported that walkways and Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 65 outdoor areas were either “not very well-designed” or “partly well-designed” for seniors. Residents’ survey results compared with their outdoor usage The factors that were found to be associated with levels of outdoor usage are shown in Table 1, with the higher numbers showing stronger correlation. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados It was found that residents who spent more time outdoors: • Had better self-reported health • Reported being more physically active • Did more walking just for the sake of exercise • Had family/ visitors who also used the facility outdoor areas It was found that residents who spent less time outdoors: • Were more concerned about the possibility of falling • Said that outdoor areas were hard to see and reach • Reported being more bothered by smoking Residents who went outdoors more often also reported that they stayed out longer, and were more satisfied with the outdoor spaces. Those who had lived at the facility longer, reported spending less time outdoors, but levels of outdoor usage were not found to be associated with gender, age, or the number of ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living) they needed help with. Residents with poor vision or a history of serious falls reported less outdoor usage than others, but the difference was not significant. Those who had spent more time outdoors in childhood were found to spend more time outdoors at their facility, and also had greater satisfaction with the outdoor areas. Demographic and preference variables associated with resident outdoor usage Frequency of Variable Tenure Self-reported health status Childhood experience of outdoor use Care about outdoors Feelings from being outdoors Satisfaction with outdoors Family stay duration Frequency of family outdoor usage Physical activity Walking frequency Walking duration Duration of outdoor Satisfaction with outdoor usage usage outdoors -.172(**) .159(**) .119(*) .379(**) .351(**) .279(**) .060 .263(**) .350(**) .283(**) .301(**) -.123(*) .060 .064 .322(**) .344(**) .302(**) .188(**) .173(**) .141(*) .200(**) .340(**) .025 .140(*) .167(**) .217(**) .168(**) 1.000 .125(*) .281(**) .105 .088 .211(**) Frequency of Duration of outdoor Satisfaction with outdoor usage .120(*) .096 -.074 -.100 .096 .089 -.165(**) -.060 usage .060 .023 -.040 -.012 .138(*) .051 -.192(**) -.063 outdoors .389(**) .248(**) .117(*) -.180(**) .299(**) .238(**) -.053 -.070 Residents’ opinions on outdoor space associated with resident outdoor usage Variable Well-designed for seniors Walkways well-designed Amount of greenery Lack of access/ visibility Comfort of outdoor areas Adequate seating Worried about falling Bothered by smoking Table 1. Significant associations of variables with outdoor satisfaction and outdoor usage (by frequency and duration) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). NOTE: Responses were ordinal (3-point to 9-point scales), and treated as continuous variables for this preliminary analysis. 66 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Residents’ statements on how they felt after going outdoors A strong majority of residents reported experiencing positive effects from spending time outdoors. Sample comments include statements that they typically felt: • “invigorated, refreshed, more alive” • “I can breathe better” • “4-5 years younger” • “feel like I have helped my health” • “clearer, in contact with God” What residents liked least about the outdoor areas Residents described many elements they found less than satisfying in outdoor areas; most of these fell into the categories addressed in the environmental assessment, and further layers of analysis will determine how closely researcher’s assumptions aligned with residents’ opinions. Typical comments included: • “not enough comfortable chairs” • “not enough shady areas for sitting” • “not too conducive to walking” • “places are usually full” • “not enough area close to the entrance” • “wish there was a flower garden” What residents would like to add to existing outdoor areas While many residents were satisfied with existing conditions, a surprising number made suggestions for improvement, when asked if they “could add one thing, what would it be?” Most suggestions related to one or more of the environmental assessment principles; typical comments included saying they would like to see: • “comfortable chairs for individual needs” • “a place we can feed the birds and ducks” • “large tree/ ample shade” • “more area for family members to barbecue or have fun” • “more benches to sit outside with friends” • “more places with awning overhead, to allow us to stay out but protected” Comparing resident and staff outdoor usage Staff members reported going outdoors nearly as often as residents, but stayed a shorter time. Figures 6 and 7 show the relative differences between staff and residents, in terms of how often they went outdoors, and how long they stayed there. It was somewhat surprising to see how often staff used the outdoor spaces; however, they did not stay out as long as residents, presumably due to work pressures. Compare resident and staff outdoor usage "How OFTEN do you use the outdoor spaces?" Compare resident and staff outdoor usage "How long do you usually STAY outdoors?" 25 Percentage Percentage 30 20 15 10 5 0 never seldom or almost never every month tw ice a month Resident outdoor usage every w eek 2-3 per w eek every day 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 more than once a day zero Staff outdoor usage 5 about 15 about 30 about 45 about minutes minutes minutes minutes one hour or less Resident outdoor usage about one & half hours tw o hours or more Staff outdoor usage Figure 6. Comparing resident and staff usage: How OFTEN they go Figure 7. Comparing resident and staff usage: How long they STAY outdoors outdoors. Staff confirmation of residents’ levels of outdoor usage In addition to collecting information about the staff themselves, staff surveys were used to confirm the selfreported responses of residents. Although self-reports are often considered to be of questionable accuracy, the Linking Differences / Defining Actions staff reports of how often residents went outdoors and how long they stayed, in most cases closely mirrored what residents themselves had reported (see Figures 8 and 9). Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 67 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados 60 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 seldom or almost never every month tw ice a month Resident self-reported usage Papeles Seleccionados 50 40 30 20 10 0 never Refereed Full-Papers Com pare resident and staff perception of resident outdoor usage: "How long do RESIDENTS usually STAY outdoors?" Percentage Percentage Compare resident and staff perception of resident outdoor usage: "How OFTEN do RESIDENTS use the outdoor spaces?" every w eek 2-3 per w eek every day more than once a day Staff report of resident usage zero 5 minutes about 15 about 30 about 45 about or less minutes minutes minutes one hour Resident self-reported usage about one & half hours tw o hours or more Staff report of resident usage Figure 8. Comparing resident and staff perceptions of HOW Figure 9. Comparing resident and staff perceptions of HOW LONG OFTEN residents go outdoors residents STAY outdoors DISCUSSION Limitations of the study This study had numerous limitations, some of which could be corrected in further studies, and some of which are characteristic of the populations and issues being explored. It was found to be unfeasible to randomly select either residents or staff, as the process even without randomization was somewhat burdensome to administrators assisting with the project. As the main level of environmental analysis is at the facility-wide level, even the relatively large sample of 68 facilities is not sufficient to overcome the effects of confounding variables that certainly exist. By choosing the larger urban areas, this study represents more affluent facilities and residents than if it had been conducted in rural areas and small towns. Finally, although strong correlation was found that linked outdoor usage to better health and higher physical activity levels, this does not determine the direction of causality. Further analysis of this data at the individual level will make it possible to control for individual variables such as age, health, functional ability, poor vision, and history of falling; this may yield more conclusive results on the association between environmental factors and outdoor usage. Future research directions An intervention study could be designed, based on these findings, to help determine the direction of causality: “Does better health lead to increased outdoor usage, or does increased outdoor usage lead to better health?” The causality likely operates in both directions, and a well-constructed study could help strengthen theory on this topic. Behavior-mapping could be conducted as a further confirmation of the 68 levels, types, and locations of usage reported in this study. It would be worthwhile to extend the present study to other residential facility types, different climates, and non-urban areas. Further research on the role of the outdoors for staff health and well-being would also be valuable, especially with current and projected staffing shortages. Application to practice A chief advantage of this study is that the principles are intended to be applied directly to practice settings, by both providers and design practitioners. After extensive layers of factor analysis, the environmental assessment instrument will be revised to reflect the design elements that are most significant in affecting levels of outdoor usage and satisfaction with outdoor space. From this, a useful and practical checklist will be revised and made available to the industry. To assist in disseminating this information, a multimedia educational program currently under construction will also be made available, to present the most important principles in an easily-applied format. By making it easier and faster to obtain evidence-based information, this educational tool will facilitate applying research to actual design situations. Because the principles presented will be based on the documented needs and desires of residents, application of these principles is expected to increase outdoor usage in assisted living settings. This in turn may lead to potential benefits for residents, such as improved mood and hormone balance, higher levels of physical activity, and better sleep patterns. It may also produce benefits in market appeal and occupancy levels for assisted living providers. Design practitioners may benefit from greater client satisfaction, and increased May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México market share afforded by specialized knowledge in this topic. CREDITS Funding and assistance This project was supported by SBIR Grant # R44AG024786 from the National Institute on Aging. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Aging or the National Institutes of Health. The author is also grateful to the assisted living organizations that provided access to their communities, to the many residents and staff members who took their time to participate in this study, and to the colleagues and research assistants whose ideas, time, and efforts made this study possible. REFERENCES Babyak, M., Blumenthal, J. A., & Herman, S. (2001). Exercise was more effective in the long term than sertraline or exercise plus sertraline for major depression in older adults. Evidence-based Mental Health, 4(4), 105. Cutler, L. J., & Kane, R. A. (2006). As great as all outdoors: A study of outdoor spaces as a neglected resource for nursing home residents. In S. Rodiek & B. Schwarz (Eds.), The Role of the Outdoors in Residential Environments for Aging (pp. 29-48). New York: The Haworth Press, Inc. Fovell, R. and Fovell, M. (1993). Climate Zones of the Conterminous United States Defined Using Cluster Analysis. 6: 2103-2135. Hawes, C., Phillips, C., Holan, S., & Sherman, M. 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Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 62A(1), 67-72. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (1997-2006). Climatological Data Annual Summary; Texas. Retrieved March 29, 2007, from, http://www1. ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/966FD87E-80BD-4691E629-FD144FF034A2.PDF National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (1997-2006). Climatological Data Annual Summary; Illinois. Retrieved March 29, 2007, from, http://www1. ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/F893BEAC-212B-54B1DD45-6828CF68CE9C.PDF National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (1997-2006). Climatological Data AnnualSummary; Washington. Retrieved March 29, 2007, from, http:// www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/497B2BB5-D00E9D38-CFF2-4EB2B43846C4.PDF Regnier, V. (2002). Design for Assisted Living: Guidelines for Housing the Physically and Mentally Frail. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Regnier, V. (1985). Behavioral and Environmental Aspects of Outdoor Space Use in Housing for the Elderly. Los Angeles: Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California. Rodiek, S. (2006). A missing link: Can enhanced outdoor space improve seniors housing? Seniors Housing and Care Journal, 14, 3-19. Takano, T., Nakamura, K., & Watanabe, M. (2002). Urban residential environments and senior citizens’ longevity in megacity areas: the importance of walkable green spaces. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56(12), 913-918. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 69 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Percibiendo la escala de restauración (PRS): diferencias por edad y sexo en adolescentes y adultos mexicanos Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS): Differences by Age and Sex in Mexican Adolescent and Adult Samples Joel Martinez Soto and Montero y Lopez-Lena (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) Existe consenso respecto a que el estudio de los escenarios y experiencias restaurativas favorece el entendimiento de las relaciones saludables entre las personas y su entorno. La “percepción de restauración ambiental” alude a las propiedades percibidas de los escenarios que contribuyen al ajuste psicológico mediante la mitigación de la fatiga mental y el estrés (Coles & Keshavarz, 2006). De acuerdo con la teoría de la restauración de la atención-TRA (Kaplan y Kaplan, 1989), cuatro componentes del entorno dan cuenta de su valor restaurativo: Estar Alejado, Fascinación, Extensión y Compatibilidad. Estar Alejado se refiere a un cambio de escenario y experiencia de la vida cotidiana. Extensión se refiere a las propiedades de conexión y Alcance en los entornos. Fascinación se relaciona con la capacidad de los ambientes para sostener involuntariamente la atención, sin demandar esfuerzo alguno. Por último Compatibilidad implica el grado de ajuste entre las características de los escenarios y los propósitos e inclinaciones de las personas. Los componentes restaurativos del entorno han sido evaluados por la Escala de Percepción de RestauraciónPRS (Hartig, Kaiser & Bowler, 1997; Hartig, Korpela, Evans & Garling, 1997). La escala identifica las características de restauración que ofrece un escenario. La percepción y preferencia por la naturaleza pueden diferir de acuerdo con una multitud de variables relacionadas con el sujeto en cuestión, entre ellas edad, sexo, antecedentes culturales, experiencias pasadas, motivos y 70 la rutina diaria e intereses específicos de los individuos (Rohde & Kendle, 1994). Varios estudios han evidenciado experiencias restaurativas en niños, adolescentes y adultos (Korpela & Hartig, 1996; Wells, 2000; Korpela et al., 2001, 2002; Wells & Evans, 2003). Korpela & Hartig (1996) en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios de Finlandia ( =25 años), encontraron que los componentes restaurativos que tuvieron mayor peso en la descripción de un escenario fueron Coherencia y Compatibilidad. Korpela, Hartig, Kaiser & Fuhrer (2001) trabajaron con una muestra de estudiantes de EE.UU ( =20.8 años) y encontraron que los componentes de Compatibilidad y Estar Alejado eran los factores con mayor peso en la caracterización de los ambientes restaurativos. Hallazgos semejantes fueron encontrados por Herzog, McGuire & Nebel (2003). Las investigaciones anteriores coinciden en que el factor de Compatibilidad es un componente de mayor peso en la caracterización de las experiencias restaurativas, lo cual no sucede con los demás factores de la PRS. En Italia, Scopelliti & Giuliani (2004) en un estudio con 67 sujetos, (n = 23 jóvenes, = 27.5 años; n = 22 adultos, = 41.6 años y n = 22 adultos mayores, = 68.4 años) sugirieron que los cambios en los ciclos de vida de las personas pueden impactar la percepción que se tenga sobre los componentes restaurativos. Los autores referidos encontraron que Compatibilidad fue el componente con mayor presencia en la descripción de las experiencias restaurativas de los adultos mayores, en tanto que el componente de Estar Alejado fue más importante en la caracterización de las experiencias restaurativas de los jóvenes y adultos en contraste con los adultos mayores. Con respecto al sexo, no se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la caracterización de las experiencias restaurativas. A pesar de los hallazgos descritos, se cuentan con escasos estudios (e.g. Korpela, 1992; Bagot, 2004) sobre el peso que las personas asignan a los componentes restaurativos en diferentes etapas de su vida, por ello se considera pertinente hipotetizar posibles diferencias en la percepción de las características restaurativas del ambiente en función de la edad. En consecuencia, en el presente estudio se exploraron las posibles diferencias en función de la edad y del sexo de los sujetos, en los puntajes obtenidos en la versión mexicana de la PRS, May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México denominada en lo sucesivo como EPRA (Escala de Percepción de Restauración Ambiental). Método Sujetos Los participantes fueron contactados a través de un curso de capacitación para acreditar el nivel de estudios medio superior. Participaron 109 sujetos (hombres, n = 33 y 76 mujeres, n = 76; con = 24 años) ordenados en 3 grupos de comparación (ver Tabla 1). Grupo Edad n % Adolescentes 14-18 43 39.4 Adultos jóvenes 20-29 37 33.9 29 26.6 Adultos 30-52 Tabla 1. Grupos de comparación Instrumento La EPRA constó de 26 ítems escalares de 11 puntos (T. Hartig, comunicación personal, 14 de febrero, 2006) con opciones de respuesta 0= Nada y 10= completamente agrupados en 7 dimensiones: (1) Estar Alejado-EA (5 ítems), (2) Fascinación-FA (5 ítems), (3) Coherencia-COH (4 ítems), (4) Alcance-ALC (4 ítems), (5) Compatibilidad-COM (5 ítems), (6) Preferencia Ambiental-PA (2 ítems) y (7) Familiaridad-F (1 ítem). Cabe señalar que para documentar las posibles diferencias de los puntajes de la EPRA en función de la edad y sexo de los sujetos, se consideraron como factores las cinco primeras dimensiones en tanto que las dos últimas (PA y F) se manejaron como indicadores de la percepción ambiental. De acuerdo con Nunally y Bernstein (1995) ninguna de estas dimensiones puede considerarse como factor ya que sólo cuentan con 2 y 1 reactivo respectivamente. Con el propósito de evaluar los escenarios descritos por los sujetos, se les solicitó que escribieran al final del cuestionario el nombre del lugar que ellos habían imaginado como restaurativo. Con base en esta instrucción fue posible obtener 2 categorías que clasificaron a dichos lugares. En un estudio previo, Martínez-Soto y Montero (2007) obtuvieron para los 5 primeros componentes de la EPRA índices de consistencia interna de moderados a altos: COH, α= .70; COM, α= .75; EA, α= .76; FA, α= .81 y ALC, α= .81; lo que permitió usar este instrumento con muestras mexicanas. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Procedimiento Se acudió al salón de clases donde se encontraban los sujetos. Se solicitó permiso tanto a los maestros como a los sujetos para que contestaran la EPRA. Una vez obtenido la aprobación, se procedió a entregar un cuestionario que constaba de 3 reactivos sobre características sociodemográficas (edad, sexo y escolaridad), los 26 ítems de la EPRA y la petición sobre el lugar al que el sujeto aludía en el espacio “Lugar descrito_________”. La aplicación de los cuestionarios fue colectiva y tuvo una duración de 15 minutos en promedio. A diferencia de otros estudios sobre restauración psicológica que han evaluado las propiedades restaurativas de una serie de escenarios predefinidos (e.g. diapositivas con fotografías), el presente estudio se centró en aquellos escenarios que las personas imaginaron como restaurativos. Con ello se asume que a) fueron seleccionados escenarios con mayor preferencia ambiental y b) los escenarios elegidos variaron en su potencial restaurativo (Korpela & Hartig, 1996). Las instrucciones que se les dieron a todos los sujetos fueron las siguientes: Estamos interesados en saber cómo usted experimenta/entiende/percibe cuando está en un lugar. Para ayudarnos a entender su experiencia le presentamos a continuación las siguientes oraciones. Estas oraciones pueden ser usadas para describir diferentes lugares. Por favor, lea cuidadosamente cada oración y pregúntese: “¿Qué tanto esta oración describe mi experiencia en este lugar?” Por favor, tenga en cuenta la gente, cosas y actividades que ocurren simultáneamente en el lugar que está evaluando cuando elija su respuesta. Una vez aplicados los cuestionarios se les agradeció a los maestros y alumnos su participación. Resultados Con base en las respuestas ante el ítem “Lugar descrito_____________” se identificaron dos tipos de escenarios: 1) naturales ( n = 46, 56.8%) y construidos ( n = 35, 43.2%). Lo anterior coincidió con estudios previos en relación con la preferencia de las personas por escenarios naturales vs. construidos (e.g. Launman, Garling, & Stormark, 2001; Herzog, Black, Fountaine & Knotts, 1997). Se calcularon coeficientes de correlación Pearson para observar si existía o no relación entre los puntajes totales de la EPRA (restauración total) de Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 71 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados ambas categorías de escenarios (naturales y construidos) y el factor de Preferencia Ambiental. Se encontró una asociación directa, moderada y significativa entre los puntajes de preferencia y restauración total (rp =.75; p < .01). Lo anterior sugiere que los lugares elegidos por los sujetos son escenarios con características restaurativas. Resultados similares fueron encontrados por Purcell, Peron & Berto (2001). Para conocer la existencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas de las subescalas en función de los grupos de edad se realizó un análisis de varianza con comparaciones post hoc (método de Scheffé). Se encontró que los componentes FA (F= 5.444; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) y ALC (F= 5.523; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) tuvieron mayor peso en la restauración para los adolescentes (FA, = 8.44; ALC, = 7.98) que para los adultos jóvenes (FA, = 7.04; ALC, = 6.45). Asimismo, COM (F= 3.690; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) y ALC (F= 5.523; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) fueron significativamente más importantes para los adolescentes (COM, = 8.35; ALC, = 7.98) que para los adultos (COM, = 7.15; ALC, = 6.47). Como puede apreciarse en la Tabla 2 no existieron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los tres grupos de edad en los componentes de Coherencia y Estar Alejado. Como puede observarse en la Figura 1 el grupo de adolescentes obtuvo los promedios más altos de los tres grupos en lo que respecta a cuatro de los componentes de la EPRA, FA ( = 8.44) seguido de COM ( = 8.35), ALC ( = 7.98) y EA ( = 7.60). Adicionalmente, las tendencias en las puntuaciones escalares medias pueden sugerir patrones interesantes a considerar. Después de los adolescentes, los adultos fueron quienes presentaron una ligera tendencia a obtener promedios más altos en 3 componentes COH ( = 7.81), FA ( = 7.69), y AL ( = 6.47). Finalmente, los adultos jóvenes fueron quienes presentaron una ligera tendencia a obtener promedios más altos en 2 componentes COM ( = 7.38) y EA ( = 6.76). El hecho de que los adolescentes presenten mayores puntuaciones en la EPRA sugiere un mayor interés y sensibilidad de estos hacia su entorno, particularmente a aquellos escenarios con mayor potencial restaurativo. Respecto a la valoración de los componentes de la EPRA en función del sexo, se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las cinco dimensiones (ver Tabla 3). Componentes Grupos de edad N Media Desv. estádar Fascinación Adolescentes Adultos jóvenes Adultos 43 37 29 8.44cb 7.04a 7.69 1.58 2.04 2.10 Compatibilidad Adolescentes Adultos jóvenes Adultos 43 37 29 8.35ab 7.38c 7.15 1.71 2.23 2.21 Coherencia Adolescentes Adultos jóvenes Adultos 43 37 29 7.49aa 7.07a 7.81 1.67 1.94 1.60 Estar Alejado Adolescentes Adultos jóvenes Adultos 43 37 29 7.60aa 6.76 6.72a 1.73 2.35 2.55 Alcance Adolescentes Adultos jóvenes Adultos 43 37 29 7.98b 6.45dc 6.47 1.79 2.64 2.57 Tabla 2. Diferencias estadísticamente significativas encontradas entre los grupos de edad y los componentes restaurativos Nota: La letra a significa no diferencias entre grupos. Las letras b, c, y d son diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre grupos de cada componente con p < .05 en la prueba de post-hoc de Scheffé. 72 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Grupos de edad Adolescentes Fascinación-FA Estar alejado-EA Compatibilidad-COM Adultos jóvenes Coherencia-COH Alcance-ALC Adultos Refereed Full-Papers 0 10 Puntuación EPRA Papeles Seleccionados Figura 1. Puntuaciones medias en cada uno de los cinco factores de la EPRA del grupo de adolescentes ( n = 43), adultos jóvenes ( n = 37) y adultos ( n = 29). El hecho de que los adolescentes presenten mayores puntuaciones en la EPRA sugiere un mayor interés y sensibilidad de estos hacia su entorno, particularmente a aquellos escenarios con mayor potencial restaurativo. Respecto a la valoración de los componentes de la EPRA en función del sexo, se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las cinco dimensiones (ver Tabla 3). Componente Fascinación Compatibilidad Coherencia Estar Alejado Alcance Sexo N Media Desv. estándar t Hombre Mujer 33 76 7.01a 8.09b 2.18 1.78 -2.685, gl =107, p<.05 Hombre Mujer 33 76 6.40a 7.38b 2.42 1.85 -2.260, gl =107, p<.05 Hombre Mujer 33 76 6.81a 7.71b 1.98 1.59 -2.280, gl =107, p<.05 Hombre Mujer 33 76 6.40a 7.38b 2.50 2.01 -2.165, gl =107, p<.05 Hombre Mujer 33 6.25a 2.62 76 b 2.25 7.42 -2.368, gl =107, p<.05 Tabla 3. Diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre hombres y mujeres en los componentes restaurativos Nota: Las letras a y b en las medias son diferencias estadísticamente entre los grupos de cada componente con p < .05 en la prueba post-hoc de Scheffé. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 73 M H M Fascinación-FA H Estar alejado-EA M Dimensiones EPRA Compatibilidad-COM Coherencia-COH H Alcance-ALC M Refereed Full-Papers H M Papeles Seleccionados H 0 Puntuación EPRA 10 Figura 2. Puntuaciones medias en cada uno de los cinco factores de la EPRA del grupo de mujeres-M (n = 76) y hombres-H (n = 33). Como puede verse en la Figura 2 el grupo de mujeres mostró un promedio más alto en las puntuaciones de las cinco subescalas las EPRA (ver Figura 2). En resumen, los adolescentes obtuvieron las mayores puntuaciones en los componentes de la EPRA al compararse con los jóvenes adultos y adultos. Las características restaurativas de los ambientes fueron percibidas con menor intensidad por los adultos jóvenes y adultos. Las características restaurativas de los ambientes fueron percibidas diferencialmente en función de la edad que tenían los sujetos. Asimismo se encontraron diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres en la EPRA. La explicación de estos hallazgos son abordados en la siguiente sección. Discusión Los resultados obtenidos confirman la hipótesis del presente estudio y sugieren que la EPRA puede diferenciar los componentes restaurativos en función de la edad y sexo de los sujetos. La presente investigación incluyó a un grupo de adolescentes que mostraron un mayor patrón de variabilidad en la caracterización de las experiencias restaurativas (e.g. Korpela, 1992) al compararse con un grupo de adultos jóvenes y adultos. El hecho de que los adolescentes presenten mayor variabilidad en sus puntuaciones de la EPRA al contrastarse con adultos jóvenes y adultos constituye 74 un aspecto relevante para el estudio de los ambientes restaurativos y su impacto en otras áreas de la psicología (e.g. psicología del desarrollo). La adolescencia es una época en la que el individuo se hace cada vez más consciente de si mismo, busca un estatus como individuo, valora las relaciones de grupo, se desarrolla físicamente e intelectualmente y busca el control y consolidación de sus valores (Horrocks, 1993). Korpela (1992) señala que los adolescentes asisten a lugares que son de su preferencia para experimentar sensaciones de control, libertad de expresión y escape de presiones sociales, así como también para relajarse, calmarse y clarificar sus mentes después de eventos emocionalmente adversos. Todos ellos aspectos que involucran cambios en las emociones y cogniciones características de la restauración psicológica (Korpela, Kytta & Hartig, 2002). Lo anterior sugiere que los ambientes restaurativos pueden ser contribuyentes en la consolidación de la identidad y desarrollo físico y mental del adolescente. Respecto a los adultos jóvenes y adultos, una posible explicación para la poca variabilidad de las puntuaciones en la EPRA puede deberse a lo señalado por Iso-Ahola, Jackson & Duhn (1990) con respecto a que la búsqueda de novedad y experiencias crece constantemente de la niñez a la adultez y declina con la adultez tardía. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México En el presente estudio no se encontraron diferencias significativas en ninguno de los componentes de la EPRA entre el grupo de adultos jóvenes y adultos. Lo anterior contrasta con Scopelliti & Giuliani (2004) quienes hallaron que el componente Estar Alejado fue más importante en las experiencias restaurativas de los adultos jóvenes vs. los adultos. Dentro del grupo de adolescentes, la dimensión que tuvo mayor peso en las experiencias restaurativas fue Fascinación ( = 8.4), seguida de Compatibilidad ( =8.3), Alcance ( =7.9), Estar Alejado ( = 7.6) y por último Coherencia ( = 7.4). De acuerdo con la teoría de la restauración de la atención-TRA (Kaplan y Kaplan, 1989) el mayor rasgo que distingue a los ambientes con mayor potencial para promover reflexión es el tipo de Fascinación que ellos evocan (Herzog, Black, Fountaine & Knotts, 1997). Estos resultados sugieren que para los adolescentes un escenario restaurativo es aquel que evoca en mayor grado un entorno que posibilita la reflexión y por ende un ajuste con sus propios intereses y actividades. Para los adultos jóvenes la dimensión que tuvo mayor peso fue Compatibilidad ( =7.3), seguida de Coherencia ( = 7.0), Fascinación ( = 7.0), Estar Alejado ( = 6.7) y Alcance ( = 6.4). Ello parece indicar que para un adulto joven, un ambiente restaurativo es aquel que transmite un ajuste entre las características del ambiente y los propósitos e inclinaciones personales (Kaplan, 1995). Por otra parte, en los adultos la dimensión con mayor peso fue Coherencia ( = 7.81), seguida de Fascinación ( = 6.7), Compatibilidad ( = 7.1), Estar Alejado ( = 6.7) y Alcance ( = 6.47). Estos hallazgos sugieren que para los adultos un ambiente restaurativo es aquel que se percibe con mayor riqueza y coherencia. Con respecto a las diferencias encontradas entre hombres y mujeres, la presente investigación difiere de los hallazgos reportados por Scopelliti & Giuliani (2004) quienes no encuentran diferencias por sexo en la caracterización de los componentes restaurativos. Sin embargo, los resultados sugieren un posible rol diferencial en la percepción de las características restaurativas de los escenarios por parte de las mujeres. Aunque no es un aspecto muy estudiado aun, dicha diferencia podría explicarse en alguna medida por lo señalado por Stamps (1996, 1999), Strumse (1996) Linking Differences / Defining Actions y Regan & Horn (2005) con respecto a la diferencia de variables demográficas (entre ellas el sexo) en la preferencia de las personas por la naturaleza. En este sentido, el presente estudio encontró una ligera tendencia de las mujeres (55 %) a elegir escenarios naturales vs. construidos (45%) como restaurativos. Cabría destacar la propensión de las mujeres a cuidar su entorno (Davidson & Freudenburg, 1996) como una posible explicación de una mayor sensibilidad hacia el mismo. Dentro del grupo de las mujeres el factor con mayor peso en las experiencias restaurativas fue Fascinación ( = 8.0) seguido de Coherencia, ( = 7.7), Alcance ( = 7.4), Compatibilidad ( = 7.3) y Estar Alejado ( = 7.3). En el caso de los hombres, el factor con mayor peso fue Fascinación ( = 7.0), Coherencia ( = 6.8), Compatibilidad ( = 6.4), Estar Alejado ( = 6.4) y por último Alcance ( = 6.2). Ambos grupos coincidieron en que dos de las cualidades de mayor peso en la descripción de las cualidades restaurativas fueron Fascinación y Coherencia. Es importante señalar la similitud en las puntuaciones promedio de Compatibilidad y Estar Alejado tanto para el grupo de mujeres como para el grupo de hombres. En términos de la TRA (Kaplan y Kaplan, 1989) los resultados indican que para ambos grupos, los escenarios con mayor cualidad restaurativa son aquellos que promueven la Fascinación en diferentes grados. Una posible explicación para las diferencias encontradas en las puntuaciones de hombres y mujeres con respecto al componente de Fascinación quizás tenga que ver con el tipo de escenarios restaurativos elegidos tanto por hombres como por mujeres. Herzog, et al. (1997) señalan que existen tres tipos de escenarios con diferentes grados de fascinación: 1) escenarios que evocan fascinación suave (e.g. escenarios naturales ordinarios), 2) escenarios que son bajos en fascinación pero altos en demandas de la atención dirigida (e.g. escenarios urbanos y 3) escenarios altos en fascinación (e.g. escenarios deportivos). Por lo tanto, parecería ser que las cualidades restaurativas de los escenarios seleccionados por las mujeres son lugares con altas cualidades restaurativas como los escenarios naturales (Herzog, et al., 1997). A su vez estos resultados coinciden con Regan y Horn (2005) quien encontró que las mujeres más que los hombres, referían a la naturaleza como un lugar para desestresarse y relajarse. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 75 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Al igual que otras investigaciones (Korpela & Hartig, 1996; Korpela, et al., 2001; Herzog, et al., 2003) los resultados obtenidos coinciden en que Compatibilidad es uno de los factores clave en la expresión de los ambientes restaurativos. Si bien los hallazgos encontrados ratifican la hipótesis planteada, es pertinente identificar algunas limitaciones. Por ejemplo, el estímulo presentado para ser evaluado como ambiente restaurativo no fue heterogéneo; ello implicó que cada sujeto evocara, mediante la imaginación, un ambiente particular y lo evaluara. Si bien el empleo de la imaginación pudiera representar una limitación en el presente estudio, existen exitosos antecedentes en la literatura especializada. Al respecto Korpela, Hartig, Kaiser & Fuhrer (2001) y Staats & Hartig (2004) emplearon la imaginación activa para evaluar ambientes restaurativos. Particularmente en México Martínez-Soto y Montero (2007) emplearon el recurso de la imaginación como referencia para una descripción ambiental. En una muestra de 260 estudiantes universitarios, los autores referidos encontraron que la EPRA discriminó entre dos categorías formuladas por los sujetos (escenarios naturales y construidos) y tres subescalas (Fascinación, Estar Alejado y Alcance). Lo anterior ratifica las propiedades de validez discriminante de la EPRA aún empleando recursos visuales no predeterminados. Otra de las posibles limitaciones del presente proyecto, fue el no haber incluido muestras de edades extremas (ej. niños y adultos). En razón de que la tarea a desarrollar en la evaluación de la restauración ambiental suponía un proceso de abstracción por parte de los sujetos, se consideró que dicho proceso sería más funcional a partir de la adolescencia hasta la adultez (Piaget, 1952). Por ello el rango de edades cubierto se consideró como el óptimo. Los ambientes restaurativos son catalizadores del desarrollo cognitivo (Berto, 2005) y físico (CooperMarcus & Barnes, 1999) dentro de todo el ciclo vital de las personas, asimismo son escenarios aun soslayados que pueden promover la salud mental (Maller, Townsend, Brown & St. Leger, 2002). En México y Latinoamérica son escasas las investigaciones empíricas sobre escenarios restaurativos. El presente estudio constituye un punto de partida en Latinoamérica para estudiar con un instrumento validado y confiabilizado en población mexicana, 76 aquellas características de los escenarios que permiten a las personas alcanzar sus capacidades potenciales, y con ello contribuir a la creación de políticas de impacto significativo en la salud individual, pública y ecológica. En resumen se ratificaron las cualidades psicométricas de la EPRA en población mexicana. Se documentaron las diferencias en la evaluación de los escenarios en función de la edad y sexo y se evidenció la relevancia de la restauración ambiental como un tópico que merece mayor investigación dentro del contexto latinoamericano. Referencias Bagot, K. (2004). Perceived restorative components; A scale for children. Children, Youth and Environments, 14, 120-140. Berto, R. (2005). Exposure to restorative environments helps restore attentional capacity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25, 249-259. Coles, R. & Keshavarz, N. (2006, Junio - Julio). The restorative potential of local urban environments-The impact of green infrastructure on the health and well being of local residents. In K. Nilsson & B. Nielsen (Eds.) Urban forestry for human health and wellbeing. Documento presentado en la reunión COST-E39 Research Conference y ASEM Second Symposium on Urban Forestry, Copenhagen, Dinamarca. Cooper-Marcus, C. & Barnes, M. (1999). Healing gardens. Therapeutic benefits and design recommendations. NY, EE.UU.: John Wiley & Sons. Davidson, D. & Freudenburg, W. (1996). Gender and risk concerns. A review and analysis of available research. Environment and Behavior, 31, 372-394. Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. y Bowler, P. (1997). Further development of a measure of perceived environmental restorativeness. Working Paper No. 5, Uppsala University, Institute for Housing Research, Gävle, Sweden. Hartig, T., Korpela, K., Evans, G. & Gärling, T. (1997). A measure of restorative quality in environments. Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research, 14, 175-194. Herzog, T., Black, A., Fountaine, K. & Knotts, D. (1997). Reflection and attentional recovery as distinctive benefits of restorative environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17, 165-170. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Herzog, T., Maguire, C. & Nebel, M. (2003). Assessing the restorative components of environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 159-170. Horrocks, J. (1993). Psicología de la adolescencia. México: Trillas. Iso-Ahola, S., Jackson, E. & Duhn, E. (1990). Starting, ceasing and replacing activities over the life span. Journal of Leisure Research, 26, 227-242. Kaplan, R. & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. NY, EE.UU.: Cambridge University Press. Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169-182. Korpela, K. & Hartig, T. (1996). Restorative qualities of favorite places. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 221-233. Korpela, K. (1992). Adolescents’ favorite places and environmental self-regulation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 12, 249-258. Korpela, K., Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. & Fuhrer, U. (2001). Restorative experience and self-regulation in favorite places. Environment and Behavior, 33, 572-589. Korpela, K., Kytta, M. & Hartig, T. (2002). Restorative experience, self-regulation, and children’s place preferences. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22, 387-398. Laumann K., Gärling T. & Stormark K.(2001). Rating scale measures of restorative components of environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 31-44. Maller, C., Townsend, M., Brown, P. & St. Leger, L. (2002). Healthy parks, healthy people. The health benefits of contact with nature in a park context: A review of current literature. Victoria, Australia: Deakin University and Parks. Martínez-Soto, J. y Montero, M. (2007). Propuesta de un modelo de naturaleza urbana próxima y su impacto individual, familiar y comunitario. Manuscrito no publicado. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Psicología. Nunally, J. y Bernstein, I. (1995). Teoría psicométrica. México: McGraw Hill. Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. NY: International Universities Press. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Purcell, T., Peron, E. & Berto, R. (2001). Why do preferences differ between scene types?. Environment and Behavior, 33, 93-106. Regan, C. & Horn, S. (2005). To nature or not nature: Associations between environmental preferences, mood states and demographic factors. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25, 57-66. Rohde, C. & Kendle, A. (1994). Human well-being, natural landscapes and wildlife in urban areas. Peterborough, UK.: English Nature. Scopelliti, M. & Giuliani, M. (2004). Choosing restorative environments across the lifespan: A matter of place experience. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 423-437. Staats, H. & Hartig, T. (2004). Alone or with a friend: A social context for psychological restoration and environmental preferences. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 199-211. Stamps, A. (1996). People and places: variance components of environmental preferences. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 82, 323-334. Stamps, A. (1999). Demographic effects in environmental aesthetics: A meta-analysis. Journal of Planning Literature, 14, 155-175. Strumse, E. (1996). Demographic differences in the visual preferences for agrarian landscapes in western Norway. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 17-31. Wells, N. & Evans, G. (2003). Nearby nature. A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior, 35, 311-330. Wells, N. (2000). At home with nature - Effects of greenness on children’s cognitive functioning. Environment and Behavior, 32, 775-7 Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 77 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Physical Form and Social Activities: A Case Study in Belo Horizonte Forma física y actividades sociales: un estudio de caso en Belo Horizonte Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Paula Barros (Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom) Introduction A major goal in contemporary urban design is to develop people-friendly gathering open spaces as part of the strategy to regenerate existing urban centres (Isaacs, 2000; Southworth, 2005; Yang & Kang, 2005). However, questions regarding the effectiveness of some design proposals illustrate a need for more research in how physical form influences people’s experience and use of urban places. Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, as many other cities in the world, has suffered from a lack of people-friendly open spaces. The importance of creating a more aesthetically pleasing and engaging urban landscape was acknowledged by the public authorities and design professionals in the 80’s (Brandão, 1998). In the year 2004, as part of a strategy to regenerate the historic centre of Belo Horizonte, the city’s public administration created the programme Centro Vivo. Centro Vivo aims to repair the inner city through small increments in a manner that best promotes the piecemeal regeneration of the area. Since the elaboration of the programme, several projects have already been implemented. However, despite of the public sector’s efforts in generating a more people-friendly settlement, questions regarding the effectiveness of some design solutions illustrate a need for more research in how physical form influences people’s use of urban places. In this regards, Moughtin (2003) pointed out that despite of squares’ significance, there are too many examples around the world of recent plaza design which generate spaces described as an empty desolate place surrounded by underutilized buildings or as a busy traffic island. Given this background, it is vital to consider the formal configurations of squares and how they attract people to use them. Recognizing the need for more 78 research in how physical form influences people’s use of urban spaces and being aware of the growing interest in pedestrian-orientated urban design, this study is placed to study people’s use of urban squares in order to generate theoretical concepts and guidelines to physical design of people-friendly urban environments. Background Space morphology studies involve examining the relationships between the different elements of the urban fabric. According to the focus of the research, distinct relationships are emphasized. Morphological analyses focus on the analyses and explanation of the fundamental urban geometric character at a variety of scales. Tricart (as cited in Rossi, 1982, p.48) defined three distinct scales to analyze the urban form: the “scale of the street”, consisting of the solids and voids that surround the built area; the “scale of the district”, including a cluster of blocks with similar attributes; and the “scale of the entire city” which is made of a group of districts. The division of the urban form in its elementary components reflects the designers’ creative process, who, on a daily basis, “divides to conquer” (Macedo, 2002). Nevertheless, like all research in urban form, morphological elements needs to be identified and analyzed, either separately or in relation to each other. For the purposes of this study, the form of square is defined as an arrangement of the following morphological elements: building, street, vegetation, open space and urban furniture. Building is the element which defines the urban form and is defined by it. Street moulds the square’s shape and links the various spaces and parts of the city. It is very resistant to processes of urban transformations. The vegetation in the urban structure organizes, defines and contains spaces. By open space is meant urban spaces other than streets and green areas. Urban furniture involves all the elements which are perceived as three-dimensional objects by a walking observer in the urban fabric, such as kiosks, bollards, fountains, sculptures. Focusing on the classical environment-behaviour studies, Lynch (1960) and Gehl (1987) adopted sciencebased approaches to establish a connection between human activities and physical form. Gehl’s work is about everyday activities and their demands on the built environment. Through observation studies of public life May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México questions about how and when the space is used were answered. Interviews were applied to answer questions on who were the users and how they felt about public space. Gehl (1987) defined three categories of outdoor activities: necessary, optimal and social. The former category includes those activities which are more or less compulsory, such as going to work. Optimal activities are all activities that take place only under favourable exterior conditions, such as sunbathing, and social activities are those that depend on the presence of other people in the open spaces. Thus, social activities are indirectly supported whenever necessary and optimal activities take place in the public spaces. As far as the stationary activities in open urban spaces are concerned, Gehl (1987) verified that where a real staying function takes place, the problem of finding a pleasing place to stand arises. According to survey in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, and at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland “…the preferred stopping zones (…) are found along the borders of the spaces or at the edges of spaces within the space” (Gehl, 1987, p.151). In this regards, Gehl (1987) argued that this preference is due to the fact that the edge of a space is where one’s back is protected and it is the zone which provides the best opportunities to surveying the space. Arguing that what really matters is not the study of city’s physical forms in itself, but the study of how its inhabitants perceive them, Lynch (1960) defined five elements of the city which appear to be basic to its “imageability” for the purposes of spatial orientation and navigation. “Paths” were defined as channels along with people moves; “edges”, as linear elements that are not used as paths, they are boundaries, lateral references; “districts” as areas of the city that share common characteristics; “nodes” as primarily junctions into which people can enter and “landmarks” as external point-references to people. This investigation of people’s image of their city showed that certain elements in the urban landscape figured in some people’s images, but that other elements present in the townscape typically did not. In this respect, it is important to recognize the selective nature of our perception. In other words, things available to our senses may be perceived more than others and some not at all. In addition, the ways of Linking Differences / Defining Actions perceiving vary between cultures, within culture and over time (Rodaway, 1994). Nevertheless, research has consistently demonstrated that the landmarks, elements which singled out of the surrounding environment, are often used as reference points in descriptions of spaces (Isaacs, 2000). It has been said that the feeling of ‘here I am’ matters because it gives us a sense of well-being. An extension of this, as a person ability to know their position by distinguishing here-ness from there-ness, features Cullen’s (1960) book, The Concise Townscape. This work acknowledges that this sense of position, the instinctive and continuous habit of the body to position itself to the environment should be a factor in the design of places. In other words, the known here and the unknown there should be exploited in the process of designing spaces. Given this background, it becomes evident that the experience of open urban spaces routinely encountered influences people’s quality of life. In fact, “that human experience has particular spatial implications is well consolidated in environmental psychology” (Thwaits, 2001, p.246). From the preceding it may be said that locations which have a higher probability of engendering a sense of here-ness may be more used because they are more likely to provide uplifting experiences. From the ideas presented above, another level of hypothesis emerges: besides micro-climate and social issues, the design of landmarks and the relationships between them and the others morphological elements of the space do influence people’s preference for using some zones within it. Case Study Method The main theoretical proposition is examined by means of analyses of three formally quite different squares situated in the historic core of Belo Horizonte: Raul Soares Square, Liberty’s Square and Station’s Square. Raul Soares Square’s circular shape is moulded by a curved street which encircles the space. The square’s green area defines a central open space around a fountain as well as straight and curved paths symmetrically disposed. The square’s floor finish, mosaic, unifies, give scale and decorate the space. The streets, vegetation, paths and floor finish define all together a biaxial symmetrical configuration. The buildings which frame this square are very heterogeneous Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 79 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados in form, scale and style. The element which keeps the whole together is the square’s fountain, which is very likely to be an external point-references to people who walk through the space. The Liberty’s Square is an important civic square in Belo Horizonte. The palm trees, symmetrically disposed in relation to the square central longitudinal axis and equally spaced, subdivide it into three smaller entities. These three singular spatial units are tied together by a street which defines the Liberty’s Square rectangular form. The two rows of palm trees enclose a linear central spatial entity directed towards the main façade of the governor’s palace, a richly decorated building. The visual attributes, symbolic importance and visibility of this building are likely to hold it as a reference element in people’s description of the space. The unique floor finish of this space in cobble stone reinforces its singularity. This square is also characterized by two other rectangular spatial entities, symmetrically disposed in relation to the square’s longitudinal axis. Both of these secondary spaces are characterized by gardens symmetrically disposed in relation to their respective longitudinal central axes. Their gardens define open spaces as well as straight and curved paths. These secondary spatial unities are surrounded by a row of palm trees in one of their sides and by buildings of different styles and heights in the other three sides. In both of these two secondary spatial entities, it is not a special building, but their furnishing, which actually defines their visual rhythm. From all casestudy sites, Liberty’s Square is the one where the “serial vision” effect is best experienced. It is thought that the distinctive physical attributes and visibility of the urban furniture in these secondary spaces, such as the water fountain, may guarantee them the status of landmark elements. Finally, the Rui Barbosa’s Square can be interpreted as a complex of squares visually connected, but physically separated by the Andradas Avenue. This study focuses on the study of the square known as Station’s Square. This spatial unity is dominated by the Station’s building, a magnificent construction. This rectangular space is surrounded in one side by the Station’s building and in the other three by streets. Focusing on the square’s floor finishes, blocks of con- 80 crete is the predominant material used to cover the esplanade. The two fountains are placed in equal proximity to the square’s corners and at equal distances from the sculpture in its centre. All together, these three centres induce the sense of an axis perpendicular to the main axis of the Station’s building. The two rows of post lights and the alameda of trees help towards the segregation of the square’s space because they accentuate the density of the square’s perceived periphery. From the preceding, it becomes clear that these squares were chosen to be the case-study sites of this research because as they present differing typomorphological characteristics, they seem to be cases able to provide valid and challenging tests to the main theoretical proposition. Thus, if it is verified that the congregation zones within them hold in common the hypothesized physical quality, the external generalizability of the research findings will be expanded. Having analyzed the morphological attributes of the case-study sites (see figure 01), it seems fitting to test the hypothesis which emerged from the literature review: besides micro-climate and social issues, the design of landmarks and the relationships between them and the others morphological elements of the space do influence people’s preference for using some zones within this space. The place-centered mapping was used to collect data due to the fact that it is very efficient in gathering knowledge of people’s use of space. Through this method awareness of repetitive activities in identifiable environments is gained. An observation instrument was constructed to obtain (a) types of social stationary activities; (b) particular locations; (c) postures; (d) gender of subjects. The dimension of the case study sites and number of users motivated a combination of 12 human observers and photos (Sommer & Sommer, 2002). From 728 observations certain conclusions have been reached which describe the way in which the case-study sites are used. The SPSS for frequency counts was used to describe and analyze the reduced observational data (see figure 02) and the Mapinfo for the construction of the behavioral maps, two dimensional representation of space which locates each of the observations and represents the group size of each cluster - the smallest circle represents only one person . May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Figure 01. From left to right: Raul Soares Square, Station’s Square and Liberty’s Square. Through this method awareness of repetitive activities in identifiable environments is gained. An observation instrument was constructed to obtain (a) types of social stationary activities; (b) particular locations; (c) postures; (d) gender of subjects. The dimension of the case study sites and number of users motivated a combination of 12 human observers and photos (Sommer & Sommer, 2002). From 728 observations certain conclusions have been reached which describe the way in which the case-study sites are used. The SPSS for frequency counts was used to describe and analyze the reduced observational data (see figure 02) and the Mapinfo for the construction of the behavioral maps, two dimensional representation of Linking Differences / Defining Actions space which locates each of the observations and represents the group size of each cluster - the smallest circle represents only one person. It was found that among the users of the squares men generally account higher percentage. More men were performing stationary social activities in each of the settings than did women. Data observed in the case-study sites show talking and observing as primary activities. Indications are that while Raul Soares Square lends itself more for solitary activities than for social interaction, Liberty’s Square and Station’s Square are the opposite. At Station’s Square (see figure 03) the central sculpture obtained the highest occupancy rate, at Liberty’s Square Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 81 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Figure 02. Observational analysis (see figure 04) the highest occupancy rate was in the edge of the central alameda and at Raul Soares Square the highest occupancy rate was around the fountain (see figure 05). If we consider the open spaces within Liberty Square, the seating around the circular fountain can be categorized as a congregation zone as well as the bandstand. It was verified that these case-study sites have zones which are popular whilst others are not. Besides environmental and social issues, it is vital to investigate how the physical form of these spaces attracts people to use them. Conclusions and Discussions Apparently, the findings of the systematic and unobtrusive observation seem to contradict the result of the study of preferred areas for stays developed by Gehl. This research verified that people prefer to be at the edges of the spaces. From this study, Gehl (1987) argued that “events grown from inward, from edge toward the middle of public spaces” (p.152). Several explanations for this preference were highlighted in Gehl’s seminal book, Life Between Build- 82 ings: Using Public Space. It was argued, for example, that the edge of a space provides the best opportunity for surveying it, while one is less exposed than being in the middle of a space. In this circumstance the personal territory is reduced to a semi-circle in front of s/he, situation which diminishes the possibility of an undesired invasion of personal territory. In the edges people observe while remaining unobserved and feeling protected. If compared with the inner areas of the Brazilian squares, the ‘edge effect’ failed in all case-study sites. In fact, the opposite phenomenon seems to take place: gathering grows inwards. However, a closer look will demonstrate that the edge effect also seems to take place in the spatial unities within the case-study sites which are not featured by focal points within them, such as the central “corridor” in the Liberty’s Square, and in those whose landmarks do not afford seating, like the water fountain in one of Liberty’s Square secondary spatial unities. Concluding, besides micro-climate and social issues, the behavioral density was highest in zones which of- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Figure 03. Social stationary activities located on Station’s Square site plan. Figure 04. Social stationary activities located on Liberty’s Square site plan. Figure 05. Social stationary activities located on Raul Soares Square site plan. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 83 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados fered a good view towards the spaces’ focal points and in the memorable elements which afforded secondary seating and views towards others visual references. Landmarks seem to function as a magnet for social activities. Without disregarding the limitation, including the restriction to one culture, the uncontrollable variables and ultimately, the testability of the hypothesis itself, from the results of this research some support can be found regarding the relationship between physical urban form and use of public open spaces. The results sustain the hypothesis that besides micro-climate and social issues, the design of landmarks and the relationships between them and the others morphological elements of the space do influence people’s preference for using some zones within this space. Given this background, it is important to hint some design implications within today’s context, suggestive of alternative paths for future research. In this respect, it may be said that the design of gathering open spaces should be conceived bearing in mind the interplay between landmarks elements, vistas and seating. In this regards, an attempt is made to exemplify how this general principle may guide different types of urban design solutions : (A) landmark objects may be designed as a multifunctional element which affords seating; (B) the configuration of the space may affords views from the landmarks elements towards other focal points; (C) spaces may be punctuated by a landmark element and comfortable seating at its edge; (D) landmark objects may be designed to afford a panoramic view towards other landmarks elements. It is important to bear in mind that an artistic attention needs to be paid to physical interventions because urban design is a practical art as well as being about the aesthetics of the urban environments. The sensation of here-ness may be further accentuated through the use of artistic design solutions (Cullen, 1960). If several open spaces in modern cities are ugly and oppressive, and get people down, designers should bear in mind the aesthetics possibilities for making them otherwise. Finally, it is relevant to highlight that although this research focused on the visual qualities of places, it is well appreciated that the perception of space involves inputs from all senses. Therefore, the establishment of a sense of place is also moulded by auditory, olfactory, thermal and tactile sensations. Therefore, further 84 investigations on how the intentional orchestration of all these sensory layers may affect people’s preference and behaviour are much needed. References Brandão, C. A. L. (1998). A cena contemporânea. In L. B. Castriota (Ed.), Arquitetura da modernidade (pp.231-261). Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG. Cullen, G. (1960). The concise townscape. Oxford: The architectural Press. Gehl, J. (1987). Life between buildings: using public space. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge: MIT Press. Macedo, A. C. (2002). Ensaio: o espaco urbano por partes. Sinopses, 38, 11-16. Moughtin, C. (2003). Urban design: street and square. Oxford: Architectural Press. Rodaway, P. (1994). Sensuous geographies: body, sense and place. London: Routledge. Rossi, A. (1982). The architecture of the city. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Sommer, R., & Sommer, B. (2002). A practical guide to behavioral research: tools and techniques. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Southworth, M. (2005). Reinventing main street: from mall to townscape mall. Journal of Urban Design, 10, 151-170. Thwaites, K. (2001). Experiential landscape place: an exploration of space and experience in neighbourhood landscape architecture. Landscape Research, 26, 245-255. Yang, W., & Kang, J. (2005). Soundscape and sound preferences in urban squares: a case study in Sheffield. Journal of Urban Design, 10, 61-80. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Scale of Electric Power Consumption at Home: A Mexican Proposal energía intensiva y de aparatos de conservación de la energía (Reddy, 2004). Para entender los patrones de consumo que estén ligados a la protección del medio se ha estudiado la conducta pro-ambiental (CPA). Ésta es entendida como el “conjunto de acciones intencionales, dirigidas y efectivas Escala del consumo eléctrico en el hogar: una que influyen para responder a requerimientos sociales propuesta Mexicana individuales que resultan de la protección del medio” (Corral, 2001: 40). En los estudios sobre CPA se han Claudia Garcia-Landa and Maria Montero y incluido variables como los valores (Corraliza y Martín, Lopez-Lena (Universidad Nacional Autonoma 2000; González, 2002), la motivación (Corral, 1996; de México) De Young, 1996), las competencias (Corral, 1996), las habilidades (Bustos, 2004) y la austeridad (Corral y PihActualmente en la Ciudad de México el consumo pro- neiro, 2004; De Young, 1996), entre otras que ayudan a explicar, de manera parcial, la CPA en rubros como medio de energía eléctrica (EE) por vivienda es de 270 agua, reciclaje de basura y energía en general. kWh por bimestre, equivalentes a $450 pesos [$41 USD En investigaciones sobre estilos de vida se ha comaproximadamente] (Gobierno del Distrito Federal, 2007; probado que las personas con características austeras Luz y Fuerza del Centro, 2007). El impacto económico tienden a actuar en favor del cuidado del ambiente por servicio de EE es diferencial en los hogares. De este (Corral y Pihneiro, 2004; De Young, 1996; Iwata 1999, modo, puede representar desde el 15% hasta el 30% 2006, Lastovicka, et al. 1999). En seis estudios Lasdel ingreso familiar (Gobierno del Distrito Federal, tovicka et al. (1999) hallaron un asociación negativa 2007). Ante ello, las medidas de control que presentan significativa entre frugalidad y consumo compulsivo (r los usuarios varían desde la instalación de “diablitos” = -.25, p < .05). Corral y Pihneiro (2004) notaron una (tomas irregulares de EE, Comisión Federal de Elecrelación positiva entre austeridad y consumo de agua tricidad, 2007) hasta el uso, en menor medida, de focos (r = .18, p < .005). Por su parte, Iwata (2006) encontró o electrodomésticos ahorradores de EE (Comisión una correlación positiva y significativa entre el consumo para el Ahorro de Energía, 2007). Desde la perspectiva ambientalmente responsable y el estilo de vida sencillo ecológica social y dentro del contexto mexicano, el (r = .33, p < .05). La evidencia empírica indica que el estudio del consumo de EE en el hogar representa un consumo austero es una variable importante para la problema escasamente estudiado que requiere un aborCPA en el consumo de agua, en la reducción del condaje multidisciplinario para derivar opciones viables y sumo y en la compra de productos. Hasta el momento eficientes. no se identificó evidencia empírica con respecto al En la Ciudad de México existe un patrón de consumo para la EE en las viviendas, que está en función del equi- consumo austero y el consumo de EE en el hogar. Debido a la falta de un instrumento sobre consumo pamiento, el clima, los hábitos y la hora del día, princiaustero de EE en el hogar, en este estudio se desarpalmente. El 35% del consumo de energía eléctrica en rolló una escala para medirla. Dicha escala se diseñó las viviendas se utiliza en iluminación, el 30% en refrigcon base en la curva de satisfacción social que plantean eración, el 25% en entretenimiento y el 10% en diversas Domínguez y Robin (1992), que explica la relación entre actividades (Ramos, 1998; Ramos, 2003). el gasto de dinero y la satisfacción que el consumidor El patrón de consumo de EE en los hogares está recibe por el consumo de un bien o servicio. determinado por la luz del día (Ramos, 1998) y por el La Figura 1 muestra la relación entre el consumo estilo de vida de los usuarios (Leonard-Barton, 1981; (gasto de dinero) y la satisfacción del consumidor mediReddy, 2004). En la Ciudad de México el consumo ante cuatro fases: mayor se hace por las mañanas antes de las 10 horas y 1. Supervivencia: satisfacer las necesidades básicas, por las noches, desde las 19 hasta las 24 horas (Ramos, psicológicas y espirituales con el consumo a nivel físico. 2003). El estilo de vida de los consumidores de EE se Consumo necesario para la vida. caracteriza por el uso de la iluminación, de aparatos de Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 85 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers 2. Confort: existe una relación positiva entre dinero y satisfacción buscando la comodidad. 3. Lujo: Creencia de que no hay suficientes comodidades por lo que busca la satisfacción con “pequeños” lujos que implican suntuosidad. 4. Derroche: el disconfort se puede aliviar con algo externo, haciendo uso indiscriminado de las cosas. 5. De esta manera, la curva de satisfacción explica cómo la persona atiende sus necesidades a partir de su relación con el consumo de bienes y servicios que lo ubican en diferentes estilos de vida. Papeles Seleccionados proporcionará al ambiente el consumo mesurado de EE en el hogar sin perder comodidad. El consumo austero de EE en el hogar se verá reflejado tanto en la adquisición y uso de aparatos eléctricos, como en la manifestación de conductas específicas. Por ejemplo, apagar la luz cada vez que se sale de una habitación y desconectar aparatos que consumen EE sin realizar su función principal (v. gr. microondas, TV, estéreo). El consumo austero influye en los patrones de consumo del individuo. Conocer si el consumidor actúa a favor o en contra del cuidado del ambiente será tarea de los estudiosos de la CPA. Asimismo, es necesario entender estos patrones que caracterizan tanto a los consumidores que tienen un estilo de vida austero como a aquellos que llevan una vida llena de lujos y derroche. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio fue documentar las características psicométricas de una escala para el consumo racional de la EE en el hogar “CREE”. Método Figura 1. Curva de satisfacción (Domínguez y Robin, 1992: 24) Esta curva muestra que el consumo austero se ubica en el continuo de confort donde el individuo limita su consumo de bienes y servicios sin perder comodidad. Un estilo de vida basado en la simplicidad y el consumo frugal de los recursos permite que el individuo consuma para tener confort evitando degradar, en menor medida, las existencias naturales (Constanza, Daly y Bartholomew, 1999; Johnson, 1978). Una manera de consumir sin degradar los recursos de la tierra puede ser explicada por el consumo austero. El estilo de vida del consumidor austero se caracteriza por la moderación en la adquisición y en el uso de bienes económicos y servicios de manera ingeniosa para lograr metas a largo plazo (Lastovicka, et al. 1999). De esta manera, la CPA es una meta a largo plazo ya que los individuos muchas veces no observarán las ventajas que su conducta produce de manera inmediata. Esto sucede en el caso de los beneficios que 86 Muestra Se entrevistaron a 159 amas de casa residentes de la unidad habitacional Rinconada del Sur ubicada al sur de la Ciudad de México, con rango de edad de 20 a 81 años (media de 37.3 años). Con respecto a escolaridad, el 16% estudió primaria, el 28% secundaria, el 17% carrera técnica, el 22% preparatoria y el 17% licenciatura. El 46% reportó un ingreso familiar mensual menor a los $ 3,000 pesos ($273 USD), el 33% un ingreso entre $3,000 y $6,000 pesos (entre $273 y $546 USD), el 15% entre $6000 y $10,000 pesos (entre $546 y $909 USD) y el 2% entre $10,000 y $20,000 pesos (entre $909 y $1818 USD). La figura 2 muestra que la mayoría de las amas de casa encuestadas están en un rango inferior al promedio pagado por bimestre en la Ciudad de México. Ellas pagan en promedio al bimestre $225 pesos equivalentes a $20.45 USD. En este caso se tomó en cuenta la mediana debido a la dispersión de valores y a la distribución sesgada de la muestra. Instrumento Se construyó una escala con 69 reactivos sobre consumo racional de EE en el hogar de acuerdo a la curva de satisfacción que plantean Domínguez y Robin May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México NC 4 1 1 1500 2 1 2 pago bimestral en m.n. por consumo de EE 800 2 2 550 4 3 4 1 450 4 1 380 1 320 1 270 1 1 240 5 10 2 6 2 1 2 200 4 175 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 Papeles Seleccionados 2 1 1 1 70 Refereed Full-Papers 7 1 78 10 2 2 1 89 18 5 3 140 100 9 2 7 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 amas de casa Figura 2. Pago bimestral en m.n. por consumo de energía eléctrica. (1992). La mitad de los reactivos estaban redactados en forma positiva y la otra mitad en forma negativa. Los 69 reactivos fueron escalares de 5 puntos (1 = nunca, 5 = siempre). Como primer paso para documentar la validez de constructo en este estudio se reportan datos preliminares del análisis factorial exploratorio y de la validez convergente. Para la validez convergente se utilizó la escala de austeridad de agua de Corral y Pihneiro (2004) con 8 reactivos y puntajes que van del 1 (totalmente en desacuerdo) al 4 (totalmente de acuerdo). Procedimiento La aplicación individual del instrumento se llevó a cabo con las personas que cumplían con las características de inclusión (ser amas de casa y vivir en la unidad habitacional). Se tuvo una reunión previa con los administradores de la UH para obtener su permiso para acceder a la UH. Se pidió a las participantes que contestaran con la mayor veracidad posible, asegurando la confiabilidad de sus respuestas. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Resultados Con el fin de realizar el análisis factorial exploratorio (Nunnally y Bernstein, 1995) se siguieron tres pasos: discriminación de reactivos, análisis factorial de reactivos con cargas factoriales iguales o mayores a .40 y estimación de consistencia interna tanto de los factores como del total de la escala. Para la discriminación de reactivos se consideraron los resultados de tres métodos: la prueba t, la distribución de frecuencias 70-30 y las correlaciones inter-reactivo mayores de .30. Se obtuvo la estructura factorial mediante el método de componentes principales con rotación varimax. Para seleccionar los reactivos se consideró un valor eigen de 1 o superior y una carga factorial mínima de .40. En el análisis factorial exploratorio se incluyeron los reactivos que discriminaron, por lo menos, en dos de los métodos aplicados. Los resultados arrojaron 5 factores con el 43.06% de la varianza explicada. En la Tabla 1 se incluyen los nombres de los cinco factores identificados, un ejemplo de los reactivos agrupados en cada factor y se muestra que la media de Consumo por Desconocimiento es ligeramente superior a la Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 87 de Consumo Eficiente y Contaminación. Así mismo, hay una mayor dispersión en Consumo por Desconocimiento. También se señala que se produjeron valores alfa de .67 o mayores consideradas como moderadas. Tabla 1. Media, desviación estándar y consistencia interna de los factores que conforman la escala CREE. Factor Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Lujo (ej. “uso de la cafetera tanto para preparar café como té” ) Derroche (ej. “acostumbro dormirme con la TV encendida” ) Consumo por Desconocimiento (ej. “en casa, todos los aparatos eléctricos están enchufados permanentemente” ) Consumo Eficiente (ej. “me aseguro de cerrar bien el refrigerador cada vez que saco algo” ) Contaminación (ej. “dejo el refrigerador abierto hasta que termino de acomodar todas las cosas”) Media DE Alfa 1.61 .697 .79 1.75 .763 .66 3.01 1.24 .78 1.96 .891 .67 1.95 .761 .67 En la Tabla 2 se presentan los resultados de las correlaciones entre los cinco factores de la escala CREE. La asociación baja pero significativa entre Lujo y Consumo por Desconocimiento sugiere que los consumidores no instruidos usan EE de una manera parecida a los de Lujo porque no saben que desperdician EE. La asociación baja y no significativa entre Lujo y Consumo Eficiente parece indicar que el consumidor eficiente empleará para su confort EE y que en ocasiones aumentará su consumo. La asociación baja entre Derroche y Consumo Eficiente parece sugerir que quien hace uso de la EE de manera eficiente pocas veces la desperdiciará pero que la gente al buscar confort en ocasiones consumirá un poco más de dicho recurso. 88 La relación positiva y significativa entre Lujo y Derroche era esperada ya que ambos hacen uso indiscriminado de EE. La relación significativa y positiva entre Lujo y Contaminación y entre Derroche y Contaminación puede sugerir que el consumidor ostentoso tiende a contaminar más. La asociación positiva y significativa entre Derroche y Consumo por Desconocimiento parece indicar que los consumidores ignoran que algunos aparatos consumen EE sin realizar su función principal; es decir, derrochan esta energía sin percatarse de esto. La relación positiva y significativa entre Consumo por Desconocimiento y Consumo Eficiente sugiere que algunas personas pueden consumir de forma eficiente sin estar conscientes de esto. La asociación significativa entre Consumo Eficiente y Contaminación parece indicar que aunque el consumidor sea austero siempre habrá un grado de contaminación por el uso de EE. Tabla 2. Correlaciones entre los cinco factores de la escala CREE. L D CD CE C Factor Lujo --- .411** .180* .148 .427** Derroche .306** .156 .459** Consumo .194* .301** por desconocimiento Consumo .184* eficiente Contaminación * p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01. La validez convergente se obtuvo mediante la comparación entre la escala desarrollada y la escala criterio (Corral y Pihneiro, 2004) en donde se encontró una correlación positiva que sugiere una convergencia aceptable (Tabla 3). En el análisis factorial exploratorio se identificaron cinco dimensiones en la escala CREE con alfas moderadas. Las tendencias de asociación entre estas dimensiones son positivas de bajas a moderadas. Los resultados de la validez convergente ratificaron la estructura multidimensional propuesta para la CREE. Por lo anterior, se puede asumir factiblemente que el cuestionario generado - CREE – es un instrumento válido y confiable para medir consumo austero de EE en hogares mexicanos. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Tabla 3. Resumen de escalas con sus factores exploratorios, correlaciones y valor de consistencia interna. Escala Factor exploratorio Corral y Pinheiro, 2004, Austeridad Austeridad agua García- Landa y Montero, CREE Consumo energía eléctrica Validez Convergente Confiabilidad α = .80 r = .164 Discusión Los resultados parecen indicar que la escala “CREE” cumple con las características psicométricas que permiten su uso en población mexicana. A partir del análisis factorial exploratorio se pudieron identificar cinco dimensiones para el consumo racional de EE en el hogar. Respecto a la confiabilidad de la escala propuesta, los coeficientes de consistencia interna en las cinco dimensiones parecen indicar que la CREE es un instrumento confiable (Kerlinger y Lee, 2002). El instrumento, con base en la curva de la satisfacción social, apoya la idea de que el consumo eficiente está determinado por la satisfacción social que el individuo tenga con respecto a bienes y servicios. Además, dimensiona el consumo racional como un componente equivalente a la austeridad (De Young, 1996; Iwata, 2006) ya que ambas nociones hacen énfasis en el uso mesurado de recursos. Los instrumentos sobre consumo austero hasta ahora desarrollados y probados en investigaciones anteriores (Corral y Pihneiro, 2004; Iwata, 2006; Lastovicka, et al. 1999) presentan escalas monotónicas. Éstas permiten evaluar el fenómeno de manera unidimensional. El desarrollo de la escala CREE, con una concepción multidimensional, permitió documentar aspectos a favor del consumo austero (Consumo Eficiente y Consumo por Desconocimiento), y en contra (Lujo, Derroche, Contaminación). Es claro que una conceptualización multidimensional del consumo austero facilita por una parte, enriquecer la teoría respecto a la austeridad aplicada al consumo de EE, y por otra parte, abre la posibilidad de derivar intervenciones específicas basadas en las dimensiones relevantes del consumo de EE. Adicionalmente, el consumo austero visto de manera multidimensional permite conocer la satisfacción social Linking Differences / Defining Actions α = .84 del consumidor y en alguna medida entender lo que Lastovicka et al. (1999) plantean como la satisfacción general con la vida. Las dimensiones de Consumo Eficiente y Consumo por Desconocimiento integran el uso de aparatos eléctricos que caracteriza a los estilos de vida de los consumidores de acuerdo con Reddy (2004). Es decir, los consumidores con estilos de vida austero evitarán comprar aparatos eléctricos que son baratos pero que consumen más EE, asimismo, harán un uso apropiado de los que tengan en casa. Este estilo de vida no solo se ve reflejado en el consumo de EE sino en el consumo de otros recursos (Iwata, 2006). Por otra parte, estas dos dimensiones se ubican en lo que Domínguez y Robin (1992) llaman confort. El consumidor usa la EE para satisfacer sus necesidades básicas y obtener bienestar evitando el uso irracional de recursos. Las dimensiones Lujo y Derroche corresponden a las dos últimas fases de la curva de la satisfacción en donde el consumidor aumenta el uso de EE sin obtener satisfacción. Es decir, a mayor consumo menor satisfacción (Domínguez y Robin, 1992). Esto es característico de los estilos de vida con dirección externa, en donde los individuos consumen como respuesta a la presión de pares y a la preocupación de las impresiones que ellos dan a otros (Mitchell y MacNulty (1981). La asociación entre consumo eficiente y lujo y derroche es similar a la encontrada por De Young (1996) sobre la satisfacción intrínseca y su baja relación con el lujo. Esto refleja que el consumo austero tiene su base en la satisfacción del consumidor la cual se ve reflejada en los patrones de consumo. Es importante continuar trabajando las características psicométricas de la escala CREE para aumentar la correlación positiva de moderada a alta. No obstante, la CREE proporciona riqueza empírica y validez ecológica Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 89 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados a la curva de la satisfacción de Domínguez y Robin (1992). Con base en la multidimensionalidad documentada de la CREE, en los índices de consistencia interna asociados a cada uno de los factores que constituyen la escala referida y a la positiva convergencia que el instrumento mostró en relación con el cuestionario elegido como criterio, se puede asumir que la CREE es un instrumento válido y confiable factible de ser usado en población mexicana. Referencias González, A. (2002). Valores, actitudes y conductas proambientales en estudiantes peruanos. En V. Corral (Coord.) Conductas Protectoras del Ambiente. Teoría investigación y estrategias de intervención (165-183). México: CONACYT RM Editores. Unison Iwata, O. (1999). Perceptual and behavioral Correlates of a Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle. Social Behavior and Personality, 27 (4), 379-386. Iwata, O. (2006). An Estilo de vidaaluation of Consumerism and Lifestyle as Correlates of a Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle. Social Behavior and Personality, 34 (5), 557-567. Bustos, J. M. (2004) Modelo de conducta pro ambiental para el estudio de la conservación de agua potable. Tesis de Doctorado. Facultad de Psicología, UNAM. Comisión para el Ahorro de Energía (2007). Cómo ahorrar energía. Recuperado el 10 de octubre de 2007, de http://www.conae.gob.mx/ahorroenergia Comisión Federal de Electricidad (2007). Preguntas más frecuentes. Recuperado el 10 de octubre de 2007, de http://www.cfe.gob.mx Constanza, R., Daly, H. y Bartholomew, J. (1999). Goals, agenda and policy recommendations for ecological economics. En: Ecological economics. New York: USA: Columbia University Corral, V. (1996). Un modelo estructural de reuso y reciclaje en México. La Psicología social en México, VI, 423-437. Corral, V. (2001). Una introducción al comportamiento pro ambiental. España: Resma. Corral, V. y Piheiro, J. (2004). Aproximaciones al estudio de la conducta sustentable. Medio Ambiente y Comportamiento Humano, 5 (1y2), 1-26. Corraliza, J. y Martin, R. (2000). Estilos de vida, actitudes y comportamientos ambientales. Medio Ambiente y Comportamiento Humano, 1 (1), 31-56. Domínguez, J. y Robin, V. (1992). Your money or your life. USA: Penguin Books. De Young, R. (1996). Some psychological aspects of reduce consumption behavior. Environment and Behavior, 28 (3) 358-409. Gobierno del Distrito Federal (2007). Programa de Energía. Recuperado el 02 de octubre de 2007, de http://www.gdf.gob.mx/pestilo de vidaacm 90 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Social Practices, Free Time and Leisure Urban Spaces at el Barrio del Parral, Puebla, Mexico Prácticas sociales, espacios para descanso urbano y tiempo libre en el Barrio del Parral, Puebla, México Javier Guevara, Eduardo Lugo, Juan Marquez, and Roberto Yescas (Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla) INTRODUCCION El Centro Histórico de la ciudad de Puebla posee una serie de espacios públicos de diferente jerarquía y área de influencia. Algunos de ellos, como el Paseo Bravo, tienen un rango de influencia a nivel de toda la ciudad así como una oferta de actividades múltiples que permiten un uso intenso y diverso a lo largo del año. Sin embargo, los espacios públicos dentro del Centro Histórico, pero particularmente en los Barrios son limitados tanto cualitativa como cuantitativamente, lo que actualmente provoca que los habitantes realicen actividades de tiempo libre en zonas inadecuadas y peligrosas. La investigación se realizará en el Barrio del Parral, en el centro histórico. El centro histórico ha sido asociado, precisamente en algunos de sus barrios, a delitos como pandillerismo, narcomenudeo y contrabando. La perspectiva de un tiempo libre sano y de espacios adecuados puede dar un sentido de pertenencia al lugar, así que la preocupación que subyace a la investigación es la formulación de programas que impliquen tanto la satisfacción de una necesidad social, como la evaluación de las características de los inmuebles existentes para proponer elementos de equipamiento y vivienda que favorezcan, promuevan y enriquezcan la dinámica social, recreativa y económica del Barrio La relevancia de intervenir en el espacio público de barrios es evidente y marca una tendencia mundial vigente como estrategia para fortalecer la apropiación y conservación de éstos. El espacio público tiene que ser entendido no sólo como el espacio abierto (calles, plazas, jardines) sino también como aquellos elementos de equipamiento que permitan el enriquecimiento de la vida cotidiana y el empleo del Linking Differences / Defining Actions tiempo libre de los habitantes así como de aquellos que signifiquen oportunidades de mejora de sus condiciones económicas. La investigación propone cuatro fases y dos líneas simultáneas y de mutua implicación. Las fases transitan del diagnóstico a las propuestas y las líneas de investigación operan en un inicio autónomamente, pero con relación a la otra línea, para finalmente fusionarse con propuestas integradas en la última fase. Como se afirmó, las líneas de investigación, y que intervendrán en una primera fase autónomamente pero bajo preocupaciones comunes son, por un lado, el análisis urbano, la evaluación de los diferentes espacios públicos que se encuentran dentro de la zona y como éstas influyen en el tipo e intensidad de uso que se presentan en ellos; por otro, las tendencias “gruesas” del modo de vida de sus habitantes, sus relaciones sociales (predominantemente vecinales), el rol de vecino, la organización social y el consumo del tiempo libre. Esta primera fase es la conceptualización de las concomitancias sociales, arquitectónicas y ambientales existentes en el barrio del Parral. La segunda fase es el diagnóstico-pronóstico urbano y psicosocial. Consiste en la definición de requerimientos y oportunidades de intervención de la unidad barrial, los espacios abiertos y de los inmuebles para la dotación de equipamiento, y, por otro lado, a la localización de las tendencias “finas” en el consumo del tiempo libre, las relaciones vecinales, emergencia del rol vecinal y tipificación de las formas de organización social. La tercera fase es el análisis y proyección de las alteridades reciprocas, que se materializan en estrategias urbanísticas y en un acercamiento a la dimensión espacial de las prácticas sociales: locus de influencia y proyección de escenarios. Finalmente, la fase cuatro en donde se formulan propuestas fusionadas (la fusión social-espacial) para establecer estrategias que permitan conformar un sistema de espacios públicos que intensifique el uso y apropiación del barrio y la zona por diferentes tipos de actores externos e internos. Las dos líneas de investigación abordan el diseño urbano y el análisis del modo de vida en cuatro fases. Intervienen en “paralelo” (autónomamente) para diagnosticar, pero interactúan, hasta formular dos propuestas fusionadas, integradas en una visión común: la fusión de reciprocidades socioespaciales. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 91 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados OBJETIVO GENERAL Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Conceptualmente el proyecto gira en torno a un doble eje, por un lado el espacio edificado y por otro una compleja trama social. Este eje se expresa en las dos líneas de investigación: diseño urbano y el análisis del modo de vida. El barrio es un lugar físico y es un lugar social, es el contexto de una determinada vida social, es su marco pero también su expresión. La entidad física y la entidad social existen bajo una permanente fusión. Esa fusión, de ninguna manera se da siempre de la misma forma y en los mismos ritmos. En el vecindario emergen los modos de vida bajo influencias asimétricas, comparten sus planos espacial y temporal con otras significaciones, de tal manera que el modo de vida no es determinado por su entorno físico, sino condicionado bajo una lógica de concomitancias. Para analizar las concomitancias de la dimensión espacial y del modo de vida en el barrio del Parral, será necesario revisarlos cada uno por sus propios componentes, para después analizar sus implicaciones, su fusión. El objetivo entonces, consiste, por un lado, en diagnosticar el equipamiento p/el tiempo libre y la recreación y, por otro, el modo de vida, para formular propuestas que integren ambos elementos, orientadas a incrementar la calidad de vida y el bienestar social en los habitantes del barrio del Parral. El modo de vida hace referencia a las distintas formas personales y colectivas en que los seres humanos organizan su vida cotidiana, y puede ser analizado a través de sus propios componentes: soporte material, sistema de relaciones y simbolización. Para cumplir el objetivo general, es decir, diagnosticar y proponer, es necesario desagregar algunos de los componentes del modo de vida: Se realizará un análisis intensivo para indagar las prácticas sociales asociadas al consumo del tiempo libre, y, funcionalmente, también se realizará con el rol del vecino, las relaciones vecinales, la organización social de los habitantes del barrio y los adultos mayores. Mientras que en los primeros casos (organización, rol, relaciones vecinales) se desvelará el tejido social que subyace al consumo del tiempo libre, en segundo, la tercera edad, se trata de un asunto de énfasis, ya que los centros históricos concentran una fuerte población de la tercera edad. 92 Los contenidos sociales en el modo de vida son las prácticas sociales, las formas en que los habitantes del barrio establecen relaciones entre si, el grado de intensidad de las relaciones y las demandas que socialmente se imponen entre si los vecinos. El contenido social del modo de vida puede definirse también por los atributos que componen el rol de vecino en un lugar concreto, con condiciones sociales y materiales de existencia que le dan el contenido utilitario a toda relación vecinal. El desarrollo de la investigación “Prácticas sociales y equipamiento para el tiempo libre y la recreación en el Barrio del Parral”, se deriva de la propuesta de intervención del eje 3 del Plan Municipal de Desarrollo 2005-2008 dentro de las líneas para la recuperación del espacio público mediante la rehabilitación de los barrios antiguos del centro histórico y recuperación de espacios públicos con calidad con fines recreativos, culturales y turísticos dentro del Centro Histórico, y se propone la zona del Parral y su área de influencia con la intervención de 16 manzanas definidas en el sentido oriente-poniente de la calle 3 a la 13 Sur y en sentido norte-sur de la Av. 3 a la 11 Poniente. Este estudio forma parte de la delimitación del Centro Histórico y de su zona protección. Por su ubicación se encuentra comunicada por vías importantes dentro de la red vial de la ciudad como lo son: la Av. 9, 11 y 13 Sur las cuales son el paso de un gran número de rutas de transporte público y privado, así como otras vialidades de comunicación, el tránsito que circula es constante, lo que repercute en un gran movimiento en la zona. De acuerdo a la dinámica urbana del centro histórico, esta zona presenta las características de disminución de usos habitacionales dando paso a los usos mixtos y terciarización de actividades, localizando equipamientos importantes en los rubros de educación, salud, espacios recreativos, parques y abasto. OBJETIVOS ESPECIFICOS Como se argumentó, la investigación es aplicada y multidisciplinaria; por tanto, los objetivos específicos responden a exigencias urbanísticas y sociales por un lado, y a las exigencias producto de su recíproca auque asimétrica alteridad. Se trata de los objetivos específicos resultado de la confluencia entre estas. Los objetivos son los siguientes: May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México 1. Identificar y evaluar las características físicas y ambientales de los diferentes espacios públicos que se encuentran dentro de la zona y como éstas influyen en el tipo e intensidad de uso que se presentan en ellos. 2. Identificar las prácticas sociales en el consumo del tiempo libre de los habitantes del barrio, localizando las regularidades según grupos sociales, de edad, género y familia. 3. Diagnosticar el perfil gerontológico del barrio (soledad, satisfacción con la vida, y con el propio proceso de envejecimiento y calidad de vida). 4. Localizar las asociaciones voluntarias o grupos secundarios que actúan en el barrio, y realizar una tipología y diagnóstico primario de éstos. 5. Establecer estrategias que permitan conformar un sistema de espacios públicos que intensifique el uso y apropiación del barrio y la zona por diferentes tipos de actores externos e internos. 6. Definir estrategias de intervención a partir de evaluar las características sociales, físicas, ambientales y urbanas del contexto del Barrio para identificar sus relaciones funcionales y sociales con el Centro Histórico y con el resto de la ciudad. 7. Analizar y evaluar las características de los inmuebles existentes para proponer elementos de equipamiento y vivienda que favorezcan, promuevan y enriquezcan la dinámica social, recreativa y económica del Barrio. 8. Proponer un programa de actividades de ocio y tiempo libre que propicien la sana convivencia, la vida activa y la salud mental y física de los habitantes del barrio del Parral según grupos sociales, de edad, género y familia. ANTECEDENTES Los grandes problemas urbanos que padecen nuestras ciudades han dejado de ser preocupación exclusiva de la arquitectura. En el segundo cuarto del siglo pasado y en las décadas finales del mismo, se generó un intenso debate que generó dos grandes interpretaciones del fenómeno: por un lado llamada Escuela de Chicago, y, en la década de los años setenta, la escuela crítica europea. Ambas escuelas representan otra lectura de los problemas urbanos, ya sea por la necesidad de incorporar a los actores directos, los ciudadanos, ya sea por Linking Differences / Defining Actions la necesidad de realizar una lectura bajo la variable producción. El análisis del modo de vida en la perspectiva de la investigación contempla el crecimiento de la ciudad y con esto la aparición de nuevos escenarios urbanos, el uso diferenciado del suelo y su constante mutación, para aproximarse a la emergencia y diversificación de estilos de vida sujetos a las nuevas condiciones sociales. Sin embargo, en uno de los principales componentes del debate en las llamadas “ciencias de lo urbano”, desde la sociología estructural se impugnó tal orientación, bajo el reproche de “la ideologización en el estudio de la ciudad”, (lo que ha sido definido como el análisis de la sociedad urbana). Durante muchos años “se sesgó e incluso devaluó el acercamiento a la cultura urbana al promover a ésta como producto meramente ideológico. La crítica demoledora a la Escuela de Chicago, centró la mirada de los investigadores en el estudio del consumo de bienes colectivos y en el papel de la ciudad como instancia para la reproducción de la fuerza de trabajo. Fue a partir de la reflexión y problematización sobre temáticas locales no abordadas desde el paradigma estructural, como reaparecen en escena los nombres de Simmel, Park y Wirt, vinculados a situaciones de interacción social, vecindario, modos de vida urbanos, etcétera” (Sevilla y Aguilar, 1996) Efectivamente, la perspectiva de análisis de los procesos sociales urbanos bajo un modelo dicotómico, reduce no sólo la variable independiente (en este caso, el contexto urbano), reduce también la variable dependiente (el comportamiento y las cogniciones). Además de presentarla tajantemente al arbitrio de la función de la primera, al disociar un aspecto de la realidad social, ignora la multiplicidad de elementos en el entorno, así como sus interconexiones como posibles agentes de influencia. Esto es, compartimos la crítica a la eventualidad de una interpretación reduccionista, pero compartimos también los hallazgos empíricos que demuestran la existencia de regularidades sociales en contextos específicos, lo cual nos remite a la idea de homogeneidad. La urbanización, dice Wirth (citado por Basolls, et al, 1988), ya no se limita a definir el proceso por el cual las personas se ven atraídas por un lugar llamado la ciudad, e incorporadas a su sistema de vida. Se refiere también a esa acentuación acumulativa de las características distintivas del modo de vida que se asocia con el crec- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 93 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados imiento de la ciudad, y finalmente, con los cambios en la dirección de los modos de vida reconocidos como urbanos. “La masificación de los procesos sociales fundamentales se expresa espacialmente con la introducción de una nueva traza urbana, un equipamiento comercial y nuevas formas de utilización del tiempo libre” (Rosales, 1996, p 90). Si bien la investigación no se resguarda en la Escuela Ecológica de Chicago, si apelará a sus principales hallazgos, tomando como al sujeto como hilo conductor de nuestra indagación. Así que para definir estrategias de inserción de los habitantes, se requiere la dotación de espacios públicos y de equipamiento que se conviertan en otro atractivo para re-habitar las zonas centrales. Las calles son otro de los espacios públicos que como en la mayoría de las zonas de la ciudad no han recibido la atención, no sólo en términos de imagen urbana o vías de comunicación, sino también como elementos de interacción social, de mejoramiento de la calidad ambiental y como albergue básico de actividades públicas cotidianas. El Barrio se ve influido por el funcionamiento vial del centro de la ciudad donde este es un punto de encuentro de diferentes modalidades de transporte, principalmente sobre la avenida 11 NorteSur. Esto es a la vez una fuente de problemas pero también un espacio de oportunidad para conectar el barrio y sus espacios así el exterior. JUSTIFICACION El espacio público es el medio por el que nos percatamos de las actividades urbanas, donde se expresan las condiciones de calidad de vida y bienestar de los habitantes de un vecindario o barrio, por lo que desarrollar estrategias que favorezcan su rescate repercutirá en la calidad de la ciudad en su conjunto. La relevancia de intervenir en el espacio público de barrios es evidente y marca una tendencia mundial vigente como estrategia para fortalecer la apropiación y conservación de los barrios. El espacio público tiene que ser entendido no sólo como el espacio abierto (calles, plazas, jardines) sino también como aquellos elementos de equipamiento que permitan el enriquecimiento de la vida cotidiana y el empleo del tiempo libre de los habitantes así como de aquellos que signifiquen oportunidades de mejora de sus condiciones económicas. 94 Normalmente, las intervenciones urbanas se han centrado casi exclusivamente en los espacios de mayor jerarquía ya sea por su historia o dimensiones; sin embargo, los espacios a nivel de barrio son los que tienen una relación más directa con los habitantes, y por lo tanto son los que tienen mayor peso en la definición del grado de satisfacción con su ciudad y su entorno. Estos espacios son los que por el contacto cotidiano y las actividades que albergan favorecen o dificultan el establecimiento de redes sociales y vínculos del habitante con su entorno, pero al mismo tiempo, el contacto cotidiano los vuelve invisibles. Es evidente que en todos los proyectos de intervención urbana, la población prefiere que se priorice la satisfacción de sus necesidades urbanas básicas (dotación de servicios, bacheo, transporte), y que normalmente es lo que las autoridades dan prioridad. Sin embargo, resulta imprescindible que los planteamientos tengan una visión integral que no sólo visualice lo evidente, sino que permita realizar una lectura integral del espacio urbano y sus habitantes que permita definir estrategias que tiendan al desarrollo integral de la persona y la ciudad. La escala de barrio en términos de estudio e intervención permite una lectura de una unidad manejable que se debe convertir en la unidad de planeación y gestión del espacio público para favorecer el seguimiento, control y participación de los habitantes ya que sus intereses se verán directamente afectados. Otro de los planteamientos que orientan la propuesta es la idea de la necesidad y oportunidad de conformar un sistema de espacios públicos, tanto abiertos como cerrados, de tal forma que se establezca una red de actividades y oportunidades de desarrollo tanto en lo individual como en lo colectivo. Este sistema interno tendría la posibilidad de ser un nodo dentro de un planteamiento más amplia a nivel del Centro Histórico como de toda la ciudad de tal forma que favorezcan la creación de vínculos entre diferentes sectores de la ciudad lo que creará oportunidades de fortalecimiento social y económico, así como la mejora de la calidad ambiental y paisajística del entorno. Además de las proposiciones orientadas al desarrollo urbano, se formularán otras más, que tienen que ver con el desarrollo social de los habitantes del barrio, por grupos sociales (edad, género, familia), lo cual, por su impacto social justifica la intervención. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Como grupos sociales por edad están: infantes, jóvenes y adultos mayores, por género, la mujer. Finalmente la familia. A estos agrupamientos se agragan las llamadas sociopatías, asociadas generalmente a fenómenos de la ciudad (drogadicción, violencia sexual, alcoholismo, etc.). METODOLOGÍA La investigación es multidisciplinaria y aplicada. En el primer caso porque la complejidad de la realidad demanda lecturas múltiples, y esto sólo es posible si nos apegamos a una propuesta paradigmática omnicomprensiva, que reconozca otras interpretaciones del mismo fenómeno, otras lecturas complementarias a la propia. Con respecto a su carácter aplicado, el problema central, afirma Torregrosa (1996), es el “para qué del conocimiento, la finalidad a la que puede dedicarse, los usos que de él pueden hacerse, y las utilidades que de él pueden derivarse”. La aplicación de esta orientación se traduce en la necesidad de desarrollar una investigación orientada a la solución de problemas y desde lecturas múltiples pero articuladas, así como la búsqueda de interlocutores cuya propiedad es su papel protagónico en los procesos implicados. El diseño de la investigación se desarrolla en cuatro fases y dos líneas de investigación. Las dos primeras fases transcurren bajo una dinámica propia, así, la conceptualización de las concomitancias sociales-espaciales-ambientales en el barrio del Parral (fase I), tiene como propósito la realización de un primer diagnóstico sobre las principales tendencias sociales y espaciales del barrio, para pasar al Diagnóstico-Pronóstico (fase II), que reportará los componentes finos y proyectará requerimientos y oportunidades de intervención. El análisis y proyección de alteridades recíprocas (fase III) es el primer acercamiento directo entre las líneas de investigación. Por un lado se desplegarán estrategias para el ordenamiento urbano, proyección de la potencialidad de inmuebles, y la conformación de un sistema de espacios; y por otro se incursionará en la dimensión espacial de las prácticas sociales, como locus de influencia y proyección de escenarios. Se hará una doble lectura: la dimensión social del espacio, y la dimensión espacial de su ocupación. Finalmente, las propuestas: fusión de reciprocidades socioespaciales es la lectura conjunta para la present- Linking Differences / Defining Actions ación de la propuesta conceptual de espacios públicos claves y programas sociales específicos. Las fases son las siguientes: Fase I: Conceptualización de las concomitancias social-espaciales-ambientales en el barrio del ParralInventario y recopilación de información urbanística. a. Levantamiento e inventario de elementos urbanos y arquitectónicos existentes (se realzará esto principalmente). b. Análisis de las características físicas, urbanas y ambientales del barrio, en los siguientes rubros: 1. Antecedentes de planeación: revisión de planes, programas y normativa vigente aplicable al estudio. 2. Aspectos naturales: condicionantes micro-climáticas, contaminación, vegetación. 3. Aspectos urbanos: redes de infraestructura, usos del suelo, densidades, predios baldíos y edificaciones desocupadas, estado de conservación de inmuebles, sistema vial, transporte, equipamiento, estacionamientos. 4. Aspectos históricos urbanos y arquitectónicos: Identificación y catalogación de inmuebles históricos dentro del barrio, análisis de la historia urbana del barrio, análisis de la evolución de la traza. 5. Espacio público urbano: características de los espacios abiertos, actividades, patrones e intensidad de uso, estado de conservación. 6. Paisaje Urbano: Imagen urbana, características tipológicas y compositivas de edificaciones y traza. Observación Extensiva: Diagnóstico psicosocial del modo de vida en el barrio. a. Diagnóstico de las relaciones vecinales en el barrio (lugar, formalización, frecuencia, intensidad, y contenido de las relaciones vecinales). b. Diagnóstico del rol prototípico del vecino del Parral (perfil predominante del rol, de acuerdo al tipo de familia, estatus socioeconómico, Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 95 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados profesión y edad). c. Localización de principales regularidades en el consumo del tiempo libre de los habitantes del barrio, según grupos sociales (género y edad). d. Localización general de las asociaciones voluntarias (grupos secundarios, actores directos en la vida local) en el vecindario, referidas por los habitantes). Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Metodología • Elaboración de una muestra bietápica con los grados pertinentes de profundidad, teniendo como universo a todos los habitantes del barrio del Parral y tomando como unidad de análisis la familia-vivienda. • Adaptación del instrumento “Diagnóstico del modo de vida” (Guevara, 2003) basado en las categorías: a. soporte material. b. prácticas sociales. c. significación social. • Generación de sub-instrumentos enfatizando los siguientes campos: a. Relaciones vecinales. b. Rol del vecino. c. Consumo del tiempo libre. d. Grupos secundarios en el vecindario (asociaciones voluntarias.) • Aplicación de instrumentos (capacitación, trabajo de campo, codificación y captura y reporte). Fase II: Diagnóstico-Pronóstico Diagnóstico-Pronóstico urbano a. Definición de requerimientos y oportunidades de intervención de la unidad barrial. b. Definición de requerimientos y oportunidades de intervención en los espacios abiertos. c. Definición de requerimientos y oportunidades de intervención en inmuebles para dotación de equipamiento. Observación Intensiva: Diagnóstico-Pronóstico Psicosocial a. Reporte de las regularidades específicas de las relaciones vecinales en el barrio de acuerdo a atributos, y, correlación de relaciones vecinales con variables activas (sociales, espaciales, ambientales). b. Definición del rol de vecino asociado a demandas de tiempo libre; y a las tendencias predominantes de la organización social. 96 c. Reporte del consumo específico del tiempo libre de los habitantes del barrio mediante técnicas intensivas. d. Localización específica y tipificación de las asociaciones voluntarias en el vecindario mediante observación intensiva. Metodología • Para relaciones vecinales y rol del vecino, aplicación de entrevista semiestructurada mediante tres instrumentos diferentes a diferente población: género, edad, familia. • Para organización social, entrevista semiestruc turada a informantes clave, aplicación de cuestionario taxonómico de las Asociaciones Voluntarias (Guevara, 2006). • Observación directa. • Para tiempo libre, observación-participación, entrevista semiestructurada, grupos focales (Guevara y Rodríguez, 2006). • Para tercera edad, Cuestionario “detección de perfil gerontológico” Fase III: Análisis y proyección de alteridades recíprocas (social y espacial, predominantemente) Estrategias urbanísticas a. Ordenamiento urbano y demanda social b. Aprovechamiento y reciclaje de inmuebles para dotación e incorporación de equipamiento y espacios públicos. c. Conformación de un sistema de espacios abiertos intra-barrial y su relación con el resto del Centro Histórico d. Gestión del espacio público La dimensión espacial de las prácticas sociales. a. Locus de influencia (interacción entre la conducta del individuo y su ambiente). I. Espacio y organización social II. El entorno (físico y social) del tiempo libre. III. Las relaciones vecinales y el barrio como lugar. b. Proyección de escenarios I. Educación-recreación para infantes. II. Tiempo libre según género. III. Tiempo libre según edad. Metodología A partir de la categorización (soporte material, prácticas sociales y significación social) de buscarán agrupamien- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México tos, según variables significativas (tipo de familia, escolaridad; consumo, volumen y contenido del tiempo libre; frecuencia, intensidad, localización y formalización de las relaciones vecinales, etc.). Los análisis de conglomerados (“clusters”) son técnicas para la exploración de datos. Esa exploración tiene como objetivo ver si pudiera hacerse alguna subdivisión en grupos o “clusters”. Entre los algoritmos que más se utilizan se encuentran los llamados algoritmos de agrupamientos. • Análisis de conglomerados (“clusters”) • Subdivisión en grupos o “clusters”. El resultado de los agrupamientos permite localizar escenarios, los cuales deberán explorarse mediante la aplicación de instrumentos de observación intensiva: • Para tiempo libre, observación-participación, entrevista semiestructurada, grupos focales (Guevara y Rodríguez, 2006). • Para organización social, diagnostico grupal. • Para gerontología, dinámica grupal, grupos focales. Fase IV: Propuestas: fusión de reciprocidades socioespaciales a. Desarrollo de la propuesta conceptual del sistema de espacios públicos y programas sociales. b. Desarrollo de la propuesta conceptual de espacios públicos claves y programas sociales específicos. Metodología. Seminario-taller: Lectura transdisciplinaria del Parral: escenarios posibles. 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Estudios de psicología ambiental en América Latina. México: Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto Mexicano de Investigaciones Psicosociales, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Sánchez, E, y Wiesenfeld E. (2000). El construccionismo como otra perspectiva metateórica para la producción del conocimiento en psicología ambiental. En Temas selectos de Psicología Ambiental, Guevara J, y Mercado S. UNAM, GRECO, Fundación Unilibre. Sevilla, Amparo y Aguilar Díaz M. Ángel (1996). Estudios recientes sobre cultura urbana en México, Plaza y Valdés-INAH, México. Torregrosa José R. (1996) Concepciones del aplicar, en Psicología Social Aplicada, Alvaro, Garrido, Torregrosa, Mc. Graw Hill. Tryon R.C. (1955), Identification of Social Areas by Cluster Analysis, Berkeley. Valera, Sergi. (1999). Espacio privado, espacio público: Dialécticas urbanas y construcción de significados. TXT Public Art Observatory Project. Universidad de Barcelona. Wildner, Kathrin. (1998). EL Zócalo de la ciudad de México. Un Acercamiento Metodológico a la etnografía de una plaza. En: Rodríguez Kuri, Ariel (ed). Anuario de Espacios Urbanos: Historia, Cultura, Diseño. UAM Azcapotzalco. México.. Wirth L. (1988). El urbanismo como modo de vida. En: Bassols, M, Donoso, R, Massolo A, Méndez A, compiladores, (1988), Antología de Sociología Urbana, UNAM, México. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Stair and Elevator Design and Their Influence on Daily Exercise and Social Equality Diseño de escaleras y elevadores y su influencia en el ejercicio diario y la igualdad social Phillip G. Mead, Jon Inui, Paul Baril, Stephen Springer, Jeremy Mitchell, Joshua Devereaux, Rebecca Stephens, Laura Harris, Rob Brier, Samantha Garlow, Nate Tunnell, Orson Badger and Andrew Stohner (University of Idaho Department of Architecture and Interior Design) ABSTRACT The rise in obesity has prompted the medical community to encourage moderate forms of exercise such as stair climbing and neighborhood walking. When integrated into daily routines, research has shown that stair climbing appears to raise intermittent moderate exercise. In this study, building design factors are examined that can potentially increase stair use. This study also examines issues of social justice and equality of access to stairs and elevators. Design factors include the stair and elevators:’ visual access from main circulation paths, stair placement in relation to nearby elevators; the impact of slow speed hydraulic and high speed traction elevators and building height. The study’s most significant finding was that some elevators do not always have to be out of sight from main circulation paths and stairs to encourage moderate stair exercise. This means that social equality is maintained while exercise for the able bodied is encouraged. Four case study buildings with stairs ranging from two to five stories at two adjacent universities with two different types of elevators were examined. Stair/elevator combinations were chosen for their visual accessibility, travel convenience and aesthetics. INTRODUCTION High obesity rates have prompted health organizations to encourage short, moderate forms of exercise spaced throughout the day. Stair use, when integrated into daily routines, appears to raise intermittent mod- Linking Differences / Defining Actions erate exercise (Dunn et al..) leading to weight loss and increased bone density. (Bronwell et al…) As a result, subsequent studies have focused on ways of increasing stair travel in existing buildings by using promotional signs or banners. (Anderson et al…, Kerr et al…) or by providing, artwork and music in fire stairwells. (Boutelle, et al…) These previous studies did not investigate stair and elevator design factors that promoted stair use while maintaining social equality for those who are unable to use stairs. Additionally, because these studies enticed users to use the stairs through signs, artwork and music, basic building design factors were not taken into account as to stair and elevator placement in relationship to each other and circulation paths as well as the aesthetic design of both elevator and stair. Therefore, in this study, the following factors were initially investigated: • Stair placement in relation to nearby elevators • The stair and elevators’ visual access to main circulation paths • Building height • The aesthetics of the stair shape and journey These investigations were guided by the thought that highly visible stairs accompanied by obscured elevators encourage high stair use and thus encourage exercise, but do not encourage social justice. Conversely, hidden or obscured stairs with highly visible elevators lower stair use and discourage exercise, but encourage social justice. This hypothesis was generally supported with one unanticipated exception…the incorporation of a hydraulic elevator. As this study will demonstrate, elevators do not always have to be out of sight from main circulation paths and stairs to encourage stair use and exercise. CASE STUDY METHOD Buildings from two neighboring institutions of higher learning: Washington State University (WSU) and the University of Idaho were compared. Of the two campuses, the University of Idaho is less populated and consists primarily of three to four story buildings with slow moving hydraulic elevators. Nine miles away, Washington State University’s student population is two times larger with buildings that are three to eight stories which use high speed traction elevators. It was originally thought that Washington State’s taller buildings Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 99 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados with faster elevators would encourage less elevator use which did not always prove true. Between the two campuses, four buildings were investigated ranging from two to five stories. Stair/elevator combinations were chosen for their visual accessibility, travel convenience and aesthetics. Buildings with grand staircases with inconspicuous elevator placements were selected for each campus. Additionally, buildings with fire stairs containing views to the outside with conspicuous elevators were also investigated on each campus. Three of the four buildings were more public while one was occupied mostly by students and instructors from one department. Of the four case studies, two sets of stairs at WSU and Idaho were fire escapes while the other two buildings had grand stair cases. Initial studies were carried out in the winter and summer of 2005 with additional studies carriedout in the fall of 2006. Stair use was recorded for only those heading in the upward direction because of the higher degree of physical exertion while the elevator use was recorded for both those going up and down because of the difficulty in discerning where elevator users where coming from. Therefore, the stair use percentages are conservative. Observers consisted of one architecture professor and his architecture and interior design students in their third through fifth years of study. Washington State University Lighty Student Services Building This four story building offers a variety of services from new student orientation to routine bill payments. Building users range from older staff to new high school graduates. The building was chosen because of its two dominating grand stairs which act as focal points in two large four story interior courtyards. Additionally, two high speed traction elevators are hidden between the two main interior courts. The east interior court is brightly lit by a Kal Wall skylight while the west court is dimmer with smaller skylights. Because the two stairs are clearly visible from the interior courts and the elevators are not obviously placed, it was thought that stair travel would overwhelm elevator use. The hypothesis was correct in that 88% chose to use the stairs in the upward direction over the elevator. For those who chose to travel two or more sto- 100 ries up, it was found that 61% used the stairs over the elevator. This data also suggests that a high speed traction elevator does not always encourage elevator use and that if it is not obviously in the view of main travel, the elevator will not always be used. The study took place during the summer on a Thursday, Friday and Monday where 192 people were tracked. Roughly an equal number of younger students and older faculty/staff were counted. Nine observation periods lasted for ½ hour segments for all times of day. Because there was only one observer, the stairs and elevators were examined separately at different times of the day. Figure 1. WSU Lighty Student Services Center East Court Figure 2. WSU Lighty Student Services 2nd Floor Plan May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Contributing Factors and Discussion for 61-88 % Stair Use High stair use was attributed to: • The stairs are in plain sight next to the surrounding four story courtyard circulation. One stair is next to a popular snack bar eating area. • High speed elevators are not immediately apparent from the main circulation paths or interior courts. • Students are easily oriented upon entering the building because upper floor destinations are spotted from across the interior courts. Appropriately, the stairs fall within the visual path of most of the upper or lower floor destinations. • Both stair journeys provide pleasant and dynamic views of either the interior courts or of the outdoors. • The stairs are well daylighted. Consistent with the following case studies, the clear visibility of the stairs in combination with the visual inaccessibility of the elevators accounts for the much higher stair use. • The hydraulic elevator is slow. • Only a story and a half are traversed. • The stair is wide and inviting. Of the four case studies, this stair rates the highest use. Although the stair encourages exercise, the obscure elevator placement is not socially justified. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados University of Idaho Commons Grand Staircase This stair/elevator combination was chosen because of the stair’s high use. The stair is a story and a half and is adjacent to a highly used interior lunchroom court. When seen on a broader campus scale, this stair acts as a critical bridge that links two major parts of the university through the building itself. The adjacent elevator on the other hand is geared more to those who work Figure 3. University of Idaho Commons Stairway within. It is slow and has poor visibility because it hides behind the grand stair. It was found that most of its users were the kitchen staff who use it for transporting Washington State University Carpenter Hall supply carts up three stories to cater meeting rooms. This five story building was chosen because it was Predictably, studies found that the stair’s 97% use thought that the prominent placement of the high overwhelms the elevator’s 3% use. These percentages speed elevator in combination with the partially hidden are based on the observations of 243 people traveling stairs would generate high elevator use. An additional up the stairs and elevator on five separate occasions incentive to use the elevator is that the school adminduring the weekdays at ½ hour intervals in the morning, istration is located on the fifth floor. The hypothesis afternoon and evening. was supported by observations found on the first floor, but on the second floor, the high speed elevator had less influence. Contributing Factors and Discussion for 97% Stair Use On the first floor it was found that 57% chose to use The high stair use is attributed to the following: the elevator over the stairs. The observations exam• The stair-path on the building’s main circulation is ined a total of 91 users traveling up on non-studio days connected to a main campus arterial. (Tuesday and Thursday) in the early morning, noon • The elevator is out of sight of the main circulaand late afternoon for two periods of one hour and one tion path and interior court and thus is inconveniently period of one half hour. placed for those who are forced to use the elevator due to an infirmity. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 101 Observations on the second floor yielded significantly higher stair results because the elevator is placed out of sight from the main circulation path which probably accounts for its low 17% usage. Second floor observations of 119 students going in the upward direction occurred on both studio and non-studio days (Thursday and Friday) with four one hour observations and one 1/2hr observation. Early morning, noon and late afternoon times were covered. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Figure 4. Carpenter Hall at WSU 2nd Floor Figure 5. Second Floor Plan 102 Contributing Factors and Discussion for 43 – 83% Stair Use Second Floor: 83% stair use is attributed to: • The stairs are in close proximity to, and are clearly visible to the studios and main hall • The elevator is out of sight and away from the main circulation space. Since the second floor did not have an inconspicuous place to observe stair and elevator use, the mere presence of the student observers may have increased the stair use. Although exercise appears to be encouraged on the second floor, it does not appear that social justice is served because the elevator is not clearly displayed in the hall. First Floor: 57% elevator use is attributed to: • The elevator is in clear sight of the main circulation hall and small building café • The stair is not in sight of the café or most of the main circulation hall. • The building is five stories high with the school administration located on the fifth floor. • The elevator is high speed. Although social justice is served, exercise is not encouraged because the stairs are not in clear sight of the main gallery space. University of Idaho Main Library Stair This four story building was chosen because of its highly visible elevator which is close to a fire stair. Since the elevator is prominently displayed at the end of the main circulation axis and the fire stairs are partially hidden, it was predicted that most people would choose the elevator. This hypothesis proved false on two separate observation periods. The first study period found 65% stair use over the elevator’s 35%. Observations were restricted to the first floor at the main point of decision between taking the elevator or stair. However, a follow-up study yielded even higher percentages (74%) for upward stair travel. This study differed from the first in that all the floors’ entry “points of choice” for either stair or elevator were tracked from one outdoor location. The second study also proved useful for finding-out how many people traversed up two or more floors. Here it was found that 60% chose to climb two or more floors rather than use the elevator. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México For the previous spring study, both the stair and elevator count totaled 320 for those traveling up. Observations occurred on nine separate occasions during weekday mornings and afternoons. For the following summer study, both the stair and elevator count totaled 43 for those traveling up one or more floors. For those traveling up two or more floors, the count totaled 25. These observations were taken on three separate weekdays in the late afternoons in one hour periods. The afternoon was selected because it was thought that higher elevator use would occur due to the afternoon heat and work fatigue. No such correlation was found. Figure 6. The windows on the library tower allow observation on all four floors Figure 7 University of Idaho Library Elevator Lobby Shows close elevator and stair proximity Linking Differences / Defining Actions Contributing Factors and Discussion for 60-74% Stair Use Higher stair use was attributed to: • A slow hydraulic elevator • The stair fire doors are left open making the stairs more visible when approaching the elevator. • A pleasant stair journey This study demonstrates that a slow moving hydraulic elevator encouraged people to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Students were often observed to push the elevator button, wait 3 or so seconds, push the button again, then proceed up the stairs. From this it can be surmised that the stairs appeared to be a more convenient route than the elevators. Of the four buildings, this case study demonstrates a workable balance between the opportunity to exercise for those who have the ability to walk up stairs while offering social justice for those who have no other choice but to use the elevator. Social equality is nearly achieved because the elevator is highly visible and very accessible from the main circulation routes. CONCLUSION From all four case studies, it appears that three dominant factors increase stair use and thus encourage exercise. • Slow hydraulic elevators, even when prominently placed can encourage stair use for the able, and conveniently serve the needs of those who are unable to use stairs. • If the stairs are in plain sight next to well trafficked circulation and activity areas, then the stairs will be well used. • Elevators that are mostly out of sight of the main circulation and main interior space are not as well used as stairs that are within sight of the same areas. Social justice is not served for those not able to use stairs. Although no conclusive evidence was found, the following factors may have influenced high stair use: • Low rise buildings two to four stories in height probably have lower elevator use because the stairs offer a quicker path. • Stair journeys that have pleasant and interesting journeys probably generate a higher use. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 103 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados From the point of view of social equality, the most significant and surprising finding is that a hydraulic elevator prominently displayed next to a equally visible stairway in a university setting has a high impact on increased stair use and can thus better encourage exercise for the able, while still serving those who are unable to use the stairs. Further studies examining the relationship of demographics and stair/elevator design might be conducted to find the impact of planning elements on different age and gender groups. Additionally, since this study focused on two to five story low-rise buildings, future stair use studies on buildings five to seven stories tall could yield different results. Additionally, a space syntax analysis of the four buildings could yield further insights into increased stair use with elevator placements that serve social equality. REFERENCES Anderson, RE, Franckowiak SC. Snyder, J. Bartlett, SJ. Fontaine, KR. (1998) Can inexpensive signs encourage the use of stairs? Results from a community intervention. Annuals of Internal Medicine. 129, 363-369 Boutelle, K. Jeffery, R. Murray, D. and Schmitz, K. (2001) Using signs, artwork and music to promote stair use in public building, American Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, No 12 Bronwell, K. Stunkard, A. Albaum, J. (1980) Evaluation and modification of exercise patterns in the natural environment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137: 1540-1545 Dunn, A. Andersen, R. Jakicie, J. (1998) Lifestyle physical activity interventions: history, short and long-term effects, and recommendations, American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 15: pp. 398-412 Kerr, J., Eves, F. Carroll, D. (2001) Encouraging stair use: Stair-riser banners are better than posters. American Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, No 8 104 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Una mirada del habitante en el espacio de la vivienda de interés social Take a Look at the Inhabitant of the Space in the Social Interest House Ana Rosa Velasco-Avalos and Adolfo Amador (Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo) PRESENTACIÓN En el proceso de la historia, la relación del hombre con su espacio artificial fue más amable, y en ocasiones terapéutica. Los espacios y las cosas construidas por él fueron el resultado de un esfuerzo personal, de la fidelidad de sus manos para interpretar el dictado de su mente, el empleo de sus posibilidades tecnológicas. El resultado de la imaginación incipiente era sus propios proyectos y realizaciones; constituían su propiedad, su autoconstrucción, su identificación con los cuales se adueñaba, se apropiaba, personificaba y comprometía en la relación vivida y constante entre el autor y su obra. Construyó y con ello cambió su espacio y le impuso su escala, lo edificó de acuerdo a sus necesidades, costumbres y creencias; estableció su orden en el espacio y las cosas para identificarse con su entorno natural; “Interpretó su espacio cotidiano, aprendiendo a aprender con sus asombrados ojos, con sus manos, con todo su cuerpo, aprendiendo a construir, aprendiendo a descubrir las regularidades de su universo cotidiano material, que después se convertirían en las leyes del futuro científico”1. Tomando las ideas de Von Roehrich2, podemos imaginar que puede llegar a existir un lenguaje emocional de enlace entre el habitante y su arquitectura; por tanto la arquitectura, de manera general y en lo particular, debiera generar emociones en quien vive el espacio cotidiano, a la vez de formar imágenes por la percepción de los espacios cotidianos y del entorno urbano, en un ambiente integral. 1 VON ROEHRICH G., Ernesto R.- “Psicología del hombre prehispánico”.- INFORMAVIT No. 21.- Revista INFONAVIT.- marzo 1999.- sección ESPACIO URBANO.- Gerencia de administración del Patrimonio inmobiliario.- México 2 VON ROEHRICH G., Ernesto R.- “Psicología… ob.cit. Linking Differences / Defining Actions A pesar de la identificación de éstos valores como pautas deseables para la obra arquitectónica, la práctica actual de la arquitectura no ha logrado retomar la expresión coherente de los valores conceptuales que engloben tanto al edificio como a sus ocupantes; parece ser que en el lenguaje profesional del arquitecto ha perdido, dentro de la globalización, las referencias semióticas que permitían establecer una correlación con la “naturaleza humana” o con las “necesidades humanas”; en lo práctico del proceso de evaluación para la obra arquitectónica, estas categorías no figuran en las bases de apreciación como pertinentes en el método aplicado habitualmente; donde el sistema es interno y lo que determina el éxito o el fracaso de una obra es el juicio de los colegas; la opinión y la experiencia del público/usuario/habitante quien cotidianamente hace uso del espacio, quedan relegados del comentario final. LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE MODELOS La arquitectura no es un hecho aislado, no un objeto físico sordo, sabe explicitar desde sus formas una fruición3; su lenguaje está dado también en el significado fruitivo4 de sus elementos. La influencia es recíproca entre la evolución simultánea de los valores y comportamientos de los grupos, y de la obra edificada y la influencia que el espacio ejerce a la vez sobre ellos. Los hechos físicos consisten en lo edificado, en los espacios naturales modificados, son a la vez los comportamientos, el uso que se hace del espacio arquitectónico. El desarrollo psicológico es un proceso de crecimiento de tipo dinámico e interrelacionado. Los factores socio/culturales deber ser considerados como influencias “condicionantes” que conceden un margen para el desarrollo individual y con las que dos personas no se relacionan de la misma manera; no existen dos personas que compartan exactamente las mismas condiciones de conducta o que participen de las mismas experiencias de un comportamiento. La interacción con sus ambientes Ambiente significa las referencias comunes entre la arquitectura, considerando los espacios de la vivienda, de los edificios, de la ciudad, de las formas del paisaje transformado por el hombre; la cultura de la ciudad tal como se estratifica en la vida cotidiana y en la memoria de los 3 Del lat. Froitionem; placer intenso. Sentir gran placer. Disfrute. Gozo 4 Placentero. Del ámbito de las sensaciones gratas. Gozoso. Recreativo. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 105 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados espacios; sus elementos serán la referencia a un conjunto unitario de problemas, necesidades, demandas y objetivos tocantes a la misma materia cultural, aún cuando a veces las técnicas empleadas sean distintas. Interesa para este concepto una extensión del análisis arquitectónico, hasta el punto de rozar los valores artísticos, los significados en cuanto a cultura social; sede que es a la vez condición y expresión de la sociedad articulada de clases. Interpretación de significados y valores que reflejan la vida cotidiana, costumbres, tradiciones y vivencias que se transforman en valores de significado, a la par que los espacios que se habitan. El hombre que percibe la arquitectura le otorga sus conceptos psicológicos, cambia el simbolismo de acuerdo a su percepción individual, y el arquitecto deberá considerarlo. Se presentan variables en cada caso que tienen mucho que ver con el medio ambiente, las percepciones en cada persona tienen una interpretación individual, por tanto son subjetivas; asignamos valores de diferente manera a los objetos y éstos quedan relacionados en el tiempo y el espacio por la manera en que les otorgamos significados La semiótica ayuda a la interpretación de los lenguajes de las cosas, interviene en los mensajes de cada cultura, y establece valores generales para la sociedad y la religión; ejerce el valor de un ordenamiento de ideas y de mensajes; codifica e interpreta. La simbolización que los objetos tienen lo que comunica e informa, se extiende al lenguaje del usuario, quien percibe la abstracción de los significados. En las palabras de Norberg Schultz, podemos explicar que: “El mundo entonces se interpreta como la posibilidad de expresar los valores de belleza en una forma particular de interpretación personal ante el mundo, como un afán de hacer manifiestos sus valores y su expresión. A lo largo de la historia, las culturas han aprovechado las características de la percepción y del simbolismo para adueñarse de su entorno y expresar su arte. La arquitectura, como producto humano, es una manifestación paralela de símbolos, fenómenos y creencias; la percepción es una reproducción del mundo y la interpretación para la creación artística; el arte es una abstracción de elementos esenciales, mismos que permiten la reestructuración de nuevas formas, objetos, fenómenos”.5 La ergonomía es el resultado de la integración de diversas disciplinas clásicas como la biología, la psi5 NORBERG-SCHULTZ, Chistian.- (1998).- Intensiones en Arquitectura.- colección G.G. REPRINTS, Barcelona: Ed. Gustavo Gili, S.A. 106 cología, la ingeniería y la fisiología, que unidas tienen la finalidad de estudiar las interrelaciones hombre/ máquina, la adecuación entre las dimensiones y capacidades del ser humano y las máquinas que éste construye para que le ayuden; consideradas entre ellas a muebles y espacios habitables. En el campo de la psicología ambiental, el concepto se extiende hasta la relación en sí, tales como espacio personal, aglomeración, intimidad, adecuación al medio, aislamiento; pretende llegar más allá de la compatibilidad con el diseño del medio, estudiando los cambios en la gente que vive rodeada por ese medio. Algunos de estos criterios de compatibilidad son universales y presentan resultados uniformes en las diversas relaciones entre el hombre y el medio ambiente, como pueden ser: comodidad térmica, eficacia de la iluminación, reacción ante el ruido, intrusión visual en la evaluación del paisaje urbano. Comprender estos factores y juzgarlos en calidad nos permite pasar del nivel de la experiencia práctica al establecimiento de la teoría. La lectura del espacio Al analizar las condiciones psicológicas que determinan la percepción del individuo como comprensión del mundo, y al relacionar los elementos de simbolismo con la sociedad y la cultura, pueden llegar a establecerse parámetros muy claros sobre las condiciones que a la vez determinan la forma de interpretar y de adueñarse de la arquitectura, como individuo y como grupo social. El ser humano posee crecientes posibilidades para adoptar diversos modos de vida; no es una organismo con capacidades fijas; el desarrollo de la conducta es un proceso histórico estrechamente vinculado a las circunstancias socio/culturales en que ocurre, éstas se consideran factores que “condicionan” el desarrollo psicológico. Los sistemas integradores de la sociedad son la base para el desarrollo y el mantenimiento de una conducta social, los cambios fundamentales en los sistemas van acompañados de modificaciones en la práctica social; traducido al campo de la creación arquitectónica, diremos que la expresión espacial percibida por el sujeto tendrá repercusiones importantes sobre el condicionamiento de su conducta, su experiencia psicológica y la forma de entender su núcleo social; el equilibrio simbólico del medio ambiente donde el sujeto participa le permitirá establecer juicios de valor y May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México permanecer dentro de sistemas sociales constituido por vivencias identificables y compartidas. La asimilación del medio ambiente a través de percepciones y sensaciones nos deja un conocimiento en el sistema nervioso central. El espacio se percibe por los sentidos, se analiza por la mente, se registran en la memoria, se identifica con el habitante, se asimila o se desecha en función de los valores que se han detectado y de su correspondencia con las expectativas del propio individuo. En medio de la enervante tensión en que vive el habitante de las ciudades, la idea de enriquecer sus experiencias cotidianas a través de la diversidad de expresión vivencial de su medio ambiente adquiere significados importantes, dado que existe la capacidad de producir emociones en el individuo que mejoren su calidad de vida y que a la vez permitan que se integre a su grupo social con el ánimo de pertenencia, al compartir objetivos comunes: el mejoramiento de su entorno y la identificación con su espacio cotidiano. No es posible estudiar seriamente la arquitectura sin tener en cuenta el marco del cual surgió; es decir, el simbolismo y la visión del mundo y del cosmos. Por lo mismo “nunca podremos entender la arquitectura griega sin referirla a la aproximación de los griegos al mundo natural y al hombre en cuanto individuo. Pero no puede decirse lo mismo de la arquitectura romana, la universalidad empezó con ella y a la par una organización radicalmente nueva del ritmo de la vida urbana; la concentración del aquí y ahora apareció entonces por primera vez con una globalidad asombrosa. Nunca se habían erigido edificios públicos a una escala tan generosa como los construidos por los emperadores romanos para la plebe; su finalidad no era sólo el esparcimiento, sino también el descanso físico”.6 Cuando el ambiente es monótono el organismo se duerme, si es demasiado caótico, se sobreexcita; mediante el proceso de la comunicación estética el arquitecto, el diseñador, el artista, manifiestan emociones; éstas perdurarán por generaciones a pesar de las diferencias socioculturales, económicas, políticas, de la esfera humana. El entorno representa las formas de vida, simboliza los logros y las aspiraciones, comunica el sentido de pertenencia y cuidado, expresa hacia el exterior la vida interna de sus habitantes. Son condiciones que deberían quedar ligadas desde el momento de plantear 6 GIEDION, Sigfried.- La arquitectura, fenómeno de transición. (Las tres edades del espacio en arquitectura).- 1ª. edición castellana, 1969-Barcelona, España: Ed. Gustavo Gili, S.A. de C.V..- Linking Differences / Defining Actions un esquema proyectual. El arquitecto, diseñador de espacios para la vida del hombre, no debe pasar por alto las características de los usuarios, ni de los elementos que formarán parte de un ambiente urbano específico. El razonamiento sobre el espacio, visto como relación hombre/ambiente, significa retomar los valores sobrentendidos de contenidos de vida; significados metodológicos que van más allá de los conceptos de espacio físico o estético. El problema quedaría establecido en la búsqueda de formas para construir una trama de relaciones espaciales entre individuo y ambiente que sean significativas para el proceso social y a la vez ofrezcan una posibilidad de verificación práctica y objetiva. “Esto conduce a la pregunta de si pueden existir, o no, forma y espacio como cosas objetivas, descriptibles, prescindiendo de la relación entre ellas y de éstas hacia quien las percibe, al respecto se han dado, dentro de la arquitectura, distintas interpretaciones del concepto de espacio”.7 Retomando las experiencias de Piaget8 con respecto a sus estudios de la capacidad cognitiva y la inteligencia, podemos afirmar que son construcciones individuales que elabora el individuo para adaptarse al medio social y físico; así, explicamos que en ellos se identifican dos procesos que caracterizan a la evolución y adaptación del psiquismo humano a su entorno: la asimilación y la acomodación. Ambas son capacidades innatas que por factores genéticos se van desplegando ante algunos estímulos en muy determinadas etapas o estadios del desarrollo; la asimilación permite la interiorización de un objeto o un evento nuevo a una estructura comportamental y cognitiva preestablecida; la acomodación consiste en la modificación de la estructura cognitiva o del esquema comportamental para acoger nuevos objetos y eventos que hasta el momento eran desconocidos. Si bien sus estudios se centran en las capacidades de interpretación dentro del proceso evolutivo infantil, estos fenómenos se pueden apreciar en los comportamientos adultos ante un momento de crisis, donde se busca encontrar nuevamente el equilibrio (por esto en la epistemologia genética de Piaget se habla de un equilibrio fluctuante), produciendo modificaciones en los esquemas 7 CERASI, Maurice.- La lectura del ambiente.- ob.cit. Jean William Fritz Piaget (* Neuchatel, Suiza 9 agosto 1896 Ginebra, 16 septiembre 1980). psicologo experimental,filosofo, biologo, suizo; creador de la epistemologia genetica y famoso por sus aportes en el campo de la psicologia evolutiva sus estudios sobre la infiancia y su teoría del desarrollo cognitivo. 8 Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 107 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados cognitivos anteriores, incorporándose las nuevas experiencias. Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados LAS NECESIDADES DEL HABITANTE Si el objetivo de la arquitectura es la construcción de espacios habitables para el desarrollo de las actividades del individuo, será entonces el espacio interno su esencia; incluyendo la dimensión del tiempo como factor en la figuración de imágenes, considerando que la morada humana requiere de desplazamientos y recorridos para su contemplación y su uso, lo que significa multitud de puntos de vista a través del tiempo. Este concepto espacial implica, en su sentido más amplio, que no es condición determinante que el espacio cuente con techumbre, en consecuencia los patios, jardines, terrazas, balcones, portales, son espacios descubiertos que dan forma a la obra arquitectónica, le dan carácter, la identifican, la limitan y la enriquecen. Retomando de la psicología general, las explicaciones que Swartz construye, podemos asumir de igual forma que “ninguna sociedad es totalmente homogénea, la organización social de cualquier grupo humano incluye subgrupos de personas identificados por normas de conducta social limitada, más o menos similares. En una sociedad desarrollada la heterogeneidad es mucho más obvia, se encuentra altamente estratificada, entre estos aspectos destacan: ocupación, edad, sexo, color de piel, raza, lugar de residencia, credo, que determinan el agrupamiento de las personas en clases sociales baja, media y alta, constituyendo además, dimensiones expresivas de la organización social”.9 Estas cualidades diversas en grupos, forma y atribuciones, también han llevado a la creación de diferentes espacios para la vida cotidiana. Un ejemplo concreto es lo que sucede entre las necesidades habitacionales de las familias de limitados recursos y las políticas de vivienda, que ofrecen cada vez menos posibilidades para incorporarlos a programas habitacionales oficiales; la acción habitacional tiene efectos importantes en lo que a producción de vivienda se refiere, entendida como la que produce el Estado para satisfacer la demanda de los sectores de menor ingreso, y las posibilidades de que ella pueda orientarse hacia la atención real de los objetivos. Aunado a ello, actualmente se identifican “familias” integradas por una persona o dos personas, que pueden o no ser pareja; que aún subsisten núcleos familiares donde los abuelos y los tíos forman parte de éste y que requieren de condiciones específicas de intimidad e independencia; que la familia común aún esta formada por una pareja con 2 ó 3 hijos, no necesariamente del mismo sexo –que por supuesto no serán niños toda la vida- y que requieren de su propio y privado espacio. Estos matices, que parecieran sutiles, se han dejado de lado para fabricar un esquema de vivienda en serie, impersonal, modulada, con carácter comercial, para ser ocupada por familias de diversa estructura social, justificando los procesos de producción en masa, sin atención individual y sin posibilidad de expresión humana independiente, con el argumento de que será mucho más barata la fabricación y por ende, accesible a un mayor número de personas. Se hace evidente, entonces, que si bien las decisiones económicas que adoptan los organismos gubernamentales inciden en el diseño de los espacios habitables, creando vivienda “económica” en conjuntos habitacionales, no debieran ser la primordial justificación dentro del diseño; si atendemos a que el habitante acepta su espacio y se relaciona con éste en función de su vivencia, de su percepción y de su interpretación, como procesos psico-sociales que le permitirán más adelante “formar parte” del grupo de individuos que habita en sus inmediaciones. Las necesidades generales, arquitectónicas y las actividades humanas se encuentran entrelazadas en múltiples formas, sin una precisa delimitación; la función de habitar reducida a los actos de la vida orgánica diaria incluye otras situaciones que son derivadas, como: descanso, alimentación, aseo; a su vez identifican actividades cotidianas: dormir, leer, comer; y se hacen manifiestas las necesidades arquitectónicas relativas a aislamiento, o al acomodo de los equipos domésticos y mobiliario. “La importancia de las costumbres, como factor generador de necesidades arquitectónicas radica tanto en la constante repetición de actos por cumplir satisfactoriamente, como en el hecho de que revelan caracteres de identidad; estas costumbres pueden ser individuales o colectivas y en ambos casos expresan actos tomados con libertad. La significación de la costumbre se hace manifiesta por la repetición, si los actos 9 SWARTZ, Paul.- Psicología. El estudio de la conducta.- 5ª. Reimpresión en español.- 1976, LOPEZ Dura, Juan (Trad.) C.E.C.S.A.. México: Cía. Editorial Continental. 108 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México se ejecutaran sólo una vez no determinarían necesidades de espacios”.10 Los espacios de la vivienda de interés social El modelo de conjunto habitacional ha permitido que la población de limitados recursos tenga acceso a una vivienda segura, y la tipología permite abatir los costos del suelo urbano y del proceso de construcción; pero se hace manifiesto que las necesidades de los habitantes de estos espacios requieren de una propuesta que efectivamente responda a sus necesidades como individuos, como familia y como grupo social característico. La Unidad habitacional se ha conformado, entonces, como una nueva manifestación de la vida en vecindad; las clases trabajadoras con un mejor nivel socioeconómico se alejan del centro de las ciudades, se instalan en las periferias, alejados de los grupos asentados en las vecindades del centro de la ciudad. Dentro de estos espacios urbanos, la vivienda se presenta en un esquema limitado en espacios privados, sin posibilidades reales de crecimiento en ningún sentido; la identificación de propiedad se entiende hacia el interior, “la relación al exterior se hace presente por ventanas y puertas; vida en común desde los balcones, en los andadores, en los accesos, en elevadores y escaleras”.11 Desde tiempos remotos ha sido la vivienda una forma de expresión hacia el grupo social al cual se pertenece, tamaño, forma y color; los materiales que la conforman y las características de su ubicación dentro del espacio urbano/social y dentro del solar mismo han comunicado a los habitantes las condiciones de vida de sus ocupantes. Las formas de la propiedad han evolucionado desde tierras comunales hasta la propiedad privada; y ésta a su vez, ha variado de significación con el transcurso del tiempo; ha representado el status social, la cultura, poder, seguridad, resguardo, cobijo, tradición y la formación de una familia. “Espacios donde vamos construyendo y viviendo partes fundamentales de nuestra historia... convirtiéndose en una... percepción indisoluble de lo simbólico, de lo físico y de lo material”.12 10 YAÑEZ, Enrique.- (1989) Arquitectura: teoría, diseño, contexto.1ª. reimpresión.- México: Noriega Editores.- Ed. Limusa. 11 AGUILA o SOL.- Programa TV.- Canal 11 TV IPN.- “Por vivir en quinto patio”.- México 1998. 12 Romero Fernández, Gustavo.- El habitar, la arquitectura y la vivienda.- Ponencia.- Congreso Internacional “Ambito Latinoamericano. El habitar: una orientación para la investigación proyectual”.UNAM.- Facultad de Arquitectura.- México 1999 Linking Differences / Defining Actions Los recursos y el financiamiento son una parte de los aspectos que determinan las condiciones de producción de vivienda, (y las formas de acceso a ella) constituyendo a la vez los obstáculos más difíciles de superar para quienes perciben limitados recursos, representando la síntesis más clara de la concepción errada que las autoridades tienen del problema de vivienda en la actualidad. El análisis de estas condiciones ha permitido detectar un grado de hacinamiento muy grave, alcanzando hasta una ocupación promedio de 3.7 personas por habitación; fenómeno que tiene relación con las pocas alternativas que ofrecen los prototipos de programas de interés social, donde no se brindan opciones acordes a la gran diferenciación demográfica que caracteriza a las familias trabajadoras. El grado de hacinamiento, a su vez, produce serios conflictos en la vida cotidiana, los cuales se ven agravados por los problemas a partir de la superposición de usos de los espacios comunes. Actor y habitante del espacio Desgraciadamente la historia de los conjuntos habitacionales no ha resultado lo exitosa que se suponía; por lo general, lo masivo de la vivienda y el anonimato que ello propicia, la carencia de espacios públicos de escala individual, las dificultades de convivencia entre los diferentes estilos de vida de sus habitantes, así como los problemas administrativos y de mantenimiento, han propiciado conflictos entre sus ocupantes, y en algunos casos el abandono de la vivienda. Tradición, cultura, oficio, ocupación, nivel social, son factores que determinan las necesidades de creación de espacios específicos al interior de la vivienda; de igual manera, la integración del núcleo familiar determina el tamaño y la cantidad de los espacios requeridos. Este proceso de vivencia del espacio adquiere características especiales en cuanto a su forma y a su intensidad, se constituye en la “expresión arquitectónica que rebasa el contenido de su forma; se habita y se incluye una pared biográfica con que se construye el lugar que habitamos y que nos habita”. La forma esquemática de la multiplicación de vivienda en el espacio urbano, se transforma en el “crecimiento vertical donde se apiñan las aventuras, las frustraciones y las ilusiones; se aleja de ser una simple comunión de la vivienda para conformar el ser de la existencia cotidiana”.13 13 AGUILA o SOL.- Programa TV.- Canal 11 TV IPN.- “Por vivir en quinto patio”.- México 1998. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 109 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Los conjuntos habitacionales fueron pensados para personas de la clase obrera asalariada con el propósito de abrir la posibilidad de dotarlos de vivienda cercana a sus sitios de trabajo; pretendieron atender a una demanda urbana, a una necesidad social, a una condicionante constitucional. El diseño no ha conseguido responder a todas las necesidades del habitante que la ocupa, incluyendo sus necesidades orgánicas y psicológicas, emocionales y espirituales, sociales e individuales; sin menoscabo de ninguna, sin relevancia de otra, sin condicionantes económicas. Las viviendas construidas no han logrado sacudirse el estigma de “más económicas” y el resultado ha generado espacios habitablemente inadecuados para las necesidades humanas, pareciera que el valor del diseño de vivienda se ha perdido dentro del caos de la economía y que las propuestas de edificación nada tienen que ver con los sujetos a quienes dará cobijo. La elección de materiales y de sistemas constructivos no la hace más decorosa; tal vez más higiénica, quizá más segura, pero por sí mismas no ofrecen beneficio significativo que debieran cumplirse en una propuesta de diseño. Los espacios se convirtieron en condiciones mínimas, donde la luz y el aire no tienen cabida, las oportunidades de convivencia se transformaron en condición de roce continuo por la necesidad de privacidad, los espacios se vieron reducidos hasta límites donde los muebles lo abarcan casi totalmente, sin oportunidad para el movimiento, sin previsión para el guardado y acomodo de los enseres cotidianos. Incorporamos aquí algunas de los aspectos relevantes de la teoría de Vigotsky,14 donde se explica la idea fundamental sobre el desarrollo humano en términos de interacción social; este desarrollo consiste en la interiorización de instrumentos culturales (v.gr. el lenguaje) que inicialmente no nos pertenecen, sino que pertenecen al grupo humano en el cual nacemos, que son transmitidos como productos culturales a través de la interacción social. La idea y la presencia del “otro”, toma un papel importante en esta construcción. A través de estos estudios podemos complementar las 14 Lev Semyónovich Vigótsky, también transcrito como Vigótski (en ruso Лев Семёнович Выготский) (12 de noviembre de 1896 (5 de noviembre en el antiguo calendario ruso) – 11 de junio de 1934, psicologo beilorruso, uno de los más destacados teóricos de la psicologia del desarrollo y claro precursor de la neuropsicología soviética de la que sería máximo exponente el médico ruso A.R.Luria. Su obra fue descubierta y divulgado por los medios académicos del mundo occidental en ladecada de 1960. 110 explicaciones de la vivencia cotidiana desde el núcleo de familia, el entorno y la cotidianeidad de la vivienda de interés social; donde, si bien identificamos con cierta uniformidad las condiciones económicas del grupo humano, los valores sociales se forman y definen a través de la convivencia en grupo, al interior de la vivienda como familia y tradición, hacia el exterior por las condiciones de diseño impuestas que provocan el intercambio de manera intensa, dado el estrecho espacio interior destinado a la convivencia. RECUPERANDO VALORES PARA EL HABITANTE El diseño de la vivienda y los espacios que le son adyacentes, entonces, debiera corresponder con conciencia a las condiciones socio- culturales que lo generan, pero con honor hacia su propio objetivo: brindar protección y abrigo a la familia, atender a sus necesidades físicas, biológicas, psicológicas y espirituales, integrarla al grupo social respetando su individualidad, manifestar en sus formas los valores propios y comunicarse con el entorno por la expresión de sus valores colectivos. Antes Luis Barragán, años después Tadao Ando, han hecho hincapié en la necesidad de atender a las necesidades del espíritu dentro de la concepción de una obra arquitectónica, “la magia, el encanto, el sortilegio” que puedan encontrarse dentro de los espacios diseñados atienden a estas necesidades, que nada tienen que ver con los problemas y las crisis económicas, por ser parte de la espiritualidad del ser humano; sin embargo las condiciones de globalización por las que atravesamos, nos conducen hacia la despersonalización de la vivienda; otrora significación de solidez familiar y posición social, se ha convertido en un espacio sin identificación individual, donde pareciera que cualquier persona debiera atender a sus muy diversas y variadas necesidades en función de muchos otros valores no considerados e intencionalmente sacrificados en busca de la economía dentro de la construcción de la vivienda. El arquitecto ha resultado afectado por este proceso manifiesto de la crisis económica, aunque no es el responsable de las carencias y las limitantes económicas por las que atravesamos, si es parte de su labor la búsqueda de formas y sistemas que aplicados al diseño puedan aportar valores significativos para dar cuidado a la vivienda construida en masa para atender a multitudes que se caracterizan por su individualidad. Si bien es cierto que los arquitectos no son del todo May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México responsables por esta situación, sí pueden incidir de forma importante para modificarlo, con su actuación profesional como diseñadores de proyectos de interés social, en la elaboración de los planes de edificación, en la formulación de leyes y reglamentos, en la docencia, y sobre todo en la crítica que edifique sobre el error, corrija y permita el crecimiento a partir de las experiencias vividas. La vivienda construida en colectividad, casas en conjuntos, edificios departamentales, unidades habitacionales; constituyen esquemas de diseño predeterminado donde el espacio urbano, el clima, la geografía, el hábitat, el entorno y otros valores culturales y sociales de alto grado de simbolismo han quedado relegados. Al redefinir la vivienda construida bajo esquemas de interés social, justificada su presencia como demanda social y limitado el diseño por razones económicas, se establecen las bases para identificar un proceso activo, marcado por las necesidades del grupo social y caracterizado para llegar al entendimiento de la compleja realidad en que el individuo vive y convive, conoce y crea, mismo que no podrá constituirse como un estado final e inequívoco; sino como un proceso de avance y retroceso que permita identificar “las condiciones y los mecanismos del cambio gnoseológico”. 15 En el término experiencia espacial, se abarcan las vivencias que involucra la vida en un ámbito urbano, en su sentido más amplio de las estéticas funcionales, de las personales a las políticas. Para que se produzca, es necesario que interactúen dos entidades de características distintas: • El espacio, en cuanto a su ámbito construido o virtual • El sujeto que lo percibe, generando en él una serie de estímulos que le permitan recrear, comprender y en definitiva, vivir dicho espacio. La vivienda de interés social, construida en modulación repetitiva y continua, desde su origen quedó caracterizada por las condiciones socio- económicas en forma predominante, y los conjuntos habitacionales fueron tipificando a poco las condiciones de vida de sus ocupantes; los espacios comunes centraban las actividades y los espacios privados, por su proximidad entre sí, compartían iguales forma, función, moda e incluso color. A partir de estos cambios en las formas de vida urbana, el diseño de los espacios internos de la vivienda se ha ido caracterizando por la integración de áreas para el uso de una familia formada por 4 ó 5 miembros, repitiéndose indiscriminadamente en cada uno de las propuestas urbanas, estableciendo con ellos una tipología de forma y modo, de época y técnica, de modelo económico más que social; de condiciones monetarias más que humanas, y de esquema de “modernidad” –entendido como aplicación de tecnologíasmás que cultural. El interés, la actitud del individuo influye en la percepción e incluye simbolismos en los grupos de los objetos; las expectativas del hombre proponen un orden en las cosas, pero se presentan en la cultura cuando se tienen valores comunes y experiencias anteriores; sirve de retroalimentación hacia la valoración de símbolos en el esquema del hombre, tiene como propósito el establecimiento de un orden. La transmisión de valores artísticos y la interpretación del mundo tienen que ver con la calidad del grupo humano en cuanto a su evolución; el mundo primitivo era mágico, el mundo actual busca la verdad científica. Entonces, se propone revalorar el uso de los espacios de la vivienda a partir de la experiencia del habitante, permitiendo sus aportaciones como conclusiones y construcciones a partir del aprovechamiento de su espacio desde lo cotidiano, de la solución a sus demandas, de la atención a sus necesidades; el espacio usado, explica Muntañola16, debe transmitir a quien lo vive una condición poética profunda, la arquitectura entonces podrá valorarse simultáneamente desde el origen del diseño en sí y del uso representativo; así, encontraremos que el espacio puede definirse como resultado de una elaboración cultural del habitante mismo. 15 TUDELA, Fernando.- (1985) Conocimiento y diseño.-Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana –Xochimilco.- Coord. de Extensión Universitaria.- colección Ensayos Diseño.- México: MultidiseñoGráfico SA. Linking Differences / Defining Actions 16 Muntañola Thornberg, Josep., (2001) Arquitectura e interpretación dialógica.- Edicions de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, SL. Barcelona: Edicions UPC. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 111 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Violencia Doméstica: Mensajes Dentro del Espacio Arquitectónico Domestic Violence: Messages within the Architectural Space Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Adolfo Gomez-Amador (Universidad de Colima, México) El documento reporta parte de los resultados de una investigación, realizada a partir de 2001, con la finalidad de encontrar la correlación entre patrones de conducta violenta y su entorno arquitectónico y tomando a 12 casas unifamiliares de la ciudad de Colima como unidades de análisis: 5 casos sin violencia y 7 con violencia en diferentes grados. Se establece un procedimiento de análisis de la disposición de los objetos colocados sobre los muros en los espacios de mayor importancia para los habitantes, para ello se define un concepto de orden y a partir de esto se consideró que la respuesta perceptiva es una tarea compleja, en donde la composición implica la idea de agrupamiento ordenado. En ese sentido, se identificaron los ejes de composición de cada objeto colocado sobre las paredes del espacio principal de las viviendas estudiadas. Para efectuar el proceso de análisis se tomaron en cuenta diversos criterios, en función a tres categorías básicas: el espacio, los elementos y los principios compositivos. Los elementos compositivos se analizaron ateniéndonos a principios y leyes de la percepción identificados experimentalmente entre 1975 y 1995 por diversos autores. En el documento se presentan los esquemas de composición analizados y los resultados de dicho análisis. Se encuentra que en las casas sin violencia no existe correlación entre el número de objetos y el total de ejes compositivos, pero los datos son muy compactos en ambas variables. En tanto que en las casas donde sí se detectó violencia, la correlación entre el número de objetos y el total de los ejes compositivos es perfecta (r = 0.99). La correlación entre el Índice de Profusión y el de violencia muestra que los objetos compositivos integrados en el índice se correlacionan con las variables de 112 violencia siguiendo una función polinómica, en la que las viviendas sin violencia presentan valores intermedios, las viviendas en las que se presentaron eventos de violencia psicológica e intimidación, muestran valores bajos y las viviendas que padecieron abuso físico y sexual presentan valores altos. Esta asociación arroja una alta correlación (r = 0.92): los casos estudiados presentan una clara tendencia a ser profusos cuando las agresiones afectan cuerpo y mente; y escasos cuando el abuso es emocional. En el estrato medio se ubican las viviendas de familias pacíficas. Se concluye que los habitantes que conducen con violencia su relación familiar extienden a diversos ámbitos su incapacidad de orden, y esta se expresa también sobre la composición de los objetos ornamentales sobre los muros. El presente trabajo forma parte de una extensa investigación sobre violencia doméstica realizada en la ciudad mexicana de Colima, cuyo propósito fue identificar los elementos y condiciones de las viviendas que pudieran estar correlacionados al modo en que sus habitantes acostumbran resolver sus problemas, ya sea de manera pacífica o violenta. El proyecto se desarrolló en dos fases. En la primera (agosto 2001 a abril 2002) se integró en forma aleatoria una muestra de 100 viviendas localizadas en toda la ciudad, que incluía ejemplos de todos los estratos socioeconómicos. En cada una de las viviendas se practicó una encuesta para encontrar aquellos casos en los que hubiere ocurrido un evento de violencia en los seis meses previos. La encuesta fue diseñada y validad por INEGI (1999). A partir de las respuestas obtenidas se establecieron dos grupos: casos (en donde hubo un evento de violencia) y testigos (en donde no los hubo). De ellos se seleccionaron nuevamente de forma aleatoria los casos de estudio que se reportan en este documento: 5 viviendas no asociadas a eventos de violencia y 7 viviendas en donde se registró algún evento violento. En ellas se investigaron durante la segunda fase del proyecto (agosto 2002 a diciembre 2006) diversos atributos del entorno arquitectónico con los que se construyeron indicadores de habitabilidad como el uso y la función de las habitaciones, el hacinamiento, los recorridos interiores, la adaptación al clima, el uso de ciertos colores y la forma de ordenar muebles y objetos decorativos, cuyos resultados presentaron correlaciones de moderadas a significativas con el fenómeno de la violencia doméstica. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México junto con otros investigadores, ha fundamentado una hipótesis similar: los ambientes que producen los individuos alrededor de ellos mismos, como oficinas y alcobas, son abundantes en información sobre sus personalidades, sus habilidades, valores, y estilos de vida. Con esta hipótesis pretenden demostrar, por ejemplo, que los cuadros que una persona selecciona para colgar en sus paredes, los libros que escoge para leer, y la manera en que coloca los objetos que llenan el espacio a su alrededor, reflejan aspectos de su personalidad y valores. Gosling con base en teorías Interaccionistas, plantea que los individuos también seleccionan y producen ambientes físicos que reflejan y refuerzan todo lo que ellos son. Para ello han formulado un modelo que explica cómo los individuos pueden impactar el ambiente alrededor de ellos y, a su vez, cómo los ambientes físicos pueden servir como almacenes de expresión individual: El hallazgo más relevante lo constituye la evidencia de que cada persona tiene una particular forma de interactuar con el entorno, así como una manera característica para relacionarse con los demás, las cuales parecen ser reflejo una de la otra. En este documento se reportan los resultados respecto del modo en que las personas colocan objetos, ya sean decorativos o utilitarios, sobre los muros del espacio de uso colectivo más importante de su casa. La hipótesis era que esa manera de hacerlo, debía estar asociada al estatus de violencia de cada familia, y por lo tanto podría tomarse como un referente que expresa una forma particular de conducta. En el otro sentido de la interacción bidireccional habitantehábitat, hábitat-habitante, el aspecto del ambiente resultado del grado de organización de los objetos que lo ocupan, podría ser considerado como una condición de riesgo secundario. Samuel D. Gosling (2002) del Departamento de Psicología de la Universidad de Texas en Austin, Mecanismo Disposición subyacente Manifestación conductual Indicio o evidencia conductual Demandas de identidad dirigidas a sí mismo Sentimental Colecciona recuerdos Guijarros de su playa favorita Demandas de identidad dirigidas a otros Socialmente responsable Vota en las elecciones Boleta de votante Indicio de la conducta interior Consciente Organiza sus pertenencias Espacio de trabajo organizado Indicio de la conducta externa Busca experimentar sensaciones Va a esquiar a la nieve Esquíes de nieve en la habitación Tabla 1. Fragmento del modelo conceptual de Gosling et alt. (2002) Así, siguiendo ese mismo razonamiento teórico, podemos plantear que el patrón que cada quién formula para seleccionar y organizar los objetos de su entorno más inmediato, es un hecho que expresa en buena medida su personalidad, su apego o desdén al orden, su racionalización del espacio, etc. Esa disposición que expresa una voluntad manifiesta, es un signo –referente semiótico– que expresa una cultura, una cosmovisión y la manera en que el individuo modela su entorno e interactúa con él. Un método para decodificar esos signos del entorno particular de las personas (Personal Living Space Cue Inventory) que está en desarrollo por el propio Gosling y otros investigadores, plantea una serie de valoraciones Linking Differences / Defining Actions hechas por diversos observadores –jueces o codificadores, les llaman– que registran los objetos, las formas de organizarlos y colocarlos, las rutinas que se identifican a través de todo ello, entre otros ítems, y luego los categorizan, jerarquizan, depuran e interpretan. (Gosling, Craik, Martin, & Pryor, 2005) Una de los retos que se propuso en la realización del presente proyecto, fue reducir lo más posible la valoración personal, y por lo tanto subjetiva, en las tareas de registro de los datos que habrían de permitirnos después hacer los ejercicios de correlación e interpretación. De hecho, para poder hacer tales rutinas de correlación se debían tener datos cuantitati Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 113 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados vos, lo más objetivos posible. Por eso se decidió desarrollar un método propio que materializara en índices concretos y numéricos la forma de disponer objetos sobre los muros de las viviendas, en vez de basarse en juicios de valoración provenientes de observadores. Para ello fue necesario retomar principios de la Gestalt, que se preocupa fundamentalmente de problemas perceptuales, así como del cognoscitivismo que elabora a partir de algunos de los principios Gestalt una teoría psicológica completa que interpreta a los conocimientos como una síntesis de formas y fondos captados en las percepciones. Estas a su vez son relativas, individuales e influidas por la historia, actitud y motivación individuales. A pesar de que el núcleo de la Gestalt gira en torno a la percepción, su alcance se extiende a otros campos de la Psicología, enfatizando el análisis dinámico y la relación de los elementos en su estructura total, de acuerdo al principio de que "el todo es más que la simple suma de sus partes". El cognoscitivismo por su parte se preocupa de la manera en que las personas se conocen a sí mismas, a su entorno y cómo se relacionan con él. En ese proceso, la comprensión que se tenga del ambiente (pasado, presente, futuro y realidad concreta e imaginaria), estructura su espacio vital. El cognoscitivismo también define a la inteligencia como la capacidad de los individuos a responder en situaciones actuales, anticipándose a las posibles consecuencias. La escuela Gestalt ha formulado diversos principios y leyes a los que responden los patrones de percepción en la integración de las formas más estables, congruentes y sencillas que sea posible dentro de un arreglo visual determinado. Llaman a éste proceso ley de la pregnancia, la cual establece que en toda experiencia perceptiva posible de estímulos diversos, particulares y simultáneos, será preferentemente percibido aquel que encaje más cerca del concepto de "buena figura" que tiene formado el receptor. (Van der Helm, 2000). Afirma también que la organización del arreglo visual en objetos perceptivos siempre será tan regular, sencilla y simétrica como lo permitan las condiciones predominantes. (Stanley, 2001). Según esta ley, la percepción tiende a completar imágenes incompletas de acuerdo a la interpretación que el observador tiene del mundo. Esta tendencia intencional -dirigida a un fin- frecuentemente es considerada la ley principal de la Gestalt. 114 Así pues, se procedió al análisis de los arreglos visuales que forman los objetos colocados sobre las paredes de las viviendas estudiadas, con apoyo en las siguientes leyes de la organización de la forma, subsidiarias todas ellas de la de pregnancia: (Goldstein, 1988) (Stanley, 2001) • Ley de la Simplicidad, o cierre, la cual establece que todo patrón de estímulos ha de verse de manera que la estructura resultante sea lo más simple posible y que cuando un espacio está rodeado por un contorno tiende a percibirse como una figura. • Ley de la Similitud que expresa que los elementos similares tienden a agruparse. • Ley de la Continuidad: los puntos que al conectarse dan lugar a líneas rectas o a una curvatura suave tienden a agruparse perceptivamente, y las líneas tienden a verse de forma que sigan el recorrido más suave posible. • Ley de la Proximidad: los elementos próximos entre sí tienden a agruparse y a percibirse como una unidad. • Leyes de la relación figura-fondo demostradas por Edgar Rubín: (Forgus, 1978) la figura es más reconocible y permanente que el fondo y las formas simétricas por reflexión especular o por rotación se perciben como una sola figura. La idea era encontrar índices de orden en la manera de agrupar los objetos, los cuales se pudieran someter a un proceso de correlación estadística con el estatus de violencia de los ocupantes. El índice de orden debía expresar la sencillez o complejidad del arreglo. El orden simple y apoyado en principios muy conocidos puede ser relajante, el orden complejo apoyado en principios no esperados puede resultar incitante. Pero cuando el orden es demasiado simple y predecible resulta banal, o bien cuando va más allá de los umbrales del entendimiento se convierte en caótico. El orden en general “se extiende en un espectro que va de órdenes sencillos, de grado muy bajo, a órdenes caóticos de grado infinito entre los cuales el azar es un caso límite”. Cuando el orden lógico enfrenta contradicciones la mente tendrá que ser capaz de responder con inteligencia creativa para percibir órdenes y categorías nuevos que normalmente descansan entre los extremos estáticos y no relacionados presentados por la pura lógica. (Bohm, 1988) Para el presente estudio se tomó en consideración que la respuesta perceptiva es una tarea compleja, (Forgus, May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México 1978) en donde la composición implica la idea de agrupamiento ordenado. En ese sentido, se procedió a identificar los ejes de composición de cada objeto colocado sobre las paredes del espacio principal de las viviendas estudiadas. Tales ejes fueron identificados siguiendo los preceptos de una o más de las leyes de la organización de la forma explicadas antes. Así, los ejes podrían pasar por el centro del objeto, lo que fue lo más frecuente, o bien podrían pasar por uno de sus límites, en los casos que se presentaban los supuestos de la ley de continuidad, Ahora bien, la cantidad de ejes en un conjunto de objetos, es diferente a la suma de los ejes de las partes, de tal forma que las percepciones del conjunto compuesto no pueden explicarse mediante la adición de las múltiples sensaciones producidas por un objeto componente, por lo tanto a. el estímulo debe considerarse globalmente como un todo. (Goldstein, 1988) En resumen, se consideraron como conjuntos compositivos a todos aquellos muros de los espacios de uso común de las viviendas que contenían objetos en su superficie. En tales conjuntos se identificaron tres tipos de elementos compositivos: los objetos, cosas decorativas o utilitarias colocadas deliberadamente sobre la pared; los ejes compositivos, centrales o tangenciales que modelan la geometrización de los objetos sobre un fondo que en este caso es la pared; y los agrupamientos resultantes de considerar a dos o más objetos como una unidad perceptual, ya que presentan los supuestos de las leyes y principios de la organización de la forma. c. b. d. Figura 1. Elementos compositivos: Objetos, ejes y agrupamientos: a. Un objeto y sus dos ejes centrales. b. Dos objetos y tres ejes centrales hacen un agrupamiento por simplicidad, similitud y proximidad c. Dos objetos y tres ejes, dos centrales y uno tangencial, hacen un agrupamiento por simplicidad, similitud, proximidad y continuidad d. Tres objetos y dos ejes centrales hacen un agrupamiento por simplicidad, similitud, proximidad y rotación Para efectuar el proceso de análisis de tomaron en cuenta diversos criterios, en función a tres categorías básicas: el espacio de composición, los elementos compositivos y los principios de orden compositivo. Tales criterios de detallan a continuación: 1. En relación al espacio de composición: 1.1 Se consideró como unidad de análisis exclusivamente a los espacios colectivos o principales como sala, comedor, etc., ya que en ellos la disposición de los objetos se supone responde a una interacción común de todos los habitantes. Se excluyeron los espacios indi- Linking Differences / Defining Actions viduales porque su arreglo reflejaría la personalidad de miembros aislados y no del conjunto de habitantes. 1.2 Se redujo el universo de objetos a aquellos cuya disposición corresponde a una decisión deliberada del habitante, se excluyen los elementos fijos, arquitectónicos o de instalación, que son parte de la casa como, ventanas, tomacorrientes, apagadores, lámparas fijas, etc. 1.3 Tampoco se contabilizaron los elementos cuya disposición fuera casual o temporal, por no ser resultados de una acción deliberada de ordenamiento, entre Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 115 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados estos elementos consideramos a los objetos no colocados sobre la pared sino apoyados en el piso o mesas, como floreros, portarretratos, aparatos eléctricos. Para esta determinación nos apoyamos en el principio de identidad de la figura percibida, establecido por Hebb, el cual considera el factor experiencia en la respuesta perceptiva. (Forgus) También nos basamos en otros dos principios: una figura es un conjunto de contornos con las propiedades del objeto en nuestra conciencia; y una forma puede constar de una figura que se destaca del fondo pero las formas también pueden incluir parte del fondo del que surgen las figuras. (Stanley) 1.4 En el análisis se consideró a los muros exentos de ornamentación, y a aquellos en donde solo existía una sola pieza, como carentes de composición, pues en condiciones normales los sistemas visuales operan para producir objetos perceptuales (Stanley) y constituyen propiamente la composición, lo que implica posición común o agrupación de figuras. (Real Academia Española, 2006) En tales casos se consideró nula la agrupación. En relación a los elementos compositivos: 1.5 Se graficó en un plano completo la composición de cada muro interior a partir de imágenes fotográficas, considerando la intencionalidad de alineación de objetos y soslayando pequeños desajustes de la colocación. Este criterio se apoya en la ley de la simplicidad y las demostraciones de Attneave (1975), sobre el hecho de que figuras con pocos giros, fuerte simetría y ángulos abiertos tienden a verse como más simples (Forgus). 1.6 Para la caracterización del grado de simetría se recurrió a los primeros niveles establecidos en la teoría de la información: elementos que tienen la misma forma y la misma dimensión, elementos que tienen la misma forma, pero dimensiones diversas, y elementos deformados de manera afín y proyectiva. (Bonsiepe, 1977) 1.7 Se computaron los objetos individualmente, e independientemente de variables como la escala, la proporción, la figura, el color, la posición. En algunos casos de objetos distintos pero superpuestos se consideraron separadamente debido al factor experiencia de la respuesta perceptiva en la organización figura fondo, que permite la identificación o reconocimiento de una forma o modelo y al principio de familiaridad de las figuras ambiguas que previene: las personas normales suelen ver percepciones aparentemente más complejas ya que muchas personas cambian sus percepciones al 116 continuar contemplando la figura un cierto tiempo (Forgus). 1.8 Dado que todos los objetos estaban dispuestos en espacios rectangulares solo se consideraron los ejes horizontales y verticales, ya que de acuerdo a experimentos realizados por Kubovy y Wagemans (1995), ciertos patrones, como las filas y las columnas, parecen tener preferencia en la percepción, y las organizaciones diagonales se diferencian con menor frecuencia. También se consideraron los experimentos de Olson y Attneave (1975), de acuerdo al tiempo de identificación de los agrupamientos de patrones de formas, (Stanley) así como los experimentos sobre la ley de la similitud en los cuales se establece que en la diferenciación de la forma es más significativa la posición que la dirección de los elementos. (Forgus) 1.9 Los agrupamientos que resultaron del análisis de objetos y ejes de composición, fueron obtenidos mediante una expresión simple: G= ∑ Ev * ∑ Eh Donde: G = Agrupamientos compositivos Ev = Ejes verticales identificados en el conjunto compositivo Eh = Ejes horizontales identificados en el conjunto compositivo 2. En relación a los principios de orden compositivo: 2.1 Se consideró que los elementos organizados en conjuntos en base a principios de simetría de reflexión especular o de rotación, generaban un solo eje, de acuerdo con las leyes de relación figura-fondo demostradas por Edgar Rubín. 2.2 Dada la alineación de los órganos de la vista y el predominio del formato horizontal de los muros, en el eje horizontal se consideraron ordenados los elementos alineados en forma tangencial y central y en los alineados en el eje vertical solo se consideró como factor de orden los dispuestos en base a un eje central. 2.3 La alineación tangencial solo se contabilizó como un eje común, cuando los elementos estaban en una sola dirección de acuerdo a la ley de la continuidad que establece que los elementos que parecen seguir la misma dirección (una línea recta o una curva sencilla) tienden a agruparse. (Stanley, 2001) 2.4 Por el mismo motivo solo se consideró la ordenación de objetos bajo el principio de simetría espe- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México cular sobre el eje vertical. De acuerdo a la idea de que si se reduce la distancia vertical entre los puntos con relación a la distancia horizontal, la organización en columnas comenzará a dominar. (Stanley) 2.5 No se consideraron ordenados aquellos objetos que tuvieran el mismo eje pero se interponía entre ellos otro objeto con un eje distinto. Ya que en tales condiciones no opera el principio de continuidad de acuerdo a la demostración de William Prinzmetal y William Banks (1977) cuando un elemento no se alinea o agrupa, se detecta con mayor rapidez. (Stanley) 2.6 Como excepción del principio anterior se considera el caso de que dos o más objetos estén alineados y entre ellos existe uno no alineado pero que forma parte de una composición simétrica en el otro eje, en tal caso los objetos se consideraron ordenados y se computaron como un solo eje, de acuerdo a la leyes de relación figura-fondo invocadas en el inciso 2.1. (Forgus) 2.7 No se consideraron ordenados objetos que teniendo el mismo eje, su distancia entre si, era menor que otro objeto no ordenado. Razonamiento apoyado en las experimentaciones de Prinzmetal y Banks (1976) donde evidencian que la proximidad de una forma con estímulos irrelevantes permite que se agrupe con ellos e interfiera en el patrón de reconocimiento. (Stanley) 2.8 El grado de orden o coherencia que contiene el mensaje emitido por los conjuntos de objetos agrupados compositivamente sobre el fondo neutro del muro, se consideró mediante dos índices diferentes: el de profusión y el de síntesis compositiva. 2.9 El índice de profusión integra la cantidad absoluta de objetos compositivos que se encuentran colocados en los muros del espacio de uso común principal de la vivienda, y expresa el ánimo (valor, esfuerzo, energía) que los habitantes imprimen en su decisión de decorar su escenario de convivencia y de tener al alcance visual o motriz, objetos utilitarios de uso no frecuente, es decir que permanecen colgados ahí durante largas temporadas. El índice de profusión se obtiene de la suma total de objetos compositivos: Linking Differences / Defining Actions n p = ∑O 1 Donde: p = Índice de profusión de objetos compositivos O = Objetos compositivos 2.10 El índice de síntesis compositiva expresa la capacidad que tienen los habitantes para organizar varios objetos en determinados agrupamientos. De tal manera que cuanto mayor sea el número de objetos que incluyen en cada agrupamiento por la coincidencia de sus ejes centrales y tangenciales, su proximidad y similitud, etc., mayor es su capacidad de síntesis. El índice de síntesis se obtiene de una relación simple: σ=p/G Donde: σ = Síntesis compositiva p = Índice de profusión de objetos compositivos G = Agrupamientos compositivos de acuerdo a la expresión (5) En la tabla 2 se muestran los resultados de la fase de acopio de datos y el cálculo de los índices de orden o coherencia formal (las imágenes se omiten por razones de confidencialidad). Al revisar los resultados anteriores, podemos observar que los valores registrados en las viviendas sin violencia, se ubican en un estrato medio en relación con los registrados en las casas con violencia, cuyos extremos los sobrepasan en gran medida. De igual manera, aunque los promedios obtenidos para cada grupo de estudio son muy cercanos, sus medidas de dispersión no lo son. Invariablemente los datos registrados en las casas con violencia son bastante más dispersos que los del otro grupo. Si se observa la figura 2 en la que se correlacionan por separado el número de objetos y ejes para cada grupo de estudio, se explica muy bien el fenómeno identificado. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 117 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados A14 0 σ Síntesis compositiva 0 G Agrupamientos 0 A5 p Profusión de objetos A2 Ejes Horizontales Tipo de violencia 0 Ejes Verticales Clave de la vivienda A1 2 5 11 3.2 3.48 7 7 11 7.0 1.57 7 8 11 7.5 1.47 8 6 14 6.9 2.02 A16 0 8 6 9 6.9 1.30 B3 3 16 16 16 16.0 1.00 B5 1 2 2 2 2.0 1.00 B10 1 3 1 3 1.7 1.73 B11 2 5 5 5 5.0 1.00 B13 4 18 20 22 19.0 1.16 B17 1 3 3 3 3.0 1.00 B19 1 0 0 0 0.0 0.00 Sin violencia Promedio DS 6.40 2.51 6.40 1.14 11.20 1.79 6.30 1.77 1.97 0.89 Con violencia Promedio DS 6.71 7.20 6.71 7.95 7.29 8.32 6.67 7.59 0.98 0.51 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Tabla 2. Cuadro de valores identificados. Tipo de violencia: 0 Sin violencia, 1 Psicológica, 2 Intimidación, 3 Física, 4 Sexual. Ejes compositivos y objetos 45 Con violencia y = 1.8081x + 0.2552 2 R = 0.9887 Suma de ejes verticales y horizontales 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 Sin violencia 5 y = 0.0938x + 11.75 2 R = 0.0026 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 Figura 2. Correlación entre ejes Objetos Sin violencia Con violencia Aquí se puede observar que en las casas en donde no ha estado presente la violencia, la asociación entre el número de objetos y el total de los ejes compositivos, no presenta correlación alguna (r = 0.05), sin embargo los datos son muy compactos en ambas variables: el rango de ejes va de 7 a 15 y el de objetos de 9 a 14. Por su parte, en las casas donde sí se ha padecido la violencia, la correlación entre el número de objetos y el total de los ejes compositivos es perfecta (r = 0.99) y sus extremos van 118 compositivos y objetos. de 0 a 38 en cuanto a los ejes, y de 0 a 22 respecto de los objetos. Esto indica que si la variable de violencia se cuantifica de 0 (sin violencia) a 4 (violencia sexual, física, intimidación y psicológica), la distribución de los datos obtenidos no se ajustaría a una función lineal, sino a la de un polinomio, por lo que se practicó este proceso de regresión a fin de obtener los factores de correlación entre las variables ambientales y las de violencia. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Violencia y Profusión de objetos compositivos 2 y = 3.4728x - 10.333x + 10.56 2 R = 0.855 R = 0.9247 30 Número de objetos 25 20 15 10 Refereed Full-Papers 5 Papeles Seleccionados 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 1 SIN VIOLENCIA VIOLENCIA EMOCIONAL INTIMIDACIÓN VIOLENCIA FÍSICA VIOLENCIA SEXUAL 2 3 4 Tipo de violencia Figura 3. Correlación entre profusión de objetos (p) y tipo de violencia. En la figura 3 se aprecia con claridad lo anteriormente expuesto. Los objetos compositivos integrados en el índice p se correlacionan con las variables de violencia siguiendo una función polinómica del tipo y=ax2–bx+c, en la que las viviendas sin violencia presentan valores intermedios, las viviendas en las que se presentaron eventos de violencia psicológica e intimidación muestran valores bajos y las viviendas que padecieron abuso físico y sexual presentan valores altos. Es decir, donde los sucesos violentos fueron de índole psicológica o intimidatoria, los conjuntos compositivos fueron claramente más escasos que aquellos de las viviendas sin violencia, como lo demuestran los pocos objetos –menos de cinco– que emplean para decorar su espacio de convivencia. De hecho la vivienda B19 no tiene un solo objeto colgado en sus muros. En cambio, donde las agresiones fueron corporales y de mayor impacto traumático, los objetos se desbordan en abundancia. Esta asociación arroja una correlación fuerte (r = 0.92), que no deja lugar a dudas: los casos estudiados presentaron una clara tendencia a ser profusos cuando las agresiones afectan cuerpo y mente y escasos cuando el abuso es emocional. Linking Differences / Defining Actions En el estrato medio se ubican las viviendas de familias pacíficas. El mismo procedimiento se aplicó a los valores que se obtuvieron al despejar el Índice de Síntesis Compositiva, según se describió párrafos arriba. En este caso (figura 4) se observa una tendencia negativa integrada en una curva un poco más suave, ya que los valores representativos de las viviendas sin violencia son los más altos. Podemos interpretar pues que a mayor nivel de agresión menor capacidad de síntesis, aunque ésta repunta un poco en el caso de agresiones sexuales. Como se puede ver claramente, el promedio de objetos que integran una agrupación en el grupo con violencia es de uno en términos redondos, en tanto que en el otro grupo de estudio el promedio es de dos. Dicho de otra manera, se observa una incapacidad en los integrantes de las familias que padecen violencia para hacer arreglos compositivos con más de un objeto. Para las familias libres del problema, parece ser que hacer conjuntos con dos o más objetos es lo natural. Sin embargo esta asociación arrojó un valor de correlación moderado (r = 0.58). Una interpretación que podría hacerse a partir de todas las evidencias discutidas aquí, se basa en la jer- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 119 Violencia y Síntesis Compositiva Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Promedio de Objetos por Agrupamiento 4 2 y = 0.2274x - 1.0598x + 1.917 2 R = 0.3459 R = 0.5881 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 1 SIN VIOLENCIA VIOLENCIA EMOCIONAL INTIMIDACIÓN VIOLENCIA FÍSICA VIOLENCIA SEXUAL 2 3 4 Tipo de Violencia Figura 4. Correlación entre síntesis compositiva (σ) y tipo de violencia. arquía de necesidades propuesta por Maslow. Según esta taxonomía las necesidades de seguridad, de protección, de estar libre de peligro, de vivir en orden y de esperar un futuro predecible, se encuentran en el segundo nivel de prioridad, antecedidas sólo de las necesidades fisiológicas. Este tipo de necesidades se manifiestan como miedo, sensación de indefensión y de caer en la anarquía. Mientras estas exigencias no sean satisfechas, necesidades más elevadas como las de aceptación social, las de reconocimiento y las de autosuperación no son siquiera atendidas. (Maslow, 1999) Siguiendo ese planteamiento, podemos decir que la permanencia en un ambiente hostil, donde campea la posibilidad de una agresión sutil, humillante e intimidatoria produce tal desgano que no existe la preocupación y mucho menos la ocupación de “componer” los elementos del entorno, y esta pobreza ambiental propicia a su vez un marco físico alentador para que las agresiones se escenifiquen. Pero lo interesante resulta en que ese desgano se manifiesta de forma diametralmente opuesta, cuando las agresiones se materializan físicamente en el cuerpo de la víctima y los 120 daños afectivos se acumulan con impactos de mayor trascendencia y perjuicio. En este caso el desinterés por el arreglo ambiental se manifiesta en la acumulación de objetos, escasamente ordenados. Los resultados de este ejercicio, también parecen confirmar la idea de Bohm y Peat en el sentido de que la capacidad de relacionar cosas diferentes en un ámbito específico, puede desarrollarse en todos los campos en que se aplica la mente. La irracionalidad, dicen, implica un fallo de coherencia entre las relaciones establecidas o percibidas “pues la racionalidad es un orden; es, de hecho, el orden esencial del pensamiento” (Bohm, 1988). Entonces, quienes presentan incapacidad para establecer relaciones ordenadas y coherentes con las personas que les rodean, resulta evidente según los resultados discutidos, que tampoco logran establecer ese tipo de relaciones con los objetos con que modelan su entorno. Así, por un lado se puede decir que aquellos habitantes incapaces de ordenar los elementos dispuestos sobre los muros puede extenderse a diversos ámbitos de sus vidas. De la misma forma que para colocar un cuadro o un adorno sobre la pared, la falta de May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México razones explicitas puede llevar al caos compositivo, para resolver un problema familiar esa misma falta de comunicación razonada puede llevar a la violencia. En ese sentido, la legibilidad ambiental debe considerarse como un indicador del problema de la violencia doméstica, ya que es posible entender estos resultados como señales que los habitantes agregan a sus espacios habitables, en los que informan de aspectos muy profundos de su intimidad, en una codificación que ni ellos mismos conocen, pero que de acuerdo al análisis aquí descrito, parece haber sido descifrada. Un ambiente sin adornos, con escasa utilería decorativa o de uso cotidiano, desprovista de interés, de retos de comunicación y poco sistemática, puede avisar de que algo ocurre en el seno de esa casa, que bien podría tratarse de violencia emocional. Por su parte, un ambiente abigarrado, saturado de objetos, que nos arrasa por la gran cantidad de información que nos plantea, la cual rebasa nuestra capacidad de lectura, pero además con muy escasa capacidad de síntesis, y carente de criterios de orden, puede tratarse de un llamado urgente relacionado con agresiones físicas o sexuales. Por el contrario, un ambiente con suficientes objetos que atraen nuestro interés, pero que no exceden nuestra capacidad de lectura, compuestos con adecuada capacidad de síntesis, siguiendo arreglos sistemáticos y racionales, pero afectivamente agradables, que nos relajan o nos estimulan, puede estarnos diciendo que se trata de un recinto donde sus habitantes comparten la vida, con sus gozos y pesares, en convivencia pacífica. Los autores desean expresar su agradecimiento al fondo SIMORELOS de CONACYT que financió el presente proyecto, así como a todos los investigadores, asistentes y becarios multidisciplinarios que participaron en las diferentes fases del mismo, en particular a la M.A. Patricia Barragán Preciado quien se encargó del registro de las características y elementos de las viviendas encuestadas. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Referencias Bohm, D. y Peat, D. 1988. Ciencia orden y creatividad, las raíces creativas de la ciencia y de la vida. Editorial Kairos, Barcelona. Real Academia Española. 2006. Diccionario De la lengua española. Madrid: Espasa Calpe. Bonsiepe, Gui, 1977. Teoría y práctica del diseño industrial. Elementos para una manualística crítica, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona. Buss, D. M. 1987. Selection, evocation and manipulation. En: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, pp. 1214-1221 Eco, Umberto, 1976. A Theory of Semiotics. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, / Macmillan, London. Forgus, Ronald M. 1978. Percepción, proceso básico del desarrollo cognoscitivo. Trillas, México. Goldstein, Bruce, 1988. Sensación y percepción. Editorial Debate. Madrid. Gosling, S.D., Ko, J.S., Mannarelli T. y Morris, M.E. 2002. A Room With a Cue: Personality Judgments Based on Offices and Bedrooms. En: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 82, No. 3, American Psychological Association, Inc., pp. 379–398 Gosling, S.D; Craik, K.H.; Martin, N.R.; Pryor, M.E. 2005. The personal living space cue inventory. An analysis and evaluation. En: Environment and Behavior. Vol. 37, No. 5, September 2005, pp. 683-705 Greimas, Algirdas, 1983. Structural Semantics. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NB, (1966). Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 121 Refereed Full-Papers Papeles Seleccionados Thematic Abstracts Active Living Examining the Importance of Accessibility Factors in Neighborhood Walking: An Exploratory Analysis of Behavioral, Perceptual and Environment Data Covering Detroit Area Residents Thematic Abstracts Active Living Vida Activa (Examinando la importancia de los factores de acceso para peatones en vecindarios: un análisis exploratorio de bases de datos conductuales, perceptuales y medioambientales cubriendo el área residencial de Detroit) Diaan L. Van der Westhuizen and Robert W. Marans (University of Michigan) Understanding the impact of the neighborhood physical environment on the physical activity of different population groups has been the focus of research over the past decade. This research is designed to inform physical design interventions and social programs that promote a more physically active population. Walking has been identified as the most common neighborhood physical activity since it typically is or can be easily engaged in on a daily basis (Brownson et al, 2001). In recent studies, questions have been raised on how neighborhood perceptions may influence relationships between environmental characteristics and walking for different purposes. For example, having destinations (such as stores, work, or friends) in close proximity to people’s homes may be important to encourage walking. Recreational walking, on the other hand, may occur along any neighborhood streets and not necessarily to a specific destination. At the same time, having positive perceptions about specific neighborhood characteristics also seems to impact people’s willingness to walk (Humpel, 2004). This paper presents and tests several models linking perceptual and environmental factors and walking for different purposes. Specifically, these models test (1) the characteristics of locations in which walking and non-walking occur based on where populations live, (2) the interaction between the importance of having friends in choosing neighborhoods and the number of nearby friends, and its relationship to whether or not 124 people walk to friends’ homes, and (3) the interaction between the importance residents feel about having parks and recreational facilities in their neighborhood and accessibility to parks and recreational facilities, and how it relates to whether people walk to these places. The paper uses data from a 2001 survey of residents in the Detroit metropolitan area. A combination of face-to-face interviews and mail questionnaires yielded over 4300 respondents from residents living in Detroit and other parts of the region. Questions about walking for different purposes and neighborhood perceptions and preferences were asked. Objective environmental measures were also obtained for neighborhoods associated with each survey respondent. Initial findings indicate that, compared to people in the surrounding counties, Detroiters are less physically active across racial groups1. A pronounced gap between walking for exercise between Detroiters and participants in the surrounding counties is observed, with relatively low number of “exercisers” in Detroit. With regard to destination-based walking, only slightly lower walking propensities on selected destination types were observed among Detroiters in relation to participants in the surrounding counties. Preliminary analyses indicate that when people perceive neighborhood attributes (i.e. nearby friends, parks, etc.) as an important factors in their choice of where to live, they are more likely to walk to those places. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how to best address physical design and policy interventions. Keywords: Physical Activity; Neighborhood/ Community Planning; Spatial Behavior; Low Income; Quantitative Research. Note:. Detroit has a high proportion of African-Americans (72%) who are burdened by high rates of obesity and inactive lifestyles May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Identifying the Impacts of Objectively Measured Natural and Built Environments on the Level of Physical Activity Among Older African American Women in Texas (Identificando los impactos de las medición objetiva de ambientes naturales y construidos a nivel de la actividad física de mujeres afroamericanas de edad avanzada en Texas) Woo-Hwa Shin (Texas A&M University), Byoung-suk Kweon (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), Jody R Naderi (Texas A&M University), Christopher D Ellis (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) and Victor Willson (Texas A&M University) Healthy People 2010 defines the at risk populations for low physical activity including women, those with lower incomes, less educated persons, African Americans, Hispanics, and those living in southern states (U.S. HHS, 2000). Physical inactivity among African American women aged 75 or older ranks at the highest percentage (61%), as compared to the same age group of white women (47.4%), and African American men (59.2%) (Rejeski & Brawley, 2000). Recently, the importance of socio-ecological models on human health behavior has been highlighted. Yet environmental variables (either perceived or objectively measured) that influence the level of physical activity among older African American women have been rarely investigated. The older African American women living Texas fall into one of the most inactive population segments. This cross-sectional study focuses on discovering the trends in physical activity among older African American women residing in Bryan, Texas, and exploring environmental variables that might encourage or discourage their physical activity. In this study, the independent variables are objectively measured in both natural and built environments, and the dependent variable is the physical activity of older African American women. Additionally, psychological well-being, sense of community, and perception to safety will be tested to evaluate the mediation effects between the physical environment and the subjects’ level of physical activity. The study sample is African American women aged 55 to 84 and residing in independent housing (i.e., single family houses or multi-family houses) in Bryan, Linking Differences / Defining Actions Texas. A total of 255 older African American women’s addresses were systemically selected by using two data resources: 1) a voter registration database of the Bryan area, and 2) the 2000 Census blocks representing over 80% of African American females aged 45 to 80 . The self-administrated survey questionnaire are to be sent out to 255 older African American women, and responses can be collected documenting the level of physical activity, psychological well-being, sense of community, perception of safety, physical health status, and background information of each of the women. The environmental influence of natural and built environments will be defined using two boundaries: 1) nearby environment – a 0.5 mile street distance, and 2) neighborhood environment – a 1 mile street distance from the participant’s house. The natural and built environments will be measured using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and aerial photographs. Preliminary results will include: a) the level of physical activity among older African American women and places in which they frequently participate in such activities; b) the influences of objective environmental factors on older, African American women’s physical activity; c) the mediating effects of psychological well-being, sense of community, and the perception of safety between the objective physical environment and the older women’s level of physical activity. The findings are expected to help discover the differences/similarities among this gender and racial/ethnic group by comparing previously identified environmental variables that focused on either older white women or older African American men. Keywords: Physical Activity, Natural and Built Environments, Older African American Women. Nearby Outdoor Environmental Support of Seniors’ Physical Activities and Independence (Soporte ambiental cercano a lugares de actividades físicas e independientes de jóvenes) Zhe Wang (Texas A&M University) Background: Aging is a global phenomenon. Means of helping seniors relocate from home to long-term care have received a lot of attention, but ways in which to sustain their independence in the community have been generally overlooked. It can be argued that Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 125 Thematic Abstracts Active Living Vida Activa Thematic Abstracts Active Living Vida Activa consciously engaging in physical activities for health and daily services allows seniors to extend their independent years by compensating for age-related decrements. Specific Aims: To identify physical environmental features of residential sites/ neighborhoods associated with seniors’ yard activities/ neighborhood walking, and the sequential environmental impacts on their independent living in the community; to describe evidence-based design guidelines and policy recommendations promoting environmental support for seniors. Methods: Questionnaire surveys on assisted-living facility residents’ perception of their previous neighborhoods and residential sites in the community, and their previous physical activities; environmental analyses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS); data analysis in SPSS and HLM. Setting and Population: 10~15 assisted-living facilities in Houston, College Station, Bryan, and Brenham, TX; facility residents aged 65 years and over. Measures: Environmental features thought to be related to physical activities are studied at the site level and at the neighborhood level. They are classified into four categories: 1) Typology - basic building, site, or neighborhood characteristics; 2) Attractiveness - environmental amenities encouraging people to go outdoors; 3) Convenience - environmental features facilitating yard activities/neighborhood walking; and 4) Safety - environmental features related to perceived site/ neighborhood safety. The presence of environmental features in sample areas is determined in GIS. Analysis (in process): Along with the Social Ecological Model, hierarchical regression models will be applied to examine the value of residential site/ neighborhood environments in predicting levels of seniors’ yard activities/ neighborhood walking, and years of independent living in the community, with personal factors, social factors, and physical environmental factors in the models. Results (expected): Older adults living in an attractive, convenient, and safe site neighborhood environment engage in yard activities/ neighborhood walking more frequently than other older adults living in a typical site/ neighborhood environment; yard activities/ neighborhood walking of the former group last longer per occurrence than that of the later group; the 126 former group has more years of independent living in the community than the later group. Keywords: Environments, older adults, physical activities, independence, health. Neighborhood Environment Supportive of Physical Activity and Social Interaction Among Older Adults: Development of a Neighborhood Environmental Audit Tool (Soporte ambiental del vecindario para actividades físicas y de interacción social en adultos mayores: desarrollo de una herramienta de revisión del vecindario) Habib Chaudhury (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada), Atiya Mahmood (Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon), Ann Sarte (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada), Yvonne Michael and Erin McGregor (Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon) A substantial body of evidence indicates that regular engagement in moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week is sufficient for older adults to achieve positive health outcomes (Li, Fisher, Bauman, Ory, Chodzko-Zajko, Harmer, et al., 2005). Regular participation in physical activity could prevent, delay, or significantly minimize negative effects associated with chronic conditions commonly experienced in later life (Colman & Walker, 2004; Seefeldt, Malina, & Clark, 2002). The neighbourhood environment becomes increasingly salient to older adults faced with multiple, personal and social changes that often limit daily activities to their immediate or nearby surroundings (Lawton, 1980; Glass & Balfour, 2003). Physical activity that is accomplished as part of daily life, such as walking for travel or recreation, usually occurs within one’s neighbourhood. These habitual forms of physical activities represent key sources of exercise for older adults (Li, Fisher, Bauman, et al., 2005; Satariano & McAuley, 2003). Few studies that examine the effects of neighbourhood environment on physical activity have focused on older adults. In addition, the limited research that has been conducted tends to overlook social aspects that potentially shape the relationship between neighbourhood physical environment and physical activity of older adults. Social May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México aspects of neighborhoods may be especially important for encouraging physical activity among older adults. The goal of this three-year study is to examine the impact of neighbourhood physical environment and social capital on physical activity among older adults. This presentation will report the first part of the study. This part of the study has been conducted in a selected sample of neighborhoods in Metro Vancouver in British Columbia and Greater Portland Region in Oregon. Objective data on physical environmental features in eight selected neighborhoods have been collected using a modified version of SWEAT (Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool), an instrument specifically designed to assess the quality of the physical environment for physical activity of older adults (Cunningham, Michael, Farquhar, & Lapidus, 2005). The SWEAT instrument is based on key concepts and theories that emerged from a review of the relevant urban planning and health literature. Items within SWEAT are organized into four broad topic areas: (a) functionality (structural aspects of the environment, such as building types and sidewalks); (b) safety (including personal and traffic safety attributes); (c) aesthetics (quality of micro-scale urban design and visual appeal of streetscape); and (d) destinations (availability of resources and services, such as transportation). The modified version of this tool incorporates: (a) relevant additional items from the Irvine-Minnesota Inventory tool (Day, Boarnet, Alfonzo, & Forsyth, 2005), (b) environmental features relevant to the needs of older adults, and (c) neighbourhood resources that may support social gathering and interaction. The tool was used to conduct observations on selected “segments” in eight neighborhoods in Vancouver and Portland metro areas. The neighbourhood selection was based on broad level measures from available GIS and census data. Descriptive profiles of the neighborhoods, inter-rater reliability of the audit tool and methodological lessons learned will be presented. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Neighborhood Physical Environment and Social Capital Influences on Physical Activity in Later Life: An Exploratory Case Study of Two North Vancouver Neighborhoods (Ambiente físico del vecindario y las influencias sociales capitales en la actividad física en la edad avanzada: un caso de estudio explorativo de dos vecindarios del norte de Vancouver) Ann Sarte (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada) Physical activity performed as part of daily life, such as walking for recreation or travel, usually occurs within one’s neighborhood. Neighborhoods can provide safe and accessible venues where individuals – at any age – can engage in physical activities (Ball et al., 2001; Brownson et al., 2001). Research in environmental gerontology suggests that neighborhoods become increasingly salient to older adults faced with multiple social and personal challenges (Lawton, 1980; Scheidt & Norris-Baker, 2003; Kendig, 2003). While a growing body of research has re-focused attention on neighborhood environmental influences on physical activity only a limited number of studies has focused on the older adult population (Cunningham & Michael, 2004; Li, Fisher, Bauman, et al., 2005; Satariano & McAuley, 2003). Moreover, few studies account for neighborhood social environmental aspects. This omission is notable since social characteristics of neighborhoods may be relevant for encouraging physical activity, especially among older adults. In particular, neighborhoods can support social “networking” and interactions that generate “social capital.” Social capital is a concept that has been broadly defined as the resources available to an individual through his or her social networks (Flap, 2004). In addition to living in a neighborhood with a supportive physical environment, having access to locally available resources, such as social support and social programs, can further encourage being physically active in later life. Access to “social capital” may thus be an important influence on the physical activities of older adults that has yet to be fully explored in the literature. A case study approach is used to investigate neighborhood physical environment and access to social capital on physical activities of older adults living in two North Vancouver, Canada neighborhoods. These neighborhoods differ in general built form Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 127 Thematic Abstracts Active Living Vida Activa Thematic Abstracts Active Living Vida Activa characteristics, with one neighborhood representing an urban setting, and the other representing a more typical suburban setting. Research methods include: (i) neighborhood environmental assessments using a modified version of an established audit tool (Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool); (ii) four focus groups with convenience samples of older adults (60+ years of age) drawn from both neighborhoods; and (iii) completion of activity diaries by a sample of older adults (n=20). Content and cross-case analyses are used to explore key aspects of the relationship between neighborhood environment and physical activity. Findings suggest a complex interplay between physical and social dimensions on physical activities engaged in by older adults. Participants discussed several issues, including conflicts between different users of sidewalk/street networks and public space, and how physical design can help minimize or alternatively, exacerbate problems between users. Access to social capital from “formal” and/or “informal” social networks can encourage physical activity in local settings, and improve perceptions of safety in spite of physical design barriers (e.g., walking at night in poorly lit areas). Relevant planning issues are discussed as they relate to the promotion of physical activity in later life. In particular, physical design that supports diverse users and functions are presented. Recommendations are also made to inform policy and planning decisions to encourage neighborhood-based physical activity of older adults. Stair and Elevator Design and Their Influence on Daily Exercise and Social Equality (Diseño de Escaleras y Elevadores y su Influencia en el Ejercicio Diario y la Igualdad Social) Phillip Mead (University of Idaho) The rise in obesity has prompted the medical community to encourage moderate forms of exercise such as stair climbing and neighborhood walking. When integrated into daily routines, research has shown that stair climbing appears to raise intermittent moderate exercise. In this study, building design factors are examined that can potentially increase stair use while maintaining social equality. These factors include: the stair and elevators’ visual access from main circulation paths, stair placement in relation to nearby elevators; the impact of slow 128 speed hydraulic or high speed traction elevators and building height. This study also examines issues of social justice and equality of access to stairs and elevators. As the research will demonstrate, elevators do not always have to be out of sight from main circulation paths and stairs to encourage moderate stair exercise. Four case study buildings with stairs ranging from two to five stories at two adjacent universities (student populations of 28,000 and 13,000) with two different types of elevators were examined. Stair/elevator combinations were chosen for their visual accessibility, travel convenience and aesthetics. The first case study examined a grand staircase with a hidden hydraulic elevator which demonstrated high stair use and low elevator use. Although the stair/elevator encouraged exercise, social equality was severely compromised. Case study two surprisingly demonstrated a fair balance of elevator and stair accessibility and visibility that both encouraged exercise while offering social equality. Case studies three and four moved across state borders where because of the taller buildings and higher building budgets, higher speed traction elevators were used for which it was thought would encourage higher elevator use. However, elevator visibility once again played a key role in stair use because the study showed that higher speed elevators that are out of sight appear to encourage stair use. However, none of the stair elevator placements at this university showed a balanced combination of elevator visibility and high stair use. In conclusion, from the four case studies, the most significant and surprising finding is that a hydraulic elevator prominently displayed next to a equally visible stairway in a university setting has high impact on increased stair use and can thus better encourage exercise for the able, while still serving those who are unable to use the stairs. Keywords: Health, social justice, wayfinding, mobility, architecture May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Children & Youth Environments 1-PARK (Investigating Parks for Active Recreation for Kids): Where have all the Children Gone? (1-Park (investigando parques para recreación activa de niños): ¿a dónde se han ido todos los niños?) Robin Moore, Myron Floyd, Nilda Cosco, Jason Bocarro, Perver Baran, Orçun Kepez (North Carolina State University) Neighborhood parks can, in theory, provide a fertile incubator for youth physical activity as both an attractive destination for childhood active transport and a venue for active recreation. Exploration of the associations between park recreation settings, neighborhood physical form, and physical activity of youth in a diverse social, cultural, and economic environment provides intriguing insights into the salience of environmental determinants to reduce childhood obesity. This transdisciplinary research explores the relationship between neighborhood socioecological environment, park physical environment and levels of physical activity in discrete age categories of youth. The impact of ‘walkable’ neighborhood environmental characteristics upon physical activity has not been well-explored in children and youth, and results to date have been inconclusive. Park characteristics such as trails, bike paths, athletic facilities and playgrounds theoretically could provide such a destination in activity-supportive neighborhood environments for children. Primary Research Aims: 1. Determine the relationship between specific elements within neighborhood parks and objective measures of children’s physical activity. 2. Determine how objective measures of neighborhood environments are related to extent of children’s use of parks for physical activity. 3. Determine whether extent of park use and children’s physical activity differs by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender. Twenty parks were randomly selected from a pool of 45 in central Durham, NC, a moderately-sized Linking Differences / Defining Actions (pop. 205,000), socio-economically diverse city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Each park was subdivided into a variable number of unique activity zones; the SOPARC (System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities) was utilized to categorize children’s momentary physical activity within each zone as sedentary, moderate, or vigorous. Children were categorized as young, middle, or older during observations. Observations were collected over a period of 8 contiguous weeks during the mid-summer months of 2007. Environmental audits were performed to define park environmental characteristics at both the zone and park-wide level. Two tools were utilized: a reduced version of the EAPRS, developed by Saelens, et al (2006), and the CAFPAT (Children and Families Park Assessment Tool), a new tool designed by the team to capture park environmental factors specific to children and families. Park Entrance Service Areas (PESA) were created using park entrances defined during environmental assessments and a ¼ mile network distance buffer with parcel-line boundaries in ArcView GIS (ESRI, Redlands, CA) to analyze network connectivity, land use characteristics, sociodemographic characteristics, and crime data. Interview data were collected from caregivers present in parks with children, using a derivative of the Tampa-Chicago Park Use Activity Questionnaire to determine caregiver attitudes towards children’s physical activity in parks. Preliminary findings to be presented include: 1. Descriptive analysis of park-level characteristics, aggregate physical activity measures, and neighborhood characteristics. 2. Correlational data relating park activity zone characteristics to levels of physical activity in young, medium age, and older children. 3. Correlational data relating ‘high-activity’, ‘moderate activity’, and ‘low-activity’ parks to neighborhood settings. 4. Multi-level analysis of zone, park, and neighborhood characteristics, and their respective associations with physical activity in 3 age categories of children. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 129 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud Building Links for Progressive Action: Connecting Youth, Teachers, and Urban Planning Students with City Planning Processes in Denver, Colorado (Construyendo conecciones para una acción progresiva: conectando a la juventud, maestros y estudiantes de diseño urbano con los procesos de planeación de la ciudad en Denver, Colorado) Darcy Varney, Kelly Zuniga, James Taurman, Tangier Barnes, and Doug Ragan (University of Colorado at Denver) Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud This presentation reports on initial findings from a study of a university-community partnership that engaged high school geography students in planningoriented exercises to help them understand and contribute to urban planning processes. As part of its strategy for helping to make the city of Denver more child and youth friendly, the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design (CYE) at the University of Colorado at Denver engaged the city’s Planning and Community Development staff and representatives of Denver Public Schools in a discussion in early 2007 about how to introduce planning into the high school social studies curriculum. By orienting students to planning issues and concepts in school, CYE hopes to build links between students and professional city planners, city planners and the university, and high school students and the university, to encourage progressive action in city decision making and development. CYE researchers and social studies teachers at Denver’s East High School agreed to collaborate during the 2007 fall term, supplementing the urbanization unit of the ninth-grade geography curriculum with planning-oriented activities and lessons. The CYE researchers undertook the partnership as a pilot study to research how young people experience the physical environment of their community and how planning-oriented supplemental exercises for the high school geography curriculum can influence their perceptions of place; to help graduate students in urban planning interact with and learn from youth; and to learn whether the documented experiences and interests of youth in their urban environment have the potential to influence professional urban planners’ consideration of youth in their work. First, CYE researchers and urban planning graduate students met 130 with city planners to ascertain what kinds of studentgenerated information could best contribute to a “youth supplement” for the existing area plan. Second, they collected information from the ninth graders about their experiences in their community and used the data to develop exercises that could result in practical planning suggestions for the city and interested community groups. Finally, they collaborated with three classroom teachers to carry out the planning exercises and developed materials and recommendations for the planners and for community groups that could help create positive change in the area. The project has created an effective social learning process for all involved and has brought to light misconceptions held by the participants about each other. Planning graduate students working directly with youth learned about the diversity of experiences youth bring to participatory projects and the often deep concerns they have regarding change in their community. Teachers learned about planners’ real-world application of geography concepts and the scope of planning issues, which can inform more realistic and applicable classroom activities for students. Graduate students and teachers both learned the limits of planners’ power in the community and the importance of engaging community members to create positive change. The study has implications for the instruction of urban geography in high schools and the engagement of youth in urban planning, pointing to the need for more such collaborations in the future. Children’s Play: A Sequential Analysis (Juego de niños: un análisis secuencial) Flores Herrera Luz Maria, Marcos Bustos Aguayo, Gabriela Valencia Chávez (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) and Consuelo Chávez Durán (SEP) Play, I.Q. and social interactions Factors. This study aims to identify the personal factors that affect transitions in children’s play, in order to assess which of these factors influence more intensively type of play evaluated. Children spend several years in spontaneous play, from solitary to social play, from no pretend activity to pretend play, and within an episode of pretend play, from setup to enactment to negotiation phases (Doyle et al, 1992; Rubin y Coplan, 1998). In the present study it was hypothesized that, May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México social play enactment would be more complex than literal social activities (e.g. language and I.Q.). Empirical study: Objectives and planning The empirical study, subjects were 24 preschoolers observed playing in group, during 30 minute sessions. They were assessed with WPPSI, and continuous recording was made of the activity of play in the group (e.g. social play – solitary play, negotiation of pretend and the social interaction). Results of solitary - social play. After video and in vivo training on coding behaviors according to operational definitions, inter.-observer reliability was calculated; percentage agreement average Kappa (Cohen, 1960) was .83. In order to isolate the important dimensions of the numerous observational predictor variables and the personal factors, each set of variables was analyzed. The pattern of transitions between prior and subsequent activity modes was of principal interest (Gottman & Roy, 1990). The transitions that occurred significantly more frequently than expected are social play. That is, negotiation and social interactions of social play (F(2, = 5.493, p = .01, R2 = .423, Durbin-Watson = 2.225). 15) The personal factors I.Q. (5 subscales Information, vocabulary), and social play of frequent pretenders was more often that of solitary play (F(4, 17) = 2.979, p = .049, R2 = .412, Durbin-Watson =1.829). Conclusion The varied social interactions we have described in this study illustrate the social interactions and I.Q. as a fundamental ingredient of preshoolers’ play. Thus, negotiations and interaction social of social play was important precursor of pretend enactment. Collaborative Planning and Design as a Bridge Toward Children’s Cultural Learning and Active Citizenship (Planeación colaborativa y diseño como un camino hacia el aprendizaje cultural en niños y la participación de la ciudadanía) Aija Stafans and Helena Teräväinen (Helsinki University of Technology, Finland) The top level learning results of Finnish comprehensive school in international comparative studies (e.g. PISA/OECD 2000, 2003) has inspired academic field to deepen the understanding of the success factors behind these results. In this poster we report the performance and preliminary results of two sub-studies carried out during the year 2007 in a research project Linking Differences / Defining Actions called InnoArch, Places and Spaces for Learning. InnoArch is a part of a large multidisciplinary InnoSchool consortium aiming to develop a set of research-based good practices, processes, models and designs for the Future School Concept. The pedagogical idea based on inquiry-based learning encourages to strengthen pupils´ epistemic agency in the local community and to empower them to be active stakeholders in it. The InnoArch project has invited pupils to take part in the planning and design process of their school environment by developing methods to find out what kinds of places and spaces attract them and why. Our research questions are as following: 1. How can the collaborative planning and design process with children act as a tool for active citizenship and cultural learning for children? 2. How does children’s environmental local knowledge enrich urban planning? Two sub-studies were carried out with pupils to produce data of their environment by following methods: Sub-study 1) Pupils in two elementary schools in the City of Helsinki (Arabia and Jakomäki) and a small village school in Lapland (Muurola) were mapping their experiences of the school outdoor environment by using mobile phones and GPS technology. The data was collected in photos, texts and sounds (partly video) and sent to an interactive internet map. Substudy 2) Several planning and design workshops were organized for children to examine their visions for a better future school. Pupils were producing their own ideas in scale models, texts and drawings for the architectural competition of the new school to be built in the City of Espoo; the workshops were videotaped and analyzed together. InnoArch is constructing the research both on the socio-cultural and pedagogical ground (Vygotsky, Geertz) and on architectural theories about place and space, which have been developed along with the thinking of human geographers (Tuan, Relph). The function of culture is to impose meaning on the world and make it understandable for the people living in it. Vygotsky investigated child development and how this was guided by the role of culture and interpersonal communication. The specific knowledge gained by a child through these interactions also represented the shared knowledge of a culture. As a theoretical basis Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 131 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud of this research is used Vygotsky’s theory of “zone of proximal development” (ZPD) in Gibsonian framework of perceptual psychology theory of affordances (Kyttä). The project aims to figure out a concept for a learning neighbourhood. The preliminary results of the project already show how safe and free the children’s experiences of their daily environment in Finland are and, how important it is to ask pupil their “working” places. Keywords: learning neighbourhood, local knowledge, cultural learning, collaborative planning and design process Designing Early Childhood Outdoor Environments that Promote Physical Activity: A Review of Emerging Research Evidence (Diseñando los ambientes al aire libre de la niñez temprana que promueven actividad física: una revisión de la evidencia de la investigación que emerge) Samuel F. Dennis (University of Wisconsin) The childhood obesity crisis has generated concern for improving early childhood play settings in ways that increase levels of physical activity. Two important evaluation instruments have emerged that address the many environmental attributes that, together with appropriate programming elements, create engaging settings for young children. The Preschool Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (POEMS) was developed to evaluate the extent to which day-care settings provide stimulating, active and developmentally appropriate outdoor learning environments. The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) tool was developed to quantify the social and environmental factors that contribute to physical activity in child care settings. In this comparative case study, POEMS and EPAO are assessed for the degree to which they provide compelling evidence that is useful for designers of early childhood environments. Although each protocol provides a validated instrument for conducting post-occupancy evaluations, only POEMS provides clear direction for designers. 132 Gardens of Hope: Using a Nature Therapy Based Approach to Nurture the Traumatized Children of the Guatemalan Garbage Dumps (Jardines de la esperanza: usando una terapia natural basada en aproximaciones para enseñar a los niños Guatemaltecos traumatizados de los tiraderos de basura) Daniel Winterbottom (University of Washington) Cast out of their highland villages by the war, Mayan resettled in and around the massive garbage dump, one of the bleakest barrios in Guatemala City. There, they are exposed to toxins known to cause lower intelligence, developmental delays, learning deficits and behavioral problems. (Mittelstaedt, M. 2004) Safe Passage is an NGO focusing on educational programming to break this cycle of poverty by developing preschool and vocational programs. Participation in educational programs has been identified across cultures as having a significant role in reducing trauma and stress, increasing self esteem and resilience, building basic life skills and coping mechanisms for children. (Arafat and Musleh, 2006, Tripplehorn and Chen, 2006) In the summer of 2006, our University of Washington design/build program collaborated with the Safe Passage community to transform a donated decommissioned dump site into a therapeutic park integrated into school curricula using applied learning to improve educational and therapeutic outcomes. Using the principles of play, adventure and nature therapy, the park is designed to help the children learn about the natural world, their culture, and gain vocational skills and ultimately build their lives in a healthier and constructive direction. Nature itself is therapeutic and the direct encounter with natural elements triggers strong emotions and sensations in the user that may have been previously suppressed. (Berger, 2004, 2005, 2006) Adventure therapy offers a therapeutic model in which nature presents subtle challenges for children who are having difficulties coping with boundaries, authority and physical engagement. (Berger and Mcleod, 2006, Kaly and Hessacker, 2003 Garst, Scheider and Baker, 2001) Play itself offers children many benefits, promoting a healthy self image as they relate to others in socio-dramatic play, and learning about the physical world as they manipulate objects and predict change. (Gomez, 2005) May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México The park offers benefits for the families including increased nutrition through a community garden, improved health through an ethno botanical garden and a refuge where parents can wait for their children to finish classes and socialize amongst themselves. For these families the loss of their traditional home and community, the change from rural to urban living, along with its reliable social support structures can result in the loss of identity, social status and culture. (Kostelny, 2006) The outcome for the children is the loss of childhood and education, high rates of incest and violence, poor nutrition and higher proportion of learning and physical disabilities. Observing the children in a natural setting, outside the barrio, they displayed a passionate curiosity about insects, leaves and flowers and appeared more confident and carefree in their play. This presentation will focus on the role of natural places in rebuilding children’s lives concurrent with a disaster and how the rebuilding of a place for safe play, learning and skill building can help children endure and move beyond the immediate effects of the disaster. The goals of the project, the operational and design processes employed, children’s and mothers’ participation and the implementation processes will be discussed. The conclusion will offer reflections on challenges in cross-cultural learning and an assessment of what changes have been achieved based on the early stages of a post occupational study. Learning with Child Guides: Exploring Innovative Field Survey Techniques to Discover Children’s Perceptions and Use of Neighborhood Environments (Aprendiendo con guías de niños: explorando técnicas innovadoras para descubrir la percepción de los niños y utilizar los ambientes del vecindario) Janet Loebach and J. Gilliland (University of Western Ontario) As children reach school age, neighborhood environments become increasingly more influential settings, as more activities take place in this arena and children begin to explore their capabilities and roles through the social and physical environments outside of their home (Sutton & Kemp, 2002). However, children’s activities within the community environments over the last several decades have become increasingly Linking Differences / Defining Actions structured and restricted, limiting the scope and nature of their environmental actions (McMillian, 2005; Valentine, 1997). The form and development of communities themselves have also changed significantly, resulting in different sets of environmental forms and opportunities available to children. Despite increasing recognition of the influence of the environment on health and the development of children, we still know very little about the precise nature of the relationship between the form of the built environment and children’s perceptions and behaviors. This field report will present experiences related to a pilot study undertaken in London, Ontario, Canada to test an innovative combination of methods intended to further our understanding of children’s perception and use of, and movement through, their neighborhood environments. Carried out in conjunction with World Town Planning Day and Geography Awareness Week activities, and in collaboration with city planners, approximately 30 Grade 3 children (ages 7-9) from a local school led researchers and planners on ‘guided tours’ of their school environment. The selected school was located in a neighborhood with considerable variations in both land use and socioeconomic status of its residents. The school also exhibited a high percentage of children who regularly walk to school, increasing the linkelihood that the participants interact with the study environment on a regular basis. Pairs of children led two adult observers on a selfselected walk through the environment to highlight and discuss features or places of significance to them. Children were given digital cameras to capture the place or route as they wished, and marked the locations at which photographs were taken, as well as their overall route, on a scaled map of the area. Observers prompted children to talk about their perceptions of each chosen environment. Observers prompted the children to talk about their perceptions of each chosen environment, and to provide details about the activities in which they might engage. Observers also used GPS units to record the coordinates of these locations and routes and units were synchronized with both the children’s photographs and maps, along with the descriptors culled from the narratives., in a geographical information system (GIS) to analyze patterns and activities of the children. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 133 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud This paper will report findings related to : 1) discernible patterns in the perception and use of the local environment among the participants; 2) the value of utilizing this combination of tools with the chosen age group; and 3) the ability of the various tools to effectively verify and complement each other, as well as the barriers related to their successful integration. Keywords: children, guided walks, GIS, spatial behavior Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud Preventing Obesity by Modifying Childcare Center Preschool Play Areas: Methodology and Preliminary Findings to Create an Assessment Tool (Previniendo la obesidad mediante la modificación de los espacios recreativos en los centros preescolares: metodología y resultados preliminares para crear una herramienta de contribución) Robin Moore (North Carolina State University), Dianne Ward (University North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Nilda Cosco (North Carolina State University), Orçun Kepez (North Carolina State University), Karen Mumford (Emory University), Linda Hestenes (University of North Carolina Greensboro), Stewart Trost (Oregon State University), and Dr. Howard Frumkin, M.D. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Research has shown that: a) time spent outdoors is an environmental determinant most strongly correlated with greater amounts of physical activity in children and opportunities for whole body exercise; b) children’s physical activity is strongly motivated by diversity of outdoor environments; c) preschoolers with higher levels of outdoor physical activity retain higher levels as schoolage children; d) active outdoor childhood tracks into and influences preference for outdoor experiences in adulthood; and e) preschool and, more specifically, preschool outdoors is a strong determinant of physical activity. This interdisciplinary, exploratory research addresses the outdoor built environment of childcare centers as an intervention strategy and early childhood lifestyle preventive measure against obesity and responds to the Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research (USDHHS/NIH, 2004). 134 The objectives of Preventing Obesity by Modifying Childcare Center Preschool Play Areas are: 1. To measure the amount of physical activity exhibited by three-to-five-year-old children exposed to different behavior settings present in preschool play areas and in similar behavior settings across different preschool play areas. 2. To identify the physical components and attributes common among behavior settings located in preschool play areas that may explain greater amounts of physical activity exhibited by three-to five-year-year old children. 3. To prepare and pilot test a tool for measuring the physical settings, components, and attributes of preschool outdoor play areas that will rate their potential to produce adequate physical activity when three-to five-year-old children are exposed to them. Thirty childcare centers were recruited across urban, suburban, and rural contexts and diverse ethnic and socioeconomic groups in central North Carolina. Children Activity Record Scale (CARS), a validated, reliable instrument was used to code physical activity in preschool play areas using a coding configuration that also included environmental component codes. Behavior mapping data were coded in GIS. Physical activity patterns were identified in specific behavior settings (spatial location of subjects and physical activity amount) to establish an inventory of behavior settings, environmental components, and attributes that afford greater amounts of physical activity. The preliminary analyses were based on over 3,000 observations completed in 15 child care centers and 193 individual behavior settings. Preliminary findings include: 1. Reliability coefficients were computed at each setting. Variance components were estimated using SAS Proc Mixed with restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimation. The proposed methodology was found to be reliable. 2. Descriptive analyses of selected study play areas and spatial/behavior mapping. 3. Attributes of behavior settings that best explain amounts of physical activity performed by preschoolers in each selected type of behavior setting. 3. Exploration of associations between independent variables: behavior setting types (pathways, water play, climbing structures, etc.), component types (manu- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México factured, natural, fixed, loose), attribute types (shade, slope, etc.), size of area or square feet per child; GIScoded variables (gender, location and derived variable, configuration); and dependent variable: amount of physical activity. Conclusions from the full dataset (30 centers) are expected for the conference presentation. The methodology developed will be applied to future research with older age children in outdoor environments such as parks and public playgrounds. Prospects and Challenges of EvidenceBased Design for Children’s Environments Symposium (Prospectos y cambios de la evidencia del diseño para los ambientes de los niños, simposium) Organizer: Samuel Dennis (University of Wisconsin) Presenters: Samuel Dennis (University of Wisconsin) and Jeff Lackney (Fielding Nair International) Evidence-based design is receiving increasing attention in all design disciplines. Initially emerging from health-care settings—where evidence-based medical standards proved strongly influential— evidence-based design is becoming standard practice in many other areas of design as well. Children’s environments have long benefited from a variety of research designs, including observational, experimental and quasi-experimental studies. However, this evidence-base is often pitted against the body of knowledge accumulated by child- and youth-sector practitioners through years of direct experience. This situation begs the question, “What kind of evidence for evidence-based design?” This symposium includes those engaged in children’s environments to reflect on their own use of evidence in design practice. Important questions to address include: 1. What is “evidence”? 2. For what do we already have a strong evidence base? 3. What important gaps exist and how might these be addressed? 4. What can experience teach us that experiments cannot? 5. What can experiments teach us that experience cannot? 6. What can children and practitioners teach designers (and how)? 7. Why is “evidence” important? Linking Differences / Defining Actions Although not a session for case studies per se, specific project or research examples will illustrate both the prospects and challenges of evidence-based design for the multiple spaces of childhood. Presentations in this symposium include “Designing Early Childhood Outdoor Environments that Promote Physical Activity: A Review of Emerging Research Evidence “ and “Reframing the Practice of School Design Through Evidence-based Design” Reframing the Practice of School Design Through Evidence-based Design (Reframing la práctica del diseño de la escuela con diseño Evidencia-basado) Jeffery A. Lackney (Fielding Nair International) The practice of school design has been only marginally influenced by research in educational environments in the past forty years. The primary model for translating research has been through the conventional approach of the haphazard application of salient research findings that support the practitioner’s prevalent design philosophy. For instance, architects have adopted sustainable design and the preliminary results of research connecting natural daylight to academic achievement to support their own propensity for designing well-lit space. The idea that a design process would be reframed using research for design decisions at first glance does not appear practical or realistic given a variety of reasons including the limited evidence available in the field of educational environments and the passing interest from both educational and architectural establishments. However, providing a coherent framework for design that builds on evidence, both empirical and experiential does have promise. This presentation will propose the use of a loose collection of planning tools being used in dozens of school design projects internationally to encourage educators, as well as, architects to consider an evolving set of research-based design patterns that forms the basis for advancing a way of school design practice that considers all available evidence. Case studies will be presented that illustrate the efficacy of the tools for school planning, and highlight areas where development of the tools is on-going. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 135 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud The Role of Family Childcare Providers in Protecting Children from Indoor Environmental Pollutants (El rol de la familia que provee el cuidado de los niños al protegerlos de los contaminantes ambientales dentro del hogar) Lorraine Maxwell (Cornell University, NY) Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud Young children under the age of 5 years old are especially at risk for health problems related to indoor environmental pollutants. Children are more highly exposed to contaminants related to indoor environmental pollutants and they are more vulnerable to the toxic effects of this exposure (EPA, 2000). Children under the age of 5 who are independently mobile explore their environment by crawling, touching, and tasting. Young children’s exposure to pollutants and contaminants is relatively higher than older children and adults because of their size (Goldman, 1995). In addition, these toxins may be more harmful to children than adults because their immune systems and vital organs are not fully developed. It is therefore critical that the indoor environmental quality in children’s homes and child care programs not compromise their health and development. In order to protect children’s health the adults who care for them need to know more about the potential risks and how to eliminate or reduce these risks. While considerable attention has been given to indoor environmental quality in schools, less attention has been paid to child care programs, especially family child care programs that take place in the home of the provider. The EPA has a “Tools for Schools” program to assist administrators, school health professionals and others in dealing with indoor air and other indoor environmental pollutants. According to the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council, child care providers and administrators of these facilities do not have comparable material available to them. In many states legislation governing the licensing of child care programs only provides general instructions for maintaining a clean and healthy facility. Given that many children under the age of 5 years are cared for outside their home, it is critical that child care providers be well informed about indoor environmental quality. Likewise, the parents of young children need to know how to protect themselves and their children. 136 This project had three objectives. One, to examine family child care providers’ knowledge of indoor pollutants and their potential effect on children’s health; two to determine the most effect method of training providers in ways to reduce the potential exposure to indoor pollutants; and three to determine children’s level of risk to exposure in their child care programs and their own homes. Family child care providers were surveyed to determine their knowledge about indoor pollutants and their cleaning practices. The providers received educational material and/or attended a hands-on workshop to determine the most effective method of educating providers about these hazards. Dust samples were taken from the providers’ homes and from the homes of the children to test for the presence of specific allergens. Reading appropriate educational material about the topic may be just as effective in educating providers about the hazards on indoor pollutants as attending a workshop but not at changing behaviors related to cleaning. Keywords: Children/youth, health, action research, childcare centers, housing. The Role of the Natural and Built Environment on Children’s Health and WellBeing Workshop (El rol del ambiente natural y el construido en la salud infantil y su buen estado - taller) Organizer: Illene Pevec (University of Colorado). Presenters Illene Pevec and Bambi Yost (University of Colorado) What is a physical environment that supports the well-being and healthy development of children and adolescents? These questions concern parents, educators, architects, landscape architects and city planners at the very least. With rising incidents of violence in schools and universities across North America what does research indicate about the needs of young people in the natural and built environments they inhabit daily in schools, parks, recreation centers and other public locales that serve youth? Greenery (views of trees and shrubs) lower incidents of violence in cities and help people to recover from the stresses of urban life (Kuo & Sullivan’s 2001, 2001). Children play more creatively and with more conversation if their play areas have greenery (Taylor, Wiley, Kuo & Sullivan, 1998). Children with Attention May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Deficit Disorder show greater capacity to pay attention to school work and other tasks and behave better after playing in parks and other areas that provided access to nature’s greenery (Taylor, Kuo and Sullivan,2001). The Robert Woods Johnson foundation funds research nationally to attempt to discover some solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic. Some of this on-going research examines access to parks, playgrounds and community gardens and neighborhood crime levels in determining how much children have access to outdoor recreation. The benefits to children of access to nature at school and daily life indicate that those who create city and school facilities and policies need to take these needs for access to nature by children into account (Louv,2005). This workshop will offer the opportunity for presentations on research concerning the affect of natural and built environments on children and youth’s physical, mental, and emotional health. This workshop will be open to EDRA members wishing to share their recent work in this field and explore these issues in an open forum. Bambi Yost (University of Colorado at Denver) will discuss “Multigenerational Transmission of Place Attachment, Place Identity, and Place Dependence in the Rocky Mountain National Park” and Illène Pevec (University of Colorado at Denver) will discuss “The Sensory and Emotional Responses of Adolescents to Gardening”. Splendors and Miseries in a Poor Neighborhood: Children’s Appraisal of Outdoor Places (Esplendores y miserias en un vecindario pobre: la valoración de los niños hacia los espacios abiertos) Genevieve Castonguay and Sylvie Jutras (University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada) Many places where previous generations of children used to play have now disappeared or have become unusable. In recent years, formal play and sport settings have become the most preferred places during middle childhood (Korpela, Kyttä, & Hartig, 2002; Min & Lee, 2006), whereas streets and alleys have been identified as disliked and unsafe places (Loukaitou-Sideris, 2003; Pain, 2006). Although the environment they live in is of lower quality (Evans, Linking Differences / Defining Actions 2004), children from poor neighborhoods are more likely to play outdoors in their area than children from wealthier neighborhoods (Valentine & McKendrick, 1997). Available evidence suggests that children living in poor neighborhoods perceive many problems in their surroundings (e.g. O’Brien, 2003), but can nevertheless identify places they like (Elsley, 2004). This study examines how children living in a poor neighborhood perceive their surroundings. Twentyeight children aged 7 to 12 from a poor Montreal neighborhood photographed outdoor places where they liked to go in their neighborhood. A total of 618 photos were taken by the children and developed, an average of 22 photos per child. In individual interviews, the children discussed their photos and selected the place where they most liked to go. They also answered questions about the places they disliked. Children’s responses were analyzed using classical content analysis (Berelson, 1971), and places in the photos were rated for degree of vegetation. Statistical analyses were performed to examine how places vary in terms of their characteristics and children’s activities; to determine how favorite places differ from other liked places; and to explore variations in children’s perceptions by individual, family, and environmental variables. The places children liked were most often parks and playgrounds, followed by streets and alleys, service and retail places, spaces near the child’s home, and spaces near an acquaintance’s home. Those places provided children with the opportunity to engage in liked activities. Older children tended to choose parks and playgrounds as liked places, whereas younger children were more likely to choose spaces near an acquaintance’s home. As their favorite place, children selected mainly spaces near an acquaintance’s home, spaces near their home, streets and alleys, and parks and playgrounds. Children attributed a greater number of positive characteristics to favorite places than to other liked places, and reported doing a greater number of activities in these places. The places children most commonly disliked were, in descending order: parks and playgrounds, streets and alleys, and spaces near an acquaintance’s home. The main reason for those negative perceptions were safety threats. This study adds to the scarce literature on children’s place preferences in poor neighborhoods. Favorite places can be distinguished from liked ones by the Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 137 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud greater amount of positive characteristics and activities they afford children. The coexistence of positive and negative features in children’s liked places raises fascinating questions. Keywords: Children, low income, neighborhood, outdoor environments, psychology. Youth Participation in Community Service: The Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) Environmental Clean-Up Program in Slums of Nairobi Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Niños y ambientes de la juventud (Participación de la juventud en el servicio a la comunidad: la Asociación de la Juventud Deportiva Mathare (MYSA) programa de limpia ambiental en barrios pobres de Nairobi) George Awuor (University of Colorado) Environment and Urbanization published a report in October, 1992 (volume 4, number 2) about Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA). This short overview was based on information from a newsletter and knowledge from Bob Munro, founder and chair of MYSA. In 2007, I spent seven months (January - July) in Nairobi conducting research on and learning about MYSA activities. As a follow-up to the publication in 1992, my essay focuses on the participation of MYSA members in the organization’s environmental clean-up program. The paper is important because it provides details about the program, its impact on the participating youth, the physical environment and their communities. I describe the clean-up process and discuss some of benefits and the challenges facing the program since it began in 1988. I further make recommendations regarding the sustainability and future of the program. My recommendations are mainly based on information from the youth and community members. Despite the opportunities provided by the clean-up activities, youth in Nairobi’s slums have to contend with gang violence, police harassment and lack of access to schools and other basic services. This essay is based on data collected through qualitative in-depth interviews and participatory observations during months of attending and participating in the clean up- activities in various slum locations. Interviewed informants include MYSA youth, community members and the MYSA environmental clean-up program leaders. Images from the clean-up activities 138 are included which provide evidence of the conditions in which MYSA members operate. Keywords: Environment, Youth Participation, Community Service, Nairobi Slum Where Adolescent Development Takes Place (Donde el desarrollo del adolescente tiene lugar) Evan Schmidt and Patsy Eubnaks Owens (University of California, Davis) Previous research has provided direction on understanding the role of the social environment on adolescent development, but little research has addressed the role of the physical environment. This research seeks response to the question: what role do physical environments play in facilitating healthy development for adolescents? The Search Institute developed a set of 40 specific assets for youth that facilitate healthy social, physical and emotional development. The 40 developmental assets draw from theories based on positive human development and ideas from asset-based community development theory. Asset development recognizes the social embeddedness of humans within their communities, and “synthesizes contextual and individual factors that, when present, serve to protect from…health compromising behavior and enhance the opportunity for positive developmental outcomes” (Benson 2002, p 125). While researchers note the importance of safe and constructive places (Blythe 2006), the 40 asset approach focuses on the social environment and largely ignores the physical environment. It is important to find out not only where assets occur, but what role place plays in facilitating healthy development for youth. Additionally, it is important for communities to consider youth’s perspectives in their designs and development. The data from a youth photo documentary project called, “You, Your Community, Your View” will inform much of this presentation. This project asked teens in seven communities in California to photograph and answer questions exploring their perspectives of their communities. Youth participants described and photographed the places, people, and activities that they view as important, as well as places that they see as unwelcome or unsafe in their communities. A primary purpose of this project was to reveal the community places that teens go to participate in May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México the types of activities cited by the Search Institute as important for healthy development. For example, one of the assets described by the Search Institute is safety. Youth respondents from “You, Your Community Your View” said that some of the elements that made them feel unsafe were gang activity, drug or alcohol use, strangers, and heavy traffic. Some of the places that these elements occurred were in particular neighborhoods, at school, and in specific parks. Adding placebased analysis to where the 40 assets occur within the community is a useful way for communities to implement policies and planning features that promote healthy development for youth. Research for this presentation will address the ways in which the physical environment facilitates healthy development in adolescents aged 12- 18. This presentation will focus on one of the seven communities by analyzing data and assessing how the places identified by the youth participants encourage or discourage healthy adolescent development. Responses from “You, Your Community, Your View” will offer teen perspectives about the community and will also ground truth theories from relevant literature drawn from adolescent development, children’s geography, and community design and planning theories and research. By uncovering the physical environments in which the 40 developmental assets take place, we can learn more about how to provide community infrastructure that meets youths’ developmental needs Linking Differences / Defining Actions Children and Youth EnvironmentsSchool and Classroom Design Capturing Multiple Voices in School Design: Methods and Innovations in Cordoba (Captando múltiples voces en el diseño de escuelas: métodos e innovaciones - Cordoba) Organizer: Vicky Cave (School of Architecture/ Centre for Study of Childhood and Youth, University of Sheffield, UK) and Henry Sanoff (Professor Emeritus of Architecture, North Carolina State University), Presenters: Vicky Cave, Maria Patsarika (School of Architecture/Centre for Study of Childhood and Youth, University of Sheffield, UK), Henry Sanoff (Professor Emeritus of Architecture, North Carolina State University), Darcy Varney (College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado), Kaname Yanagisawa (Department of Architecture and Urban Science, Chiba University, Japan) Sponsor: EDRA’s Children and Youth Environments and Participation Networks As traditional notions of school and learning are increasingly challenged, the whole school community - including children and youth - is also increasingly being positioned as an important collection of voices in the school design process. For some this is long-established practice, for others this is a completely new challenge. Different levels of expertise and experience exist to support these particular participatory processes. What is clear is that with a number of largescale school development programmes underway around the world, it is timely to exchange, debate and develop practice so that processes might be better informed and ultimately more effective. This session will focus on methods of eliciting multiple voices in the design process. It will include examples of recent practice in the school context, but an important aspect of the session will be to also explore what can be learned from other contexts, such as community development, participation in school governance and arts-based environmental education programmes. The session will go beyond simple descriptive case studies to address a number of themes and questions, including: Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 139 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase • How do choices of media support or hinder expression of voice for different groups? • How do these media impact upon the interpretation and understanding of voices by design teams? • Do particular methods have greater potential to transform design practice? • How does the procurement process impact upon the expression of multiple voices? • And what is the relationship between method of engagement and the power of the various participant groups? A series of papers and concrete examples of methods will be presented in thematic groups, with each group followed by a discursive workshop which will relate practice to theory. The intention will be to document and publish the content of the session to inform others working in the area. Keywords: Children, school design, participatory design, methods Children’s and Teacher’s Voices: A Framework for School Design (Voces de niños y maestros: un marco de referencia para el diseño de escuelas) Rokhshid Ghaziani and Rosie Parnell (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom) The school environment affects pupils’ and teachers’ health, work, emotions, and a sense of place and belonging as on average they spend around six hours a day and over one thousand hours a year in school. Better school buildings provide the arguments and the evidence that good design makes places work better and improves the enjoyment of places and the quality of time users spend there. However, there is insufficient effort being made to consult the users of school buildings and in review of numerous publications, the quality of the school environment is rarely mentioned and often are not inviting or sensitive towards clients’ (users’) needs. In addition, users have their own ways of seeing and it is important to consider the ways in which they understand and experience the built environment. However, mostly architects have not studied the users of schools and architectural plans seldom include children’s or teachers’ suggestions. It has been argued that users have a lot of implicit knowledge about school buildings and it would be valuable to 140 be made explicit so that this can be instructive to all educators, architects, designers and policy-makers. This study explores the views and expectations of the user -teachers and children- and has been focused on making a tool for the school design process, providing information and reflections from both user groups. This paper describes the methodological approach taken in carrying out the empirical study in order to build A Staff and Pupil Environment Calibration Tool (ASPECT). Literature, findings of empirical studies in the UK and a pilot study all support the promotion and consideration of children’s and teachers’ voices in the school design process. The empirical study gathers data from pupils in junior schools and secondary schools who have experienced at least two school buildings which lets pupils be more ‘critical’ than ‘imaginative’ and be able to compare design issues. Therefore, pupils in year 3 in junior schools and year 7 in secondary schools who have just come to their new school building are the focus groups for this study. The data generated both from children and teachers in this study are mostly qualitative, exploring a specific set of issues through open-ended questions, although structured questions also test specific issues raised in the literature analysis. Qualitative and quantitative analysis are applied to allow concepts to emerge from the gathered data from both children and teachers. The research strategy applies ‘grounded theory’ as set out by Strauss and Corbin (1998) that allows flexibility and creativity in the application of qualitative and quantitative approaches. It is intended the results of this study would be a guide for school communities, local authorities and design and construction teams who are involved in the school building process to help improve the quality of school environments. Suggestions are made for further research. Keywords: Schools, children, teachers, participation, architecture. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Daylight: Fountain for learning (Luz del día: Fuente para aprender) Meredith McCarthy and Megan Baxter (School of Architecture, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI) Daylight, energy for photosynthesis as water and carbon dioxide fuse into sugar releasing oxygen, is also indispensable in biochemical reactions, playing a role in hormone production, skeleton building, and regulating the circadian rhythm, the beat of all life. Daylight in school buildings has varied widely from nineteenth century, flooded with daylight, single room schools to windowless schools of the seventies. Extensive literature review established the importance of daylight for classrooms. A 1999 extremely well designed study by Heschong Mahone correlated learning rates of thirty thousand students with a five step scale of daylight conditions. This scale was used to evaluate classrooms in Rhode Island high schools. Outcomes of reporting this information included discussions about restoring skylights removed as a result of leaks in an existing school and reversal of a decision to save money by reducing windows for a new school because windows costs more than wall per square foot, (arguments used to sell open classroom school buildings with minimal windows in the 1970’s.) In addition to reduced learning rates, some individuals who suffer from SADD are measurably hurt by the absence of sunlight. However we are all handicapped when it comes to maladaptive environments with little or no daylight causing some physical and psychological distress. Some governments such as Germany and Denmark have minimum daylight requirements for all workplaces. A healthful and accessible environment is a fundamental human right, and natural light is part of it. Future Direction of Community School in Korea (Dirección futura de la escuela de la comunidad en Corea ) Hyejin Kim, Yunkyung Heo, Hyegyung Yoon, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) While metropolises have been threatened by a lack of space, local cities have been increasingly occupied by idle facilities due to the decrease of population. Linking Differences / Defining Actions This social circumstance practically makes it impossible to provide the public in the metropolis with designed facilities for education, culture, welfare, nurturing and physical training. Since it is a universal issue in the world, the development of complexes has been raised as an alternative to solving a lack of space and utilizing idle facilities. Particularly in the aging countries such as Korea there has been much more need for spaces for leisure and lifelong education due to the extension of the average life span. From this perspective, the development of a community school, as a complex, has been highlighted as an example of an excellent alternative to traditional educational facilities. While previous community schools used to be formed solely for the development of the local community children and residents’ educational need; present-day community schools have been constructed as complexes with facilities for culture, welfare, nurturing, physical training and lifelong education to allow students and local residents to use as communal facilities. A few countries have already studied plans for the utilization of schools as community complexes for over a decade. For example, as many idle classrooms have occurred due to the decrease in students caused by the diminution of population, Japan has decided to used these idle classrooms for local residents. Korea had restored the function of a local community school since 1953 and has turned its attention to developing school facilitates as community complexes since 2000. As a result, in 2002, the Kumho Open Education and Cultural Center, the initial model of a community school complex, opened in the former Kumho elementary school. Not only are over 40 schools in Seoul operating as community complex facilities, but many schools also have begun planning and constructing community complexes on their sites. In light of this development, we should systematically organize the direction of these community school plans as they develop in the 21th century. In doing so, we can explore the possibility of developing a community school in diverse perspectives that adequately serves a wide range of users. This study examines the definition and direction of a community school through a lengthy literature review. Secondly, it explores the community school existing within the country and existing outside of Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 141 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase the country. Finally, this study examines the possibility of developing design guidelines and suggestions by analyzing successful cases of community schools. Community school are seen as a solution to avoiding the limited space restrictions in school areas. In addition, community schools are beneficial in organically connecting the whole city by producing local community spaces at upgraded level. Community schools also suggest a new paradigm and purpose for the existing public education system Four important aspects of a community school as follows: First, community schools should serve as facilities of culture, welfare, nurturing, physical training that are three-dimensionally connected to the local residents’ community by serving as a local community center. By using a school as the center of the local community, local residents can reinforce their communalism weakened by the decrease of interchange between residents and generation. Second, the use of the school space for park and green areas elevates the effective use of land, especially in an area where natural recreation spaces are limited. Third, local governments and their boards of education can cooperatively invest in creating an excellent library and swimming pool to provide their residents better educational and recreational environments. Finally, facilities for culture and welfare, such as childcare, welfare for the aged, etc, can also serve as a possible educational resource through generational interchange, education for social humanity and afterschool care. Though many aspects will be discussed as an alternative to overcome the limits of public education and find a new paradigm for this system education, the plan to activate diverse educations of cultures and arts will not only make schools more pleasant and enjoyable but also provide students an opportunity to improve their cultural sensitivity. 142 How to Design School Buildings: The Users’ Point of View and Lessons from the Social Sciences (Simposio como diseñar edificios escolares: el punto de vista de los usuarios y lecciones de ciencias sociales) Organizer: Eleftherios Pavlides (Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI). Presenters: Laura McAbee, Meredith McCarthy, Emma Fischer, Katelyn Chapin, and Anne Marie Loiselle (Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI) This symposium will present information on how to design school buildings, collected over several semesters by Roger Williams University architecture students as part of Social Aspects of Architecture classes. The students researched twelve K-12 school buildings from the point of view of those who use them every day. This information was based on literature review, informal and structured behavior observations, participant observation, walkthroughs with checklists for accessibility, surveys, and photoelicitation interviews. The research was conducted in teams of four with each student responsible to coordinate one of the following: architectural documentation, architectural literature review, social science literature review, and field work coordination. In addition to information on inhabitant use and perceptions, students also conducted an energy consumption assessment of the school buildings we were investigating, in response to a request by the Rhode Island Office of Energy grant to include an energy assessment component to the field work. This course fulfilled the Roger Williams University’s service learning requirement by making the collected information available to school administrators, building committees, facility managers, and architects who design schools. As part of our presentation we will examine how the presented information was utilized by communities and architects, and we will evaluate how it influenced decisions and affected outcomes. The information on how to design better schools that we will discuss includes the following: An assessment of how daylight was incorporated into school design during various historical periods, the evolving research that measures the impact of daylight on learning rates, and evaluating specific school buildings through field work in light of these studies. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México • Issues that affect safety in school buildings including a) safety by preventing violence through control, b) safety through injury prevention, and c) safety through evoking a sense of community either through landmarks, memorials, or ritual that express pride or by avoiding negative perceptions that evoke shame. • Design issues that had not been anticipated before the research and which provided new issues for architectural designers to incorporate in their design considerations: a) a classroom that elicited “I feel smart in this room”; and b) areas that attract unforeseen aberrant behaviors. Presentations include: • Producing Useful Research For Architects And Social Communities Through Service Learning Laura McAbee (Roger Williams University) • Daylight: Fountain for learning. Meredith McCarthy and Megan Baxter (Roger Williams University) • Safety through Design Emma Fischer (Roger Williams University) • School Buildings: Unanticipated Design Issues. Katelyn Chapin and Anne Marie Loiselle (Roger Williams University) Learning Environments: Redefining the Discourse on School Architecture (Espacios para el aprendizaje: redefiniendo el discurso en la arquitectura de escuelas) Alessandro De Gregori (New Jersey Institute of Technology) This study originates from the assumption that designing and building new schools from such perspectives as building performance, or meeting the capacity demand for a growing student population, are not necessarily a sufficient or adequate approach to building schools as effective learning environment -an environment representing the physical, social and cultural context in which learning occurs (Duke, 1988). In order to understand how an effective learning environment works, it is necessary to explore both, environmental factors related to learning, as well as the interactive process for planning and building such an environment. The paper maintains that the physical environment of the school is only one component, although Linking Differences / Defining Actions an important one, of learning environments suitable for learner-centered approaches to learning. Hence, school architecture should related to the physical and well as the social and educational environmental contexts. This perspective could invite educators and architects to participate in a collaborative discourse for realizing most effective and sustainable learning environments, one school at a time. Such an approach is timely, as schools around the world are undergoing various forms of transformation. Indeed, the importance and acknowledgement of the fact that there are different ways to learn, and that each student holds a particular way to learned has increased the pedagogical challenge. Today, public education trends, from kindergarten to high school, are generally shifting from institution-centered to student-centered methods of teaching and learning, hence increasing the complexity of the school’s learning environment. In search of learning factors, factors that cold influence learning and engage educators and architects in collaborative discourse for planning and designing schools as learning environments, the study addresses the following: a) a review of literature related to education, school architecture, and environmental psychology; b) interviews with school architects and educators; and c) four case studies exemplifying different approaches to planning learning environments, as well as the corresponding educational outcomes. Among the findings, the study identifies three learning factors: classroom organization, learning technologies, and school climate, as components of a conceptual framework that could advance a common language between educators and architects. In summary, the study supports the notion that in addition to the cirriculum and the teaching method, the social climate of the school, learning technologies, as well as the physical environment, such as the organization of classrooms, are all contributing factors of students’ learning engagement and achievement. Therefore considering these factors together in approaching the solution to a new school can improve both students’ and school’s overall educational outcomes. Overall, the paper confirms the importance of an environmental approach, and moves to redefine Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 143 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase the discourse on school architecture, by suggesting interdisciplinary research related to the findings, as a strategy to advance knowledge and shared understanding of effective learning environments. Keywords: Learning environments, schools, architecture, interdisciplinary, case study Producing Useful Research for Architects and Social Communities through Service Learning Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase (Producir la investigación útil para los arquitectos y las comunidades sociales con aprender del servicio) Laura McAbee (Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI) Teams of a Social Aspects of Architecture class were assigned to conduct field work, with the objectives of a) gaining first hand experiences in order to achieve a better understanding of the readings as well as b) to produce information useful for improving buildings of community importance such as schools to fulfill a “service learning” graduation requirement. Building on three semester experience studying school structures by Social Aspects Of Architecture, students were organized in teams of four with the following responsibilities: • An architecture literature coordinator reviewed, analyzed, and diagrammed school building precedents from the architectural literature ; • A social science coordinator reviewed social science literature for information on school buildings and classrooms; • An architecture field coordinator conducted physical documentation of the building under investigation with scale drawings, photographs, and diagrams; • A social science coordinator designed the structured observation and interview research instruments and devised a detailed calendar for the teammate research activities for the rest of the semester. Teammates worked together to: • Develop the research instrument by taking and selecting photographs for interviews and creating a recording form. • Contact interviews using photographs to ask the following indirect questions: a) Do you recog- 144 nize this place? b) In what ways is this is a good place for the activities that it is used for? c) In what ways this is a bad place for the activities that it is used for?, If you could improve this place how would you change it? • Analyze data and derive findings. • Explore implications for design or further research, and • Prepare class presentation and presentations for administrators and building committees of schools they had studied to report the literature review and any insights from the interviews. These methods of interview do not seek answers to design problems rather they attempt to identify questions that might have been overlooked. Students who took these classes collaborated to anthologized the reports from the entire class and from various years to prepare this EDRA presentation. Psychological Effects on School Children due to Classroom Acoustics (Efectos psicológicos en estudiantes a causa de la acústica de las aulas de clase ) Cesáreo Estrada-Rodriguez and Isabel ReyesLagunes (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) Studies of the effects of environmental noise in educational settings have increased since the 1970s, initial investigations in the 1970s and 1980s on the effects of noise in schoolchildren focused on: academic performance and interference in communication between teachers and students and among students. In addition, the only sources of noise identified were traffic, trains, and airplanes around schools. Lercher, Evans, and Meis (2003) affirm that the literature indicates a clear pattern of mediocre acquisition of reading skill when there are high noise levels. In a review of the state of the art of the effects of noise on schoolchildren, Shield and Dockrell (2003) observe that in 30 years of research in the field, most studies have focused on elementary school children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. They report that many studies focus on the effects of noise on children’s cognitive processing when performing tasks, and similarly on academic performance in school. In conclusion, based on our review of the specialized literature, a systematized presentation of the principal findings are: Interfer- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México ence in communication (Changes in teacher conduct; Disruption of educational activities; Annoyance). Academic performance (Reading; Grammar; Mathematics and science). Cognitive processes (Memory; Attention; Motivation; Problem solving; Auditory discrimination; Speech intelligibility). Summarizing the negative effects on students produced partially by classroom acoustics. The general objective was to identify the following psychological effects on elementary school students caused by classroom acoustics: annoyance, interference in communication, speech intelligibility, and reading comprehension, considering, in addition, that such effects are influenced by the interrelationship between a school’s architectural design and acoustical conditions in classrooms. The results obtained on psychological effects in students due to classroom acoustics indicate that on average students perceive medium annoyance (M = 2.2, DE = .57) from noise in their classrooms, despite the fact that the levels recorded were very high (71 dBA), which represents 600% of the standardized classroom noise level (35 dBA). Also, despite the high noise levels, students expressed intermediate difficulty communicating with their teachers (M = 2.3, DE = .64) and with their classmates (M = 2.2, DE = .67). As regards their capacity for speech intelligibility or comprehension, students on average clearly and distinctly hear 93% of their teachers’ discourse, which is consistent with the echo conditions recorded (average 0.5 seconds), which conforms to proposed classroom standards (less than 0.6 seconds). In reading comprehension, students had a general average of 43.9% correct answers, with a standard deviation of 9.7, in some cases obtaining minimum scores of 20% and maximum scores of 71.4% of correct answers on the test. To determine the relationship between acoustic, design, and psychological variables, we applied structural equation modeling (SEM), which identified the impact of noise and physical design on emotional factors (annoyance and interference in communication) and reading comprehension, also identifying a direct influence of emotional impact on comprehension, and the influence of age on intelligibility of discourse and on reading comprehension in schoolchildren ( Chi Sq.=52.32 P=0.00 CFI=0.90 RMSEA=0.11.). Linking Differences / Defining Actions Keywords: School, noise, pupils, classroom acoustics Safety through School Design (Seguridad con diseño de la escuela) Emma Fischer (Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI) Multifaceted issues of safety resulted from indirect photo-elicitation interviews where informants were asked “Do you recognize this place?”, “Have you been there and if you have for what activities?”, “Is this a good or bad place for this activity? Please explain the reasons in detail”. In addition to responding to photographs, social variables were taken from informants to identify commonalties of those giving similar responses. Issues of safety identified in five Rhode Island high schools included safety resulting from: • Security through control and informal surveillance. Video-cameras were stolen three days after installed. • Perceptions of threat from injury, including dangerous stairs, bad hand-railing, areas that became slippery when wet, and sitting on chairs. • Safety through community included: a) monuments and art contributed to sense of belonging (such as a memorial to students at Columbine); b) temporal transformations of space as part of annual rituals such as “spirit week” when hallways were group decorated and students came to school dressed in costume; and c) alienation was expressed in response to negative perceptions of buildings. • Although most findings were familiar to those responsible for school buildings, they welcomed documentation of problems, which helped secure funds to ameliorate them. School Buildings: Unanticipated Design Issues (Edificios de escuela: ediciones inesperadas del diseño) Katelyn Chapin and Anne Marie Loiselle (Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI) Often social science methods focus on finding norms which architects already know through experience. However, architects’ responsibilities extend beyond the needs of the norm to the needs of all. For example handicapped people disenfranchised from Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 145 Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase Thematic Abstracts Children & Youth Environments Schools & Classrooms Niños y ambientes de la juventud Escuelas y salas de clase accessing the built environment in a way are denied the right to exist. Architects also need to protect buildings from the antisocial activities of a few. To heighten our awareness about the responsibility architects have towards all people, and to experience the impact buildings have on people’s lives, we used wheelchairs through school buildings as well as a check list provided by the Adaptive Environments Center, Boston, for recording features affecting accessibility. We seek unanticipated insights through focusing on infrequent or unusual responses to photoelicitation, which often revealed needs or problems beyond the architect’s intuition: • A photograph of a classroom elicited “I feel smart in this room”. Subsequent interviews with students and teachers established a number of factors behind this statement. • There is a variety of aberrant and antisocial behaviors, not normally associated with school buildings, reported taking place in some schools. While information about small and unusual groups of people cannot become basis for designing, in the hands of a creative architect, this kind of information can pose design challenges that can produce small modification with significant consequences. ences on the spatial attributes of regular classrooms, including 1) usage convenient, 2) social gathering, 3) group study, 4) privacy, 5) recreation, 6) neatness and comfort, 7) movement routes, 8) individual study, and 9) individual interaction. The results showed that the aspects affecting regular classrooms include practical functions and spatial atmosphere. The data were analyzed with regression analysis to construct the postoccupancy evaluation equation, and the satisfaction indexes of various classroom spaces were compared. This study is expected to enhance the classroom space efficiency and meet usage demands, in order to create quality study environment. Keywords: post-occupancy evaluation, classroom spaces, spatial layout Study on the Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Senior Vocational School Study Environment (Estudio sobre las evaluación post-ocupacional del medio de una escuela vocacional) Yi-ling Chen and Szu-yu Tzeng (National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan) This study discussed the equipment and post-occupancy evaluation of study environment for Senior Vocational School by evaluating the effective usage of regular classrooms in aspects of usage functionality, classroom arrangement, and spatial layout. The purposes are to 1) generalize the post-occupancy evaluation factors through literature review and interviews, 2) construct evaluation aspects and model for classroom space, and 3) compare the satisfaction indexes of various classroom spaces. Based on literature review and interview data, this study generalized four types of stimulants, and distributed 200 valid questionnaires to survey the prefer- 146 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Cognition, Wayfinding Movement in the Designed Environment The Architects’ Understanding of Human Navigation (Edificios de escuela: ediciones inesperadas del diseño) Martin Brösamle & Christoph Hölscher (University of Freiburg, Centre for Cognitive Science, Freiburg, Germany) Orientation can be a challenging task for visitors of complex public buildings like airports and hospitals. The common way of putting the issue in the field of human spatial cognition is to ask what makes a building difficult. Investigating what constitutes the legibility of built environments seamlessly leads to the role of the architectural designer who shapes this very environment. Architectural design processes have been studied intensively in the Design Cognition and some researchers do touch on wayfinding issues in architectural design (e.g. Arthur and Passini, 1992). While wayfinding cognition and design cognition are both investigated as separate topics, the reasoning of architects when they actively create wayfindingfriendly designs is not well understood. The present study aims to close some of this gap. In a series of semi-structured interviews with twelve architectural designers and planners we discussed concepts and techniques in architectural design in relation to navigation and orientation. Four interviewees had closer contact with techniques of space syntax. To account for both explicit implicit wayfinding design knowledge we asked our informers to provide critique on example cases and to discuss possible wayfinding issues. During the interviews videos of the sketching area were recorded to capture drawing actions and pointing gestures on the drawings as well as verbal utterances. The interview material was analyzed according to semantic content, use of examples, provided definitions etc. Main results: Participants analyzed the presented example cases primarily along the main circulation, reflected in the extensive use of circulation-related vo- Linking Differences / Defining Actions cabulary. Visibility-related utterances mostly occurred in those situations when informers were pointed to navigation and orientation issues by the interviewers. The anticipation of possible usability issues from a user’s perspective is not done consistently across informers. Rather, locations looking interesting from the plan view are considered and in a second step the visibility and occlusion of relevant objects from this location are evaluated. There is a tendency among our participants that those who are involved in hospital design provided more detailed analyses of usabilityrelated factors compared to those who are not. The tools and techniques in architectural design focus on the building, in particular its structure its form and other properties. This building-centred view is reflected in the frequent use of categories that are strongly related to the organization of the building in space. However, the resulting understanding of architectural space tends to be static, like the spatial relations they represent: Movement is frozen in aggregated flows which then are treated as location factors rather than moving individuals with personal goals. Our results do suggest that present techniques are not suited to systematically evaluate the users’ situation in a series of different locations. Thus, architectural design may be improved in this respect, whether in form of more effective diagrams and software supporting the architect or in form of specialized training for those architects who are working on complex buildings. Do you know your way? A mixed-method study on the use of virtual environments in wayfinding research. (¿Usted sabe su manera? Un estudio del mezclarme’todo en el uso de ambientes virtuales en la investigación) Aga Skorupka (The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY) This paper compares wayfinding behavior in virtual and real environments in order to reveal theoretical basis for comparison while simultaneously producing applicable implications for designers and architects. Therefore, the constructed virtual environment was modeled using standard design tools available for most practicing architects and mimicked its parallel real environment upon which it was based. Method- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 147 Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado ologically the study builds on existing research on wayfinding in both real and virtual environments, implementing both previously used and new methods. The preliminary findings are partly consistent with existing research. The performance measures indicate that the time taken by users in the VE was significantly longer than in the real environment. The cumulative paths yielded from both conditions differed considerably which contradicts studies demonstrating that movement patterns in virtual and real conditions correlate. The comparison of aggregate paths along with the analysis of the qualitative data suggests the critical role of body in experience of wayfinding and movement in complex environments. The results are also consistent with other studies which point out that in a VE, people tend to travel in paths that are generally straight, a pattern that is not persistent in real environments navigation. Finally, the qualitative analysis of think aloud protocols and interviews demonstrate major similarities in the cognitive rationale behind the wayfinding behavior in both conditions. These findings allow for a tentative implication that virtual models could be used for assessing wayfinding systems of future buildings. Even though the virtual environments might not prove to be useful in predicting wayfinding performance and movement patterns in quantitative terms, qualitative data that can be gained through using VE in the architectural programming phases of a project seem to be sufficient for evaluation purposes and useful for redesigning buildings before they are constructed. Key words: wayfinding, orientation, virtual environments, design evaluation. The Effect of Changes of the 3-Dimensional Scale of the Urban Environment on People Moving in Immersive Virtual Environments (El efecto de los cambios en la escala tridimensional del ambiente urbano sobre el movimiento de la población en ambientes virtuales inmersos) Magda Mavridou (University College, London) environments and whether scale properties affect the navigation, wayfinding and intelligibility in these environments. In order to investigate these issues, an experiment in an immersive virtual environment was set up. The participants were asked to complete a navigation task in six virtual urban environments which had the same configuration but different properties of 3-dimensional scale or proportions. The differences in scale were in building height, in the overall size of the environments and in scaling hierarchy. There were two groups of participants, one group had to navigate in a more intelligible urban configuration than the other. The intelligibility of the environments was based on the definition of the concept as this is found in the Space Syntax literature. Space syntax methodology was used for measuring topological properties of the environments (which were invariant in all 6 environments) and correlate them to the different movement patterns in each one. The participants had to fill in a questionnaire asking questions related to the perception of differences in the environments and to the perception of easier navigation. The results are based on the qualitative analysis of the questionnaires. From this study three hypotheses for the perception of scale have been created: first, that differences in properties of form affect the perception of geometrical properties of space; same length streets were perceived as longer when the buildings along them had the same height than when they had varying height . Second, that differences in properties of form affect the perception of topological properties of space. The environments with the same configuration were not perceived as the same when the forms were different. And third, that environments with the same building heights were perceived as easier to navigate than environments with varying building heights. Keywords: 3-dimensional scale perception, virtual environment, navigation, space syntax This research is trying to address the issue of the perception of the 3-dimensional scale of the urban environment. The questions raised are how are scale differences perceived by people moving in urban 148 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Effect of Wording of Fire Warning Announcements on Evacuation Behavior in Subway Stations (Efecto de la fraseología de los avisos amonestadores del fuego en comportamiento de la evacuación en estaciones del subterráneo) Ryuzo Ohno, Hidekazu Tamaki, and Masashi Soeda (Department of Built Environment, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan) Generally speaking, fire protection has not been considered as great a priority in subway stations as in other urban public facilities because they are assumed to have fewer fire hazards. However, several major subway disasters have occurred in recent years, such as the fire caused by a suicidal man at a subway station in Taegu, Korea, that took 192 lives in 2003 and the terrorist bombings on the London Underground in 2005. Since people tend to follow the flow of the crowd in emergencies, it is important for them to be led in the appropriate direction in the early stages of evacuation. Although in the case of subways, station staffs are expected to provide this guidance, the number of personnel available in any one place is limited, and those who are on hand may not always be fully informed of the overall situation. One possible solution is to make better use of loudspeaker systems, recent technological advancements in which afford precise control of the area and direction covered by individual units, making it possible to tailor warning announcements to the layout and signs of specific locations in the station. The present study experimentally examines how the wording of broadcast warning announcements combines with the effects of nearby spatial features and signs to influence evacuation behavior at subway stations. A series of experiments was conducted in an existing Tokyo subway station at five settings, each with a different stair and sign layout. For each session, the subjects (13 male and 8 female university students) were asked to listen twice through headphones to a recorded announcement played over a portable voice recorder, then to start heading in whichever direction they believed safest. Experimenters followed them to record their behavior until they started to go up/down a stair, at which point the subjects were asked why they chose that route. Linking Differences / Defining Actions The following results were obtained by the study: (1) After hearing announcements that do not give any directional instructions, subjects tend to choose their way according to prominent spatial features (most notably upward stairs) and exit signs or, in the absence of such physical cues, to rely on their own behavioral history. (2) Subjects tend to feel uneasy about and sometimes distrust announcements that direct them downstairs, unless the instructions indicate that going downstairs first is necessary to eventually reach the exit. (3) Similarly, when subjects hear an announcement that leads them in the same direction as the location of the fire, they tend to feel uneasy and reluctant unless they are given more details about the situation. These results point to possible problems with recently built or remodeled stations in Tokyo that are designed to have one concentrated ticket area shared by several subway lines of different depths, so that some platforms have only downward stairs leading to the exit. Such unintuitive layouts may result in dangerous confusion for evacuees in an emergency situation. Emergent Circulation Patterns: Generating movement networks for buildings using stigmergy Renee Puusepp and Paul S. Coates (Centre for Evolutionary Computing in Architecture, University of East London) Flocking and optimal path formations are widely explored subfields in agent programming. However, there is no established application of these systems in use in architectural design communities or practices. Most of the work remains highly theoretical and is deployed to analyze existing or planned environments. Besides few examples of generative modeling for architecture, the environmental design processes remain outside the domain of agent studies. The ongoing research explores the flocking behavior of agents based on the field of vision computation and stigmergic communication. The author tries to employ the emergent behavior of agent colonies into architectural design routines. According to the proposed scenario an agent colony is not solely a passive mechanism to analyze space but can also proactively modify its environment. The work of Bonabeau et al suggests that, given the right set of ‘stigmergic’ rules, Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 149 Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado agents can generate highly ordered three-dimensional architectures. Therefore, stigmergy based building algorithms are considered to be an adequate way to achieve meaningful spatial outcome. It is suggested that such kind of agents can be directly involved in creative design routines. The proposed model demonstrates a dynamic system that can be used in early stages of design process. The greatest benefits of the model are its flexibility and ability to adapt to different environmental configurations. It is argued that due to the dynamic nature of the model, it can generate numerous architectural solutions and suggest not only the layout of spaces, but also the spaces needed for pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The flexibility is facilitated by two kinds of behavior in the model. Firstly, there is a dynamic process that constantly tends towards optimal movement of agents. Secondly, there is a feedback process going on between agents and objects in the environment. The resulting spatial structures are therefore never controlled by the circulation or by the spatial configuration alone, but emerge dynamically with the respect to the existing environment. Getting from A to B and Back: A Representational Framework for Pedestrian Movement Simulation in a School Environment Erica Calogero (The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, London) The paper presents some techniques developed in order to explore the relationship between school design and pupil movement outside of formal teaching activity. The focus is on the configurational component of school design and its impact on wayfinding and crowding and how these factors in turn might influence the pupils’ experience of school. The paper considers various techniques of spatial representation, simulation and network analysis and proposes a way of combining these in a new way for use in pedestrian movement consultancy in schools. 150 Learning and Navigating Built Environments: How Spatial Cognition and Behavior Relate to Environmental Form Drew Dara-Abrams (University of California, Santa Barbara, CA) How to understand the interplay between people and their built surroundings and then how to inform planning and design with that research are questions I am addressing with my background in cognitive psychology, computer science, and human geography. Large outdoor environments like urban squares, city neighborhoods, and university campuses are of particular interest, I believe, because many competing interests and constraints must be balanced, and oftentimes development only proceeds in piecemeal fashion. Sets of buildings can be similarly complex— consider a hospital, an indoor shopping mall, an airport, or simply the phrase “a building complex.” In my studies of these settings, I pair behavioral measures of users with models of those environments’ physical form. Previous research has described the cognitive architecture of spatial cognition, yet much of this work has ignored people’s surroundings and the role that physical barriers, architectural details, landscape features, and such play in navigation, orientation, memory encoding, learning, and other components of spatial cognition and behavior. Modeling the salient details of environmental form has allowed me to retain the careful controls of experimental psychology while also considering environmental context with formal, quantitative methods. I would like to present a pair of empirical studies, which are representative of my broader work. Automated computer systems collect data from human participants; models of environmental form, constructed for the study areas, provide quantitative measures; and these two sets of results combine to explain—at least in part—the interplay between people and their built surroundings. Cognitive scientists have an established theoretical interest in these matters; planners and designers can also benefit from applying such techniques for automated data collection, quantitative data analysis, and environmental modeling. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Mental Model-Centered Design for Built Environments Sven Bertel, Thomas Barkowsky, and Christian Freksa (Informatics, Universität Bremen, Germany) In this contribution, we argue that understanding model preferences in human mental spatial reasoning can eventually help improve both the design and the use of built environments. We present a design support tool prototype that interacts with the designer by checking for model preferences in the spatial instantiation of design constraints and suggests alternative placements where such are appropriate. We then discuss the applicability of the underlying methodology for supporting preferences in the spatial mental models which users of built environments exhibit when conceptualizing these environments. A framework is proposed for systematically evaluating designs with regard to how well users can conceptualize the corresponding built environments. We suggest that integrating this framework into the design process can lead to buildings for which correct mental conceptualizations are comparably easy to construct and maintain. Users may ultimately benefit from better building use and designers from being able to construct more usable buildings. Keywords: Spatial mental models; mental preferences; design support systems; building use; cognitive factors in human-computer collaboration. Movement and Orientation in Built Environments: Evaluating Design Rationale and User Cognition (Movimiento y orientación en ambientes construidos: evaluando el diseño racional y la cognición del usuario) Organizers / Presenters: Saif Haq (College of Architecture, Texas Tech University), Christoph Hölscher: (Center for Cognitive Science, Institute of Computer Science and Social Research, Freiburg, Germany), and Sue Torgrude (BoelterDesignGroup, Madison, Wisconsin) Sponsor: EDRAMOVE Network Although architects shape human movement and cognition through the process of designing buildings, their conceptions about these basic processes may not Linking Differences / Defining Actions match those of the users. Movement and cognition in built environments is usually investigated from the perspectives of either the user or the designer. This intensive will provide an open forum to bridge these perspectives in an effort to link design and research. Specifically, this workshop will feature: • Studies about the intentions that architects have regarding shaping human movement and human cognition in space as well as investigations into relevant knowledge employed by designers for these activities. • Studies about human movement and spatial cognition, both in real settings and under controlled experimental conditions (e.g. virtual reality studies) • (Technical) design support tools to improve the planning process and evaluation of future buildings with respect to anticipating and shaping human movement. • Evaluation techniques: observations in the field, spatial analysis methods of existing and planned building layouts, agent studies. • Cognitive mapping research: impact of environmental structure on navigability, memorability, perception and appreciation. Most importantly, it will provide a forum for sharing and ‘linking differences’ of various approaches to studying and applying design rationale and stake-holder cognition, with special emphasis on human movement and orientation. This full day intensive will have 7 presentations and 2 posters that will be followed by a panel / open floor discussion. Presentations include: • Martin Brösamle & Christoph Hölscher: The Architects’ Understanding of Human Navigation? • Drew Dara Abrams: Learning and Navigating Built Environments: How Spatial Cognition and Behavior Relate to Environmental Form. • Sven Bertel, Thomas Barkowsky & Christian Freksa: Mental Model-Centered Design for Built Environments. • Aga Skorupka: Do you know your way? A mixedmethod study on the use of virtual environments in wayfinding research. • Eve A. Edelstein, Klaus Gramann, Jurgen Schulze, Nima Bigdely Shamlo, Elke van Erp, Andrey Vankov, Scott Makeig, Laura Wols, Eduardo Macagno, Neural Responses during Navigation and Wayfinding in the Virtual Aided Design Laboratory – Brain Dynamics Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 151 Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado of Re-Orientation in Architecturally Ambiguous Space. Erica Calogero: Getting from A to B and Back: Pedestrian Route Choices in a School Environment. • Ryuzo Ohno, Hidekazu Tamaki, and Masashi Soeda, Effect of Wording of Fire Warning Announcements on Evacuation Behavior in Subway Stations. • Danjuma I. Nkwenti: Movement Dynamics and Shopping Patronage – A Syntactic Profiling of Shopping Centers in Business Districts. • Renee Puusepp & Paul Coates: Emergent circulation patterns: Generating movement networks for buildings using stigmergy. Movement Dynamics and Shopping Patronage: A Syntactic Profiling of Shopping Centers in Business Districts Danjuma I. Nkwenti (National Advanced School of Engineering, Yaoundé University, Republic of Cameroon) Movement and spatial configurations seem to play significant roles in the performance of urban systems. Particularly noticeable is the case of shopping centers and their relative locations within an urban setup. This paper delves into some of the mechanisms underlying the performance of such centers within a restricted setting. The syntactic profiling of shopping centers in Yaoundé (Cameroon) is used to illustrate the intricate dynamic forces involved in shaping a shopping environment. Space Syntax predictive models of movements correlated with the underlying land use and gate-count observations on selected streets of the CBD area, point to somewhat diametrically opposed use of space by pedestrians and vehicles. This apparent novelty is explained, using statistical variables of the local morphology. The paper argues that although both land use and the configuration of street networks contribute to the movement equation in the downtown area, the performance or patronage of shopping centers is influenced more by the availability of suitably located interchange nodes that allow movement to be switched between the two systems. It concludes by a discursive analysis of some major factors that may make or mar effective movement systems and efficient location of shopping outlets 152 Pedestrian Movement and Choice Behavior in Czech and Slovak Shopping Centers: Toward an Economy of Movement (Movimiento peatonal y de transeuntes y comportamiento de elección en centros comerciales en Czech y Sovakia: hacia una economía de movimiento) Jana Spilkova (Charles University in Prague) and Matej Hochel (Universidad de Granada, Spain) This paper examines the consequences of the transformational changes in Czechia and Slovakia on the shopping behavior of Czech and Slovak buyers. The shopping and general consumer behavior has in a short got through perhaps 50 years of usual retail development in just 15 years and this has also considerably affected consumer behavior distorted by previous lack of shopping opportunities under the communist regime. The shoppers in post-communist countries seem to adopt the “western” shopping styles and behavior even more vehemently than their counterparts in the developed “western” countries. The paper presents a survey conducted via naturalistic observation in selected Czech and Slovak shopping malls which aims to reveal the patterns of pedestrian choice behavior on the intersections. Is the movement of shoppers disorganized, unplanned as it was in the first phases of the post-communist transformation (Spilková 2003) or there is a tendency to employ the principles of the economy of movement which suggest that pedestrians tend to move in a way involving the smallest number of steps? As a general rule people tend to avoid obstacles and economize their movement by minimizing the total number of steps. One of the most important features of this effortminimizing pedestrian behavior is the tendency to turn right at intersections (Bitgood and Dukes 2006; Underhill 1999, Serrell 1997). However, the right turn is not the only economical response. In particular situations (walking on the left-hand wall side) the left-turn represents another economical movement pattern. The pedestrian choice movement at intersections was analyzed in five Czech and Slovak shopping centres. The main ambition of the present study is to demonstrate the impact of the transformation of the CE retail sector onto consumers’ behavior. While a few years ago shoppers’ behavior was rather chaotic May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México and disorganized (Spilkova 2002), Czech and Slovaks will now show a more accentuated tendency to move economically. A randomization resampling test with 100,000 samples was performed on the data obtained in the shopping malls and it can be concluded that pedestrians tend to avoid unnecessary steps by economizing their trajectories (p=0.00013). The results thus show that there occurred a qualitative change in the shopping behavior of the Czech and Slovak shoppers (compared to 2002) and there is an obvious tendency to minimize the total distance in correspondence with the principles of the economy of movement. The findings concerning the patterns of shoppers’ movement have implications for the design and planning of shopping environments in the transforming CE countries, which are steadily adopting the characteristics of “western” market-oriented economies. In this respect, shopping malls should integrate time-efficient shopping opportunities which respect the economy of movement principle with pleasurable environments for shopping as leisure activity which combine the variety of shopping environment with sophisticated and attractive design of retail facilities. Keywords: behavior change, shopping malls, pedestrian movement, experiment, post-communist countries Neural Responses during Navigation and Wayfinding in the Virtual Aided Design Laboratory: Brain Dynamics of ReOrientation in Architecturally Ambiguous Space Eve A. Edelstein and Eduardo Macagno1 (Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA); Klaus Gramann, Nima Bigdely Shamlo, Elke van Erp, Andrey Vankov, and Scott Makeig (Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, CA) and Jurgen Schulze and Laura Wolszon (California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, University of California, San Diego, CA) An increasing number of virtual reality studies have been conducted to predict how people move through spaces and form memories of those places. Many Linking Differences / Defining Actions such studies rely on theoretical modeling systems, simplified imagery to test wayfinding strategies, or 3D virtual reality (VR) images while subjects remain prone and motionless in neural imaging devices. This study developed an interactive virtual reality aided design (VAD) laboratory in which subjects can move through realistic scaled renderings of actual architectural environments. Novel software was developed to track the virtual movement path and the virtual cues and scenes observed by the subject while moving through the rendering, synchronous with the physiological brain responses as each cue was encountered and cognitive maps were formed. Electroencephalographic (EEG) was used to map the brain’s responses to experimental spaces rich with visual cues and compared to control spaces absent of navigation cues. Volunteers consented (according to ethics guidelines) to participate in a wayfinding task designed to test neural responses to ambiguous spaces (with no visual cues to direction or orientation) versus unambiguous spaces (where landmarks, architectural features, interior finishes, or color provided clear clues). Visual ambiguity was systematically controlled by varying the symmetry of the surrounding environment, lighting effects and shadows, or other visual cues that might serve orientation. Subjects learned the location of all rooms and corridors during free exploration, and drew plans of the VR building to demonstrate they had formed a cognitive map of the space before and after testing. Each subject then completed at least 96 trials in which they navigated through unambiguous or ambiguous spaces toward stated goals (in pseudo-random order). Egocentric and allocentric wayfinding strategy was assessed using a VR tunnel task previously validated (Gramann et al. 2007). Navigation efficiency during the experiment was assessed by plotting the movement path, turn errors, and time to goal. The findings from study of several subjects will be reported. Software was developed that synchronized wayfinding events with high density 256 electrode EEG brain dynamics accompanying re-orientation after being lost and during different classes of spatial orientation processes. The timing and location of active brain sources during re-orientation were analyzed using independent component analyses (ICA) (Makeig et al. 2007). Newly developed signal and Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 153 Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado image processing systems allowed brain and muscle activities to be independently analyzed and localized as subjects moved during the task (Gramann et al. 2008). Unlike magnetic resonance imaging, which records brain responses to earlier events in prone, immobile subjects, this pioneering technology relates navigation events and cognitive mapping strategies to concurrent brain responses while subjects move freely within the VR cave. This method thus offers a novel means to test the effectiveness of cues to visual and spatial relationships in virtual environments while mapping brain and behavioral strategies that may reveal provide greater knowledge of cognitive mapping processes. Keywords: architecture, design, navigation, orientation, wayfinding, virtual reality, electroencephalography, ambiguity, allocentric, egocentric, route following. Sources of Information and Path Choices in Wayfinding (Fuentes de información y decisiones en la búsqueda del camino a seguir) Simon Jonas Buechner and Christoph Hoelscher (University of Freiburg, Germany) When navigating through environmental space (Montello, 2005) people interactively use pre-existing knowledge and perceptual information in order to find a target location. Preexisting knowledge and navigation strategies (e.g. Hölscher et al., 2006) are individual dispositions of a visitor. Perceptual information is potentially accessible to all visitors, but people still select information individually, combining idiosyncratic dispositions and spatial characteristics of the environment (cf. Stern & Portugali, 1999). We conducted a study in a complex multi-story building ensemble investigating how people use different sources of information in wayfinding tasks. 32 participants had to solve 8 tasks in which they had to find a target location while having different kinds of information available. The tasks were developed to cover a wide range of spatial complexity (simple to difficult) with different demands: floor change required, change of building required or both together. Since it was not possible for the participants to infer the exact position of the target location from the instruction alone, they 154 had to rely on a combination of at least four types of information in order to solve the task: 1) a priori information provided in the instruction 2) structural and map information from the environment 3) knowledge acquired during previous visits to the site 4) schematic knowledge and strategies A priori information was varied (within-subjects) in two tasks, providing either the room number or a visual cue. Structural information was available to all participants while only half of the participants had access to standard wall-mounted fire plans. In each of the two map conditions, half of the participants were familiar with the building (regular visits for at least one year); the other half was unfamiliar. We expected that the relative attractiveness of path choices (based on line of sights, proximity, light etc.) changes depending on the availability of different types of information. Participants were video-taped and asked to verbalize their thoughts. The videos were analyzed with respect to the participants’ motion trajectory, orientation behavior and verbal comments. For each task we counted path choices at intersections and analyzed participants’ behavior. The data was enriched by participants’ verbalizations culminating in a qualitative analysis of their cognitive processes during decision making. The results show different decision patterns depending on the available type of information. For example, participants in the room number condition accessed maps more frequently than those in the visual cue condition. In addition they chose a different, more vertical, strategy. In a different task we found that participants who were attracted by a nearby staircase tended to commit an inherited error at a later decision point. The results show that path choices vary when participants use different types of information as a basis for decision making. We will discuss the results with respect to potential implications for architects and designers in order to support visitors’ navigation through large, complex buildings. Keywords: wayfinding, spatial cognition, academic, psychology, qualitative research May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México The Study of the Train Station as an Architectural Typology and How its Iconography is Crucial to Wayfinding (El estudio de la estación del tren como una tipología arquitectónica y como su iconografía es crucial en la búsqueda del camino) Tricia Quinn (University of Arkansas) The purpose of this presentation is to examine the development of the train station as a typology and to describe its iconographic architectural features that enhance wayfinding. As a typology, the train station has been in existence only 177 years, a manageable timeframe in which to study its evolution. As a public venue for moving masses of people, many of whom have no prior knowledge of the environment, the station provides a model for understanding the factors relating to wayfinding. Unlike the forces that led to the birth of the railroad industry in the 19th century, the issue of the sustainability of our natural resources again makes rail travel a desirable travel option and a topic worth studying. Carroll L. V. Meeks state in his seminal work entitled the Railroad Station: “There was no function precedent for the dept, every solution had to be invented.” (Meeks, iii). Without a precedent on which to base station design, circulation issues - moving passengers and trains safely and efficiently - were addressed initially in plan. In general, depots are classified by their plan as either on-sided, two-sided, or head-house stations. As stations evolved, not only did the plan become more functionally complex, but the vernacular was replaced with a more monumental language. George Kubler addressed this dual role of the functional and the aesthetic in The Shape of Time: “Every important work of art can be regarded both as a historical event and as a hard-won solution to some problem” (Kubler, 33). Architectural features such as clocks, towers, arched windows, and concourses began to appear in stations regardless of their basic layout and often in response to functional requirements. Over time, however, their presence acquired symbolic significance, transforming them into the iconography we now associate with railway stations. Three research methods are used in this study: qualitative, interpretative-historical, and case-study methodology (Groat and Wang). Twenty-one stations in England, Ireland, Italy and the United States were Linking Differences / Defining Actions visited. First-hand reactions to navigating through the space were recorded in notes and photodocumentation. A review of the literature on both train stations and wayfinding “makes use of empirical evidence of the past” and comprises interpretive-historical research (Groat and Wang, 88). Finally, case studies of particular stations are used to test the hypothesis that there is indeed a link between architectural elements of design and how they assist in wayfinding (Groat and Wang, 94). The study of wayfinding grew out of the disciplines of environmental, cognitive, and behavioral psychology long after train stations began to exhibit modifications in response to the needs of its clientele. That stations evolved so efficiently without the benefit of a language that articulates the stages of wayfinding is quite remarkable. “The aim of wayfinding design... is to provide the environmental information necessary for decision making and decision execution” (Passini, 159). It is clear from the study of stations that their iconography provides such information and thereby enhances their legibility. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 155 Thematic Abstracts Cognition, Wayfinding & Movement in the Designed Environment Cognición, la búsqueda del camino y movimiento en el ambiente diseñado Community and Neighborhood Planning Community Place Identity with a Contemporary Image (Identidad del lugar de la comunidad con una imagen contemporánea) Amira Mohyuddin, Hasanuddin Lamit (University of Technology Malaysia, Skudai) Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad Despite a considerable amount of research into the pivotal role of mosques in urban place as an image and identity of a community, there remains a divergence between the available space/place and users’ needs. The predominant architectural and planning perspective is more focused on the architectural design and planning of mosques rather than the users. In order to deliver better community places appropriate to the needs of contemporary users it is imperative to gain the perspective of users. The purpose of this research was to explore and understand the phenomenon: physical and psychological values that users associate with mosque as a community place in giving character/identity to the community place, which gives identity to the urban place. An exploratory qualitative case study design was used and data were collected by semi-structured interviews and behavioral observations and mapping. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to contextual analysis. It was found that the Singapore Muslim community is proud of the new image of their new mosque to the effect that it projects or manifests a contemporary cultural, social and religious identity in the context of a contemporary urban setting. A number of themes of physical and psychological values were generated from the analysis to explain users’ views about their mosque as a community place. The new image of mosque disseminates better Muslim community identity to the urban place which reflects the contemporary urban character of the community. Keywords: mosque, community place, community identity, perceptions, meaning 156 Design as a Means of Increasing Community Interaction: Linking Differences and Defining Actions through the Appropriate Implementation of Design for Experience and Cultural Ergonomics (El diseño como una suposición del incremento de la interacción de la comunidad: asumiendo diferencias y definiendo acciones a través de la implementación apropiada del diseño para la experiencia y la ergonomía cultural) Traci Brisby and Jennifer Colman (University of Calgary, Canada) The goal of this project was to increase community interaction through an industrial design intervention where the design intervention is the design of a public artifact or system modified by cultural ergonomics and design for experience. This particular design solution was focused on the new residential development Charlotteville in New Providence, The Bahamas and the design solution was informed by the literature review, contact research and unobtrusive research. Analysis and coding of this research lead to a number of themes that provided the direction for the conceptualization. Community Interaction can be increased through public artifact design that is informed by an appropriate combination of cultural ergonomics and design for experience. The contemporary global economy sees the transfer of ideas around the world; land development is no exception with more and more international firms shaping the landscape of countries other than their own. There is an opportunity for industrial designers to positively impact these developments and design artifacts for the public spaces that appropriately address and respond to their location and as a result positively affect community interaction. These projects funded by foreign investment are often a manifestation of imported ideas that are simply hosted of another nation’s soil. The implications of Industrial Design interventions that are applied globally are significant. While it is certainly an honorable challenge to design for either another culture or for the global market, there are intrinsic responsibilities that require consideration. The world as a patchwork of separate and distinct entitles is changing; the similarities from one nation to the next are becoming more numerous as globalization facilitates homog- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México enization. Sometimes the affects of this globalization seem to evolve seamlessly while at other times these global influences spawn resistance within a community, nation or culture. There are opportunities to link these differences through defining actions that guide informed design intended to celebrate and connect these differences. Although this project was developed specifically for the Charlotteville site, it is intended that the fundamentals could be reapplied to other locations and contexts. Modification of an artifact or system by the appropriate combination of cultural ergonomics and design for experience can be reapplied to other design problems requiring design intervention to positively affect community interaction. The international focus of this research influenced the decision to consider cultural ergonomics and design for experience as the underlying influences for design development. Cultural ergonomics and design for experience could be applied to other developments, in other nations with the resulting design solutions being a function of the site specific research. The concept of modifying a public artifact destined to be successfully implemented into any culture could be applied to any product. It is the modifiers of cultural ergonomics and design for experience that provide this opportunity. The final design solutions respond to the numerous themes identified in the research with the primary theme being musical. The cultural implications of music and its importance to society as a whole makes it a viable direction in the context of transgenerational design. Transgenerational solutions have the potential to bind a community together, creating ties and interactions that may not be possible or likely without thoughtful and informed artifacts. Ethno-Cultural Diversity in Everyday Neighborhood Space: Planning and Designing for Interethnic Interaction (Diversidad etno-cultural constante del vecindario: planeando y diseñando para la interacción interétnica) Willow Lung Amam (University of California, Berkeley) In August 2007, Robert Putnam, renowned Harvard political scientist, reignited a critical debate on American neighborhoods with the publication of his Linking Differences / Defining Actions study on diversity and social capital. After surveying over 30,000 residents nationwide, Putnam concluded that in the short run, immigration and ethnic diversity tend to reduce social solidarity and social capital. In ethnically diverse neighborhoods residents of all races tend to “hunker down”, trust of all races is lower, altruism and community cooperation rarer, and friends are fewer. His results contradicted what many considered to be the sacred cow of diversity – that is, that diversity in neighborhoods is a strength, making communities more vibrant, lively and better places to live. Putnam, in fact, agrees that this is the long run consequence of diversity, but his research shows that it is a process and that in neighborhoods across the country, people are having a hard time learning to live with difference. His results, however, should not be surprising given over three decades of literature in the field of environmental psychology on culture and place, as summarized in several works by Amos Rapport, suggestive of similar trends. This study addresses how planning and design strategies in diverse neighborhoods might be useful in helping to integrate residents and increase social capital. Insights from the literature in environmental and social psychology, social contact, and social capital suggest that settings which provide opportunities for interracial contacts increase the capacity of individuals to overcome racial prejudices and negative outgroup orientations and develop more general trust. Thus, by designing for interracial contact within neighborhoods, design can impact long-run measures of social capital and help to lessen the negative impacts in the short run. Utilizing Ash Amin’s (2002) theory that “banal transgressions” of everyday life offer both content and a critical context for societal change, the research locates everyday places of interethnic interaction in two San Francisco Bay neighborhoods. Both neighborhoods are ethnically diverse at the neighborhood scale, but differ in the spatial arrangement at the block levels. In one, ethnic groups integrate across blocks, whereas in the other, ethnic groups tend to segregate by block. Everyday places, such as streets, grocery stores, post offices, bus stops, and others, are considered critical spaces that foster mundane and substantive levels of interaction, both of which are posited to affect neighborhood psycho-social measures of trust, belonging and attachment. Within these sites, ethno- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 157 Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad graphic methods are used to record and analyze the patterns and process of interaction, use, and behavior. The study analyzes these patterns through the lens of both ethnic and place identity, reflecting on the ways in which behavior reflects upon individuals’ sense of themselves within a given space. Finally, the analysis links the measures of interaction and identity with neighborhood psycho-social measures of trust, belonging and attachment. Keywords: ethnic diversity, everyday spaces, neighborhood diversity, interethnic interaction, social capital, place attachment, sense of belonging, ethnic and place identity. Examining the Importance of “Place” Factors in Understanding Quality of Life (Examinando la importancia de los factores del “lugar” al comprender la calidad de vida) Byoung-Suk Kweon and Robert Marans (University of Michigan) “Quality of life” is a concept often used in public pronouncements by civic leaders, politicians, and government officials without a clear definition of its meaning. At the same time, list of best places to live and retire inferring a high quality of living have appeared in numerous popular publications. These lists are based on criteria such as tax rates, crime statistics, number of hospitals and golf courses, etc. Implicit in the development of these lists is the idea that some combination of these characteristics contribute to its overall quality and therefore to the quality of life of its residents. Past research has shown that “place” is just one factor influencing the well-being or quality of life of individuals (Campbell et al,, 1976, Cummins, 2005) This paper considers the relative importance of specific place factors associated with individuals in understanding the quality of life concept. Place factors deal with an individual’s surroundings such as the dwelling, the neighborhood, parks, transportation corridors etc. Since quality of life is viewed as a subjective phenomenon which may vary from individual to individual, place factors are based on the perceptions and evaluations of individuals. The paper uses data from a 2001 survey of residents throughout the Detroit metropolitan area. A combination of face-to-face interviews and mail questionnaires yielded over 4300 responses from individuals 158 living in different parts of the region. Although corresponding objective measures were collected for places associated with each participating household, the analysis presented in this paper is based solely on individual responses. Structural equation modeling is used to assess the relationships between place factors and quality of life Results indicate that taken together, place factors significantly influence residents’ quality of life. Quality of life decreases significantly when residents do not have a satisfactory dwelling. Finding affordable housing that satisfies residents’ needs in today’s expensive housing markets is a difficult task but our research indicates that it is the most important determinant in residents’ quality of life. Having a stressful commute to work in urban areas is also a negative contributor to quality of life. Living in a good neighborhood environment as well as having good neighbors plays a significant role. To a lesser extent, having good public and recreation services significantly increases resident’s quality of life. Understanding the relationship between quality of life and quality of places is important to policy-makers and legislators in creating livable settings for all residents. Keywords: Quality of Life, Housing/Residential, Neighborhood/Community Planning, Interdisciplinary, Quantitative Research Is Planning Ending? (¿Está terminandola planeación?) Roberto Olavarrieta Marenco (Universidad Veracruzana) The current order of planning processes: 1.- Physical planning 2.- Economic planning 3.- Participative planning 4.- Strategic planning or Action planning 5.- Management 6.- Just management of the short resources At first, we had the physical planning (the planning and design of the territory), then the economic planning appeared. Those ways of planning created a struggle between them, one trying to prevail over the other. Later in time, someone saw that without the participation of those who were involved in a problem, had to be participating in the planning of the solutions to this problem - this is when partici- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México pative planning appeared. Some years after, when planners anguished and saw that reality runs faster than planning, they invented strategic planning or planning while doing. Recently, the people in charge in local governments began to see that they just could manage the situations rather than planning solutions to them; now management reins. But in poor countries managers and management strategies seem to always be just of the short resources. The planning experiences of this author demonstrate this situation. Specifically the research and planning in Indian towns in the Sierra of Zongolica in Veracruz, México. This author had the opportunity to visit Zongolica in 1973 after a earthquake as a student of architecture in social service, and recently he has returned to Zongolica with a group of students of architecture. Here they observed that their former planning had been a complete failure. Now, this author reflects upon the lessons learned from this experience and also seeks advice from others experienced in the planning process. Keywords: Planning, Design, Culture, Sustainability Linking Community to Communication Action and Design Workshop (Uniendo a la comunidad con la acción de la comunicación y el diseño - taller ) Organizers: Gary Gumpert (Urban Communication Foundation) and Susan Drucker (Hofstra University) Presenters: Janice Bissell (Stafford King Wiese Architects, California), Gary Gumpert (Urban Communication Foundation), Susan Drucker (Hofstra University), Robert Marans (University of Michigan), Mike Murtha (Community Sustainability Resource Institute), Jack Nasar (Ohio State University), Lena Sorensen (New York University), and Richard Wener (Brooklyn Polytech) The urban landscape is in a state of change as the nature of civics and community are altered with the rise of broadband technology, increasing expectations of global connection and the requirement of data accessibility. For the first time, in 2007, more than half the world’s population will live in urban areas. Thus the quality of communication within urban ecologies makes a significant difference to the overall quality of human life. The nature of neighborhoods and enclaves Linking Differences / Defining Actions is changing but need for community remains. But the city os being reformulated y technologies that permit and encourage communication through connection. Daily lives are experienced in multiple and diverse psychological and social zones which overlap - some physical, other mediated. This workshop will explore the common challenges shared by cities as they contend with communication practices, policies, diasporic communities and design. What qualities of urban life should be nurtured and preserved? Is it possible to embrace a modern technological life and yet preserve some of our traditional expectations of community? Mexican-American Landscapes in Midwestern Small Cities: Creating a Typology (Espacios méxico, americanos en las ciudades pequeñas del medio-oeste: creando una tipología) Susan Dieterlen (University of Michigan) The United States recently passed a demographic milestone as Hispanic residents became its largest minority group (U.S. Census Bureau News, 2003). Most of these residents claim Mexican descent, including both recent immigrants and well-established American families (Arreola, 2004). This population is growing not only in the southwestern U.S. and larger cities, but also in the smaller cities of the Midwest (Millard and Chapa, 2004; Aponte and Siles, 1997). Almost no scholarship within landscape architecture, architecture, or urban planning addresses the effects of this major demographic change on the built environment. The relevant literature is situated within other disciplines, omitting crucial questions about the built environment. This research explores these questions, creating a typology of the physical landscapes inhabited by Mexican-American residents in small Midwestern cities, focusing on function and aesthetics from regional scale to housescape. Information about the built environment available within an interdisciplinary literature review was distilled into an a priori typology of Mexican-American landscapes in Midwestern small cities, including example cities. Three of these cities in each a priori landscape type (fifteen cities total) were studied via both remote data and field observation of landscape, economic, and social characteristics. Qualitative analysis of these Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 159 Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad data revealed four landscape types unanticipated by the literature review. The major finding of this research was these empirically-based landscape types: “entrepreneurs and workers,” “new tenants,” “new homeowners,” and “community succession.” Detailed narrative and visual descriptions of each city were produced in this process, then distilled into a profile of each landscape type. A second major finding was the independent variables determining landscape type, including characteristics of existing housing stock, overall economic health of community, economic history of community, and socioeconomic class composition and concentration of non-Hispanic white population. Additional findings include comparisons between African-American and Mexican-American residential distribution and housescapes, and between the typical Midwestern Mexican-American housescape and its counterpart in the Southwest. The findings of this research suggest that the assumptions made by landscape architects, architects, and planners concerning public use of the built environment may need to change as this region of the United States becomes more ethnically and racially diverse. Keywords: neighborhood / community planning; landscape architecture; social issues / social justice; outdoor environments Neighborhood Satisfaction: Physical and Perceived Characteristics (Satisfacción en el vecindario: características físicas y perceptivas) Misun Hur and Jack Nasar (The Ohio State University) Researchers from many disciplines, including sociology and planning, have examined Neighborhood Satisfaction (Amerigo, 2002; Amerigo & Aragones, 1997; Francescato, 2002; Marans, 1976; Marans & Rodgers, 1975; Marans & Spreckelmeyer, 1981; Mesch & Manor, 1998; Weidemann & Anderson, 1985). The research has focused more on the personal, social, and psychological dimensions than on the physical environment in relation to neighborhood satisfaction. When studies include physical characteristics, they tend to look at the perceived physical characteristics, overlooking the impact of the physical environmental features on neighborhood satisfaction. Health researchers interested in the relation between 160 environmental characteristics, physical activity, and health outcomes have discussed the need to study the links between personal and physical features of the environment at various scales (Bauman et al., 2002; Frank et al., 2005; Handy et al., 2002; Hoehner et al., 2005). Furthermore, while studies have repeatedly found “aesthetics” related to physical activity (Frank et al., 2005), and other studies have identified physical attributes of environments related to “aesthetic,” pleasingness to the eye (Nasar, 1998), research has not examined the link between physical and judgmental ratings of those attributes, nor has it looked at the link between those measure and neighborhood satisfaction or housing value. This study identifies both physical and perceived attributes, including aesthetic variables that affect neighborhood satisfaction and the housing values. It does this through a comprehensive structural model of neighborhood satisfaction, which includes physical and perceived attributes of the neighborhood, housing values, and personal characteristics. The study centered on 400 residents in Franklin County, OH. In addition to a survey of the residents, the study included physical observations and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis or their neighborhood. This way it captured 27 measures of the physical environment, and 15 measures of the perceived neighborhood environment, including the overall neighborhood satisfaction measure and housing values. A Structural Equation Model reveals the underlying structures among factors: the links between the physical attributes of the environment, resident perception of those attributes, resident’s satisfaction with constructs related to those attributes, and neighborhood satisfaction and housing values. Methodologically, the study demonstrates advances in data collection through its on-line survey, on-site observation via a personal digital assistant (PDA), and GIS. Keywords: Neighborhood Satisfaction, Environmental Aesthetics, Incivilities, Naturalness, Housing Value, Geographic Information System (GIS). May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México People Place or Parking Space? The Evolution of the Courthouse Squares of Mississippi (¿Lugar para personas o para estacionamiento? La evolución de las plazas de la corte de Mississippi) Michael Seymour and Amanda Rogers (Mississippi State University) The town square has a long history as a center for urban civic life. In the United States, the primary form is the courthouse square which is described by Price as “a rectangular block surrounded by streets, with the courthouse...standing alone in the middle of the square and the town’s leading business houses enclosing the square symmetrically on all four sides” (Price 1968, 29). In predominately rural Mississippi, the role of the courthouse square has been especially significant. The state includes at least sixty-five square which historically have provided a much needed focal point for social, political and economic life. While the most famous of these - the Oxford square - is a well known and still vital urban space, numerous less vibrant examples exist throughout the state in little known towns such as Canton, Holly Springs, and Grenada. While these squares have much in common, there are subtle differences in the organization and Character defining features of each square that have contributed to its success of failure as a civic space and retail center. This paper, which will present the results of a study which has for the first time identified and catalogues the Mississippi squares, will explore the evolution of three of the town squares in an effort to reveal lessons valuable in the preservation and creation of successful public spaces. The examination of the town squares has followed the Secretory of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties which includes guidelines for the documentation of cultural landscapes. Primary and secondary sources have been used to explore the squares with an emphasis on vintage photographs and period maps. Items addressed in the presentation will include the merits of the various types of squares (including a new form discovered during the study), the shifting role of the square in civic and social life and the changing message communicated by the physical from and character defining features of the spaces. This presentation will conclude with a discussion of the relevance of the town square in contemporary society (in light of the popularity of new urbanism) Linking Differences / Defining Actions as well as an exploration of the linkage to the historic plazas and squares of Mexico. References: Price, E.T. (1968) The Central Courthouse Square in the American County Seat. Geographical Review 58:29-60. Keywords: Preservation / Restoration, outdoor environments, landscape architecture, historical survey, archival research. Police Enforcement of Immigration Policy: Impacts on Community Relations (El cumplimiento de las políticas y la política migratoria: impactos en las relaciones comunitarias) Kristen Day and Michael Powe (University of California, Irvine) Thematic Abstracts The US has seen an increase in anti-immigrant projects and policies at the federal, state, and local levels in recent years. These anti-immigrant initiatives base their claim for legitimacy in post-9/11 concerns about terrorism. Most often, however, policies are directed towards Latin American and especially Mexican immigrants. Such policies include tough new measures of border “security,” policies to punish employers for hiring undocumented workers, and laws to outlaw housing rentals and other services to undocumented immigrants. Together, these policies can have dramatic, negative impacts on quality of life for immigrants and on community relations more generally. This study examines the impacts on quality of life and community relations stemming from the involvement of local police in enforcing federal immigrant law, through Immigration & Customs Enforcement Act 287(g). Our research is a before and after study of the impacts of this policy in the city of Costa Mesa, California. The study asks: what have been the effects of involving local police in enforcing federal immigration law, in terms of Latino residents’ perceived safety, their use of their community, and their relations with police and others? The study was conducted in 2001 and 2001 (before) and in 2007 (after). It involves Spanish and English telephone interviews (169 before, 62 after) and indepth interviews with Latino community leaders (8 before, 8 after). In comparing responses before versus after, we find no significant differences in amount of Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 161 Community & Neighborhood Planning Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad contact with police for Latino or non-Latino residents. However, in our “after” results, we find more negative attitudes among Latinos towards police, and also less likelihood among Latinos to report crimes to police. Findings also reveal less perceived acceptance of Latinos in the community, after vs. before. In addition, community leaders report that the new policy has significantly impacted Latino residents’ use of their communities, including a sense of being “under siege”, reduced travel and use of public spaces, and negative impacts on housing and business markets. Conclusions suggest changes to policy and to policing practice to address these impacts. Potential of Sustainable Neighborhoods of Aging and Depopluating Villages (Potencial de los vecindarios de edad avanzada sustentables y el despoblamiento de las poblaciones) Tomotsune Honda and Hirata Takayuki (Wakayama University, Japan) Traditional small villages near Wakayama city of Japan are facing depopulating and aging problems which may cause sustainable neighborhood collapse in spite of being located near urban district. This area saw a reduction in occupancy over the last decade. Villagers have gradually recognized that depopulation and aging is a major factor which influences their lifestyles and long-term sustainability of built environment of the villages. Wakayama is a mountainous prefecture and environmental design is hard for achieving barrier free conditions. But many of such villages inherited with both beautiful natural environment and easy accessibility to urban infrastructures of adjacent city or town. Though such advantageous aspects of environment are not fully made use of, the potential as a residential area is considerably high. The study focuses on finding out the way of activating such small villages from the view point of the transformation of built environment, social systems such as mutual help and support among villagers, kinships and administrative aids. The closer relationship of urban and local sustainable neighborhood can be the model of moderate solution for the future programs to seek cross implications with neighboring cities and villages. 162 The survey takes place at two villages, “Saikazaki” and “Tano” near Wakayama city center by researching recent transformation in terms of social and spatial dwelling environment. The long term consequences of the transformation of built environment must be grasped first and mutual support system of daily village life would be cleared based on our previous research comparing physical changes of built environment and distribution of kinships along narrow alley. The recent impact of sewerage construction which accompanied reconstruction of alleys and remodeling of old houses would be assessed as physical forces of transformation of built environment. Analysis of built environment, through the basic data of house plans, is made out with following process. a) Measuring and drawing house plans as well as plotting them in the village maps. b) General questionnaires about inhabitants’ mutual support to sustain their daily life. c) Interview survey asking the history of their houses such as adaptation, renovation, rebuilding and conversion. d) Interview survey asking how the house is/was used according to the change of their way of living or life cycle situation as their family history. Sustainable neighborhoods in perspective for the future of urbanizing villages - Two villages, though located near urban area, are thought that it is still inconvenient especially for aged people because of topographical and travel disadvantages. 60 % of residents have no idea about successors of their houses and they are aware of the future of their community. The result of questionnaires show that people expect fundamental mutual help of companionship among neighbors and kinships who are mostly living within fifteen minutes walk or drive. But aging and depopulating trend is threatening such conventional community care systems. The research will bring out basic needs of people and the potential of eventual reciprocal help and care net work will be suggested based on sustainable built environment of villages. Keywords: sustainability, regional planning, social issues, urban May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México The Role of Land Content and Land Use on Neighborhood Satisfaction (El rol del contenido del terreno y el uso del terreno en la satisfacción del vecindario) Christopher Ellis and Byoung-suk Kweon (University of Michigan), and George Rogers (Texas A&M University) Neighborhood satisfaction is an important component of life satisfaction (Fried 1984; Sirgy and Cornwell 2002). As a contributor to life satisfaction, neighborhood satisfaction is influenced by individual and household background variables (Galster and Hesser 1981). Previous research found that nearby trees and natural areas were the most important positive factors in neighborhood satisfaction (Kaplan, 1985). However, there is a limited understanding of how other environmental content and land use influence neighborhood satisfaction. This paper examines the effect of land content (e.g., trees, structure, and pavement) and land use (e.g., residential, commercial, and open space) on neighborhood satisfaction. A survey of 276 respondents in College Station, Texas was geocoded and analyzed with land content and land use GIS data. A structural equation model examines the relationships among background variables, land use, land content, and neighborhood satisfaction simultaneously. While land content appears to play a more important role in neighborhood satisfaction than land use, both were found to be important. Trees were found to have a positive effect on neighborhood satisfaction while structures were negative. A negative correlation between pavement and neighborhood satisfaction disappears in the SEM model. In fact, the effects of pavement that are not accounted for by structures and commercial land use show a positive relationship. Paved areas that are not in commercial areas and are away from larger structures—such as neighborhood streets and sidewalks—might actually contribute to an improved sense of neighborhood satisfaction. Commercial land use was also found to have a negative effect on neighborhood satisfaction while background variables have no significant impact. It is reasonable to conclude that the amount and arrangement of land use and land content in and around neighborhoods—if carefully planned and Linking Differences / Defining Actions designed—may improve the well-being of residents by increasing their neighborhood satisfaction. Keywords: Neighborhood Satisfaction, Neighborhood/Community Planning, Landscape Architecture, Interdisciplinary, Quantitative Research The “Sea Change” Phenomenon: Local Perceptions of Environmental Change and Community Sense of Place (El fenómeno del “cambio oceánico”: perepciones locales del cambio ambiental y el sentido de lugar en la comunidad) Ray Green (University of Melbourne, Australia) The term “sea change phenomenon” has recently been coined to describe the migration of affluent urbanites to small coastal towns who are looking for a relaxed lifestyle in beautiful, natural surroundings as a way of escaping the pressures of city life. This pattern of migration can be observed in many coastal settlements located near major metropolitan areas in Australasia, North America and Europe. It is common that effected towns experience an increase in development; particularity residential development to accommodate the new migrates, and negative changes to the natural environment associated with this development. Environmental impacts commonly include loss and degradation of natural habitat and introduction of exotic plant species while social impacts include polarization between wealthy, urban newcomers and existing residents. It is also common to hear residents complain that their sense of place is under threat due to these changes. This research explored the perceived impacts on residents’ sense of place due to the sea change phenomenon within three coastal town communities located along Australia’s Great Ocean Road. These towns represent three distinct types of settlements that are all experiencing the effects of the sea change phenomenon - coastal getaway, coastal lifestyle destination and coastal hamlet settlements. Data was collected using a three staged methodology starting with a projective mapping exercise administrated via mail surveys (N=633), which was used to identify stimuli elements, a community photo-rating exercise (N=219), used to assess the stimuli elements along various Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 163 Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad evaluative perceptual dimensions (beauty, naturalness, distinctiveness, overall compatibility with town character, etc) and a multiple photo-sorting technique (N=66) used to understand the perceptual structure underlying the response patterns. The results show that introduction of highly visible large, “boxy” new forms of development and removal of heritage features and indigenous vegetation are strongly associated with perceived negative impacts to people’s sense of place while conservation of small, historic features and ecologically intact natural areas and indigenous vegetation were found to be strongly associated with positive assessments. Respondents were also found to discriminate between the stimuli elements (and groups of elements) along three underlying dimensions: temporal (old versus new), scale (large versus small) and natural versus built. The results were subsequently used as a basis for amending the local planning schemes in two of the study area towns with the aim of minimizing the perceptual impacts of new development on resident’s sense of place by encouraging new development and landscape treatments that would respond to local environmental conditions and community perceptual values. Keywords: Coastal Settlements, Landscape Change, Demographic Change, Environmental Perception, Sense of Place Stressors Affecting Newly Arrived and Long Term Residents in Two Rural Nebraska Communities This paper analyzes information obtained in a quality of life survey of newly arrived and long-term residents of two rural Nebraska communities in order to identify key stress issues and determine the relationship between various stressors and overall level of stress. We also explore the possible ameliorating effect on stress of social mechanisms (social organizations and friends network). This information could be particularly helpful in developing programs and policies to assist the transition of new arrivals into a community. We found that neither group exhibit high levels of overall stress. The principal contributors to overall level of stress differed significantly between the new arrival and long-term populations: the individual stressors exerting a notable effect on overall level of stress for the long-term population was the job (or lack of), racial discrimination, level of income, the struggle for a better house, and age. For the new arrivals, only level of income correlated significantly with overall level of stress. Network of friends was found to ameliorate the level of overall stress, but only for new arrivals residents. Keywords: Stress, small towns, architecture, city planning, quantitative research. Toward and Examination of Neighborhood Effects on Health-Related Outcomes (Factores estresantes que afectan a residentes nuevos y de largo plazo en dos comunidades rurales de Nebraska) Rodrigo Cantarero, James Pottter, Matthew Gedney, and Carrie Butler (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) (Hacia una evaluación de los impactos del vecindario en los balances relacionados con la salud) Jean Wineman, Robert Marans, Amy Schulz, and Diaan van der Westhuizen (University of Michigan), Sonya Grant-Pierson (Rebuilding Communities Inc., Michigan), and Paul Max (Detroit Health Department and Wellness Promotion, Michigan) Many small towns in the rural Midwest have been experiencing a large influx of immigrants over the past 15 years, mostly of Hispanics seeking employment in the meat processing industries that have been locating in these communities. This rapid influx of a culturally different population group into what has previously been a very homogenous (white nonHispanic) community, has brought with it stressors affecting the quality of life for both the new arrivals and long term residents. In recent years, there has been a plethora of studies examining the effects of the built environment on physical activity and numerous health outcomes associated with individuals. While considerable attention has been given to supplementing self-reports on physical activity and health status with more valid measures, efforts have also been made to develop new measures covering attributes of the built environment. The latter has focused more on discrete environmental measures, such as housing density or the presence or 164 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México absence of sidewalks, rather than on bundles of environmental measures. It has been posited that while urban designers and planners work with individual environmental attributes, they typically consider them in combination with one another or as a bundle of attributes. As part of a program of research aimed at understanding neighborhood effects on the physical activity and health of residents in three Detroit neighborhoods, efforts have been made to characterize the micro-neighborhood of each study participant. Microneighborhoods are defined as the immediate blocks surrounding the block of each participant. Following an overview of the overall study and the three neighborhoods, this paper describes the process used in creating micro-neighborhood types. These types incorporate measures of land use, residential density, path and street network characteristics. Each of these measures will be described including their derivation from secondary and primary sources including space syntax techniques. We demonstrate how in combination they can be used to establish micro-neighborhood types. Models showing hypothesized relationships between the micro-neighborhood types and several outcomes (i.e. amount of walking, perceived safety, BMI, etc.) will then be presented. Finally, several of the models will be tested. The paper concludes with a discussion of the appropriateness of the micro-neighborhood types created for the Detroit study to other parts of the metro Detroit area and other settings. Keywords: urban design, environmental typology, physical activity, health outcomes. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Thematic Abstracts Community & Neighborhood Planning Planeamiento de la comunidad y de la vecindad 165 Culture and Environment The Aga Khan Awards for Architecture as Indicators of Architectural Value: The Experience of Bangladesh (Las concesiones de Aga Khan para la arquitectura como indicadores del valor arquitectónico: la experiencia de Bangladesh) Saif Haq (Texas Tech University) Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente The Aga Kahn award for architecture, perhaps the largest architectural award today, “...emphasizes architecture the not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs, but... also stimulates and responds to their cultural and spiritual expectations. Particular attention is given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in an innovative way and to projects likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere” (Aga Kahn Development Network, 2007). Since its inception in the late 1970s, three projects in Bangladesh have been awarded: Grameen Bank Housing Program (1990), National Assembly Building (1990), and School in Rudrapur (2007). From a stylistic, morphological, or technical point of view, these three are as different as they can be. Yet, in a deeply entrenched level of social consciousness, they respond to an intangible concept call ‘meaning’ in Bangladeshi architecture. Approached to understanding this meaning are the tasks of this paper. This study finds validity by its contrast with the narrow focus of existing studies that suggest a distinctive ‘bent bamboo’ shape (King, 1894), terracotta detailing (Mitchell, 1983), or the presence of courtyards (Hussain, 1990) as features of Bangladeshi architecture. As a broad based approach, this study looks at historical development, vernacular architecture, monuments in history and to some extent, at sources from peripheral areas. From these, it argues that the essential constituent of Bangladeshi architecture is in the relationship between simple free standing structures and their yards. The facades of the structures are the elements from which the yards derive their quality. This primordial concept forms the model by which a meaningful architecture is produced in Bangladesh. This is the theme that ties the Aga Kahn Award Winners together and is also seen in the celebrated contemporary architecture of Bangladesh. 166 References: The Aga Kahn Development Network http://www. akdn.org/agency/aktc_akaa.html accesses 14 Oct, 2007 King, A. (1894) The Bungalow: The production of a global culture. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Mitchell, G. (Ed.) (1983) Brick Temples of Begal. Princeton University Press. Hussain, R. (1990). Bandladesher Sthapatya Sanskriti (in Banglo) Dhaka: Sagar Publishers. Connecting the Value of “Making” with the Value of “Doing:” Environmental Aesthetics as the Mother of Environmental Ethics? (Conectando el valor de “generar” con el valor de “hacer”: aspectos ambientales como madre de la ética ambiental?) Hyejung Chang and Paul Tesar (North Carolina State University) Environment is a cultural product with visible and physical features of the natural living system. Culture is also a production of knowledge, belief systems, and values, which clearly and equally entail moral, rational, and aesthetic value systems in such domains as religion, science, and art. Hence, both environment and culture can be approached by an empirical under standing of human science in pursuit of experiential universals that are too concerned with establishing similarity, regularities, and conformities to law, which would make it possible to predict individual phenomena and processes (Gadamer 1989). However, “culture” in this sense is yet the focal point only in scattered works of individual scholarship (Peterson 1976), and current environmental and social research with an empirical focus has heavily favored attention to sub-cultural differences and user/site-specific design solutions – things that divide us –rather than to experiential universalities across cultures and sub-cultures – things that unite us. Moreover, environmental sustainability in terms of cultural identity seldom appears to be considered in conjunction with ecological health: the connection, and potential conflict, between aesthetic inspiration and moral responsibility. If it is our task to bridge the realms of cultural identity and ecological health, designers need to approach environmental sustainability from the linkage between environmental aesthetics and ethics. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México The paper will demonstrate three lines of argument. First, in favor of the linkage between aesthetics and ethics, the paper will point out that our contemporary notion of sustainability lacks two sorts of experiential universalities as both quality and value: aesthetics and morality. It will explain why these two need to be significantly interconnected in sustainable design practice, both in terms of experiential qualities as well as in terms of connecting the value of making with the value of doing (Dewey 1934; Eaton 1997). In the second line of argument, the paper will discuss how an aesthetic approach to environmental design would provide and enhance moral reasons for ecological sustainability, based on the following rationales: 1) moral responsibility and aesthetic sensibility toward environment are substantially alike, 2) like culture, an aesthetic approach to the environment integrates such qualities as the emotional, the rational, and the moral, 3) an aesthetic approach does not allow us to view the environment simply as a “resource”, 4) by taking the cultural function of art as a model for environment, the objective criteria for value judgments on the environment will be appropriately established from an ecocentric perspective (Carlson 2004; Callicott 1998; Elliott 1982; Leopold 1989), and 5) an aesthetic approach can enhance individual morality to respect the intrinsic over the instrumental values of the environment. Lastly, the paper will address the plausible objections against the above claims as well as the replies to those objections based on two positions: 1) the different subject matter between ethics and aesthetics, and 2) the incompatibility between “the work of art” and “the environment.” In conclusion the paper will argue that an aesthetic approach to the environment has moral validity for environmental sustainability across cultures, and that it would provide a conceptually reasonable basis for empirically based research and scholarship in environmental design. Keywords: environmental aesthetics, environmental ethics, sustainability, culture, experience Linking Differences / Defining Actions Culture and Quality, Basic Elements in the Design of Tourist Environments (Cultura y calidad, elementos básicos en el diseño de ambientes turísticos) Organizations. Marina Salazar (Universidad Veracruzana) and Jesus Cruzado (Instituto Tecnologico de Veracruz) About the middle of last century the resort development of the littorals in Mexico started, first in the Pacific, twenty years later in the Mexican Caribbean and for the decade of the 90’s in the Gulf of Mexico, even though it must be said, the natural attractions in these littorals are of different characteristics. This paper is a reflection of the institutional perspective in the organizations dedicated to the tourism, with the inclusion of two elements, culture and quality; the first one with the idea of preserving it in the places of research, and the second one to promote the competitiveness among the same organizations. The concept of institution has been defined by authors as Powell and DiMaggio (2001), Montaño (2004) or Bobbio (2005); they see the institution as a master or social pattern that has reached certain state or property and the institutionalization, as the process to reach it, it has as an objective the search and maintenance of its own autonomy. In spite of the fact that in the research the tourism there are several qualitative and quantitative disciplines such as sociology and statistics that converge, there is no parallel development of the theories and the practice that can concert and conclude not just an analysis or statistical information, but the development of projects where the organizations dedicated to tourism could see their expectations of reaching the competitiveness in the tourist destinations crystallized, with a global environment. This reflection has as an analysis basis, the organizations located in the Central Region of the Gulf Littoral and that is the State of Veracruz. The Veracruz territory has a littoral of 745 kilometers long which represents 29.3 per cent of the Mexican Coast, besides it has, mountains, forests, prairies, rivers, tropical forests, waterfalls and lagoons; this entireness of geographical characteristics is enriched with a plus of indigenous population that according to INEGI, in the year 2000 of the total of the indigenous population in the Mexican Republic, 10.9 corresponds to the State of Veracruz, with a little more than 750,000 people of indigenous language. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 167 Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente Within this region of the Veracruz littoral there is a zone in particular known with the name of Emerald Cost. Near Zempoala y in the Totonaca Circuit, the development projects in this region have not projected to a competitive level that could provide its inhabitants with the necessary resources to live and invest in their local business. In this zone there is a combination of micro enterprisers, regular size projects and family enterprises and that with studies of depth these could give the alternatives to make this zone an international competitive development. The institutional focus for the study of the tourism requires of an investigation in the organizations, operational methods, problems, costs and the place they actually have in the economy (Wiley 2000). Key Words: culture, organizations, quality, tourism The Experience of Historic Religious Sites: Missions versus Wats (La experiencia de sitios religiosos históricos: misión versus wats) Daniel Levi (Cal Poly, CA) and Sara Kocher (Sara Kocher Consulting, CA) Managing historic religious sites requires balancing the needs and demands of historic preservation, the religious community, and tourists. Cultural heritage tourism should provide a quality experience for the tourists, while protecting the quality of the environment and improving the quality of life for local residents. Cultural heritage assets are preserved because of their intrinsic value, rather than for their tourist value. These assets serve a number of types of users and stakeholders, who may have differing viewpoints on how the asset should be managed. Some tourists visit heritage sites merely to view the architecture, while others are seeking meaningful personal and cultural experiences. Tourism provides a powerful political and economic justification for conservation activities; however, increased visitation and inappropriate development may threaten the integrity of the site. Although tourism provides economic benefits to the local community, it can lead to the loss of cultural identity and values through commodification, loss of authenticity, and adaptation to tourist demands. Tourism at religious or sacred sites is a special type of cultural heritage tourism. Religious tourism cre- 168 ates the challenge of balancing site conservation and tourism, while retaining the spirit of the place. This balancing is more difficult when the local community is still actively using the site for religious purposes. Preservation and restoration of sacred places is different from other types of heritage environments because these places are managed by religious entities and have a community of local believers. Although it is important to preserve the historic character of the place, local worshippers may want to make modifications and additions to support their use of the religious space. Although the tourists may be seeking personal growth experiences, they may have little background knowledge about the religious sites and events they are witnessing. This project examined the experience of Californian college students who visited historic Catholic Missions in Central California and Buddhist Wats in the Chiang Mai region of Thailand. Tourism is an important industry in both the Central Coast of California and Northern Thailand that has the potential to help preserve these cultural heritage assets. Using an evaluation system partially based on the system developed by National Geographic, each student evaluated their experience of several Missions and Wats. The evaluation examined the positive and negative features of the sites, their overall quality, amount of religious experience, environmental quality, cultural integrity, commercialization, and educational opportunity. Results show similarities and differences in the experience of these sites by tourists. Overall, these historic sites received positive evaluations. The main factors impacting people’s evaluations were whether the local community used the place for religious purposes and the amount of commercialization. Education and interpretation at the Missions focused on history, while at the Wats it focused on religion. Keywords: assessment, culture, tourism, preservation / restoration, historic site May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México How the Tallest Skyscraper in the World Represents the Cultural Aspects of the City it Stands for: A Discussion on Taipai 101 (Como representa los aspectos culturales de la ciudad que representa el rascacielos más alto del mundo: una discusión sobre Taipai101) Li-Wen Sung (Tamkang University, Taiwan) When we try to determine if Taipei 101 is a good representation of contemporary Chinese/Taiwanese architecture, we must acknowledge the numerous points of view. First, unlike Shanghai’s 421 meter Jin Mao Tower, designed by S.O.M, Taipei 101 was designed by Chinese architects. The primary architect, C.Y. Lee, has attempted to insert Chinese cultural motifs into his projects for more than two decades. Second, while the form of Taipei 101 is connected to Chinese traditional culture, its function is based on contemporary daily life. The mall in the lower level is not just a shopping center decorated with transformed Chinese bracket structure; it is enhanced with the concepts of “urban street” and “social plaza,” which animated the space with public activities. Third, the lighting plan of Taipei 101 has contributed an interesting diagram for special occasions. Its unique building form has wonderful platforms for fireworks, enabling it to successfully sponsor New Year’s activities for hundreds of thousands of people. It has begun to be an important part of the common memory of the society, and has the chance to be part of the city’s future traditions. A fourth reason for its significance is the fact that Taipei 101 is the highest skyscraper in the world. It has the potential to become one of the hottest tourist destinations in Taiwan. For the same reason, it has attracted more attention from other countries and exposed Taiwan to the world. This engenders pride in the citizens of Taiwan. Thus, the tower helps reduce the frustration stemming from Taiwan’s international political situation. Fifth, Taipei 101 is a unique project in Taiwan. It was the first BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) project located in the center of Taipei city, close to Taipei airport. Its height not only exceeded Taipei’s urban regulations, but also had the potential to block the flight channel. To accomplish this project, the main powers of the city, including the city government, the builders, the architectural firm, and a scholarly committee gathered together to negotiate a possible proposal. This Linking Differences / Defining Actions decision-making process was similar to the one used by a pre-modern Chinese village when they wanted to build a feng-shui tower. A good architectural design should carry its unique meaning to the people it serves, and represent its own time. It should not just exist in its location, but also in the common memory of its society. Its existence should not be decided by elites, but by its users regardless of their social status. It should not only function well, but also connect a society’s past and future. Taipei 101 was successful for existing in the right time and right place, and for playing the correct role in society. Taipei 101 shows us some clues to the further possibilities of contemporary Chinese/Taiwanese architecture, worthy of careful consideration. Keywords: culture, developing country, skyscraper, architecture, phenomenology The Mosou Matriarchal Society and Family House Culture: The Tourism Development and Settlement Conservation Plan of Lugu Lake, Sichuan Province, China (La sociedad matriarcal de mosou y la cultura familiar del hogar: desarrollo del turismo y el establecimiento del plan de conservación del Lago Lugu, provincia de Sichuan, China) Chang Ching Chin, Su Yi Farn, Shih Pei Yin (National Taiwan University) Luku Lake, located in the border of Sichuan and Yunnan in South-western part of China, which is a Scenic and Historic Interest Area. Owing to the distinctive historical context and the tough living environment, the Mosou people developed the most suitable social culture to maintain the relationship with the land, especially the culture of “walking marriage” and the matriarchal family is the one of oldest heritage of human society. In 1989, the reforming and opening-up policy of the state press the tourism development in a comprehensive way. Luku Lake became one of the priority development areas. Along with the commodity economy that accompanied tourism and outside culture, its extensive and fast entry in Mosou people’s day-to-day life have changed Mosou people’s way of production way and their manners of life. Because of the governmental policies implemented in conformity with the tourism demand and environmental needs, the close relationship between Luku Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 169 Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente Lake environment and the Mosou matriarchal culture is gradually broken. The rapidly developed tourism experience destroyed the traditional cultural characteristics of the Mosou people by pulling them from their land which is considered as the mother of Mosou culture. The challenge to planning is how to maintain the nexus of social mechanism of the Mosou culture by facing with their living difficulties? We choose the site named Zhawoluo, a traditional Mosou settlement, inhabited by only 32 families and about 400 people. To maintain the traditional culture, our goal is not only to conserve the settlement itself but also to bring in eco-tourism and deep-experienced tourism to improve the economic situation of local people we attempt to suggest appropriate management ways which would prevent disintegration of the traditional daily life of the Mosuo people. Master strategy: We suggest responsible tourism to respond to the pressure of development from tourism, retard destruction and impact on the Mosou culture, and to boost the settlement conservation project. This will be accomplished by a) recognizing the speciality and essence of the Mosou culture, b) creating an environmental conservation plan with a linkage between local culture and natural environment., and c) initiating settlement conservation by creating “responsible” tourism. Key words: the Mosou people, Luku Lake, settlement conservation, matriarchal family , responsible tourism Renovating a Cultural Centre in Order to Build an Environment of Social Differences: The Istanbul AKM Building Example (Renovando un centro cultural para construir un ambiente de diferencias sociales: el ejemplo del edificio AKM de Estambul) Serdar Asut (Anadolu University, Turkey) Is architectural design discipline able to conclude political, ideological, economical and cultural issues of a messed society? If so, how and with which instruments can it do that? This project aims to resolve such a matter via architectural methods and elements in an ironical way. 170 The object of the project is Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM) building in Istanbul. The very interesting story of the building begins in mid 1930s. With lots of economical impossibilities, administrative problems and a big fire the building goes through its destiny. And in 1977 it opens once more as the major opera and culture house of the city. However the story still goes on today and the building is to face its destiny once more; is it going to be destroyed or renovated? Such discussions don’t (and possibly will never) end up because of a few critical reasons. The building is located just next to Taksim Square, which is the most important Square of both Istanbul and the whole Turkey. Obviously it is the most advantageous site of the country both in terms of economical and political issues; the perfect place for both making a big income and demonstrating the ideology. Also, focusing to the building itself, it is one of the most important modern buildings of Turkey and symbolizes the ideology of modern western dream of Turkish Republic via 1950s aesthetic vision. So, at this point, the matter turns into a new kind of problematic which includes more than architectural knowledge. And as a matter of course the sides of the discussion are not only architects but also, politicians, economists, artists, columnists, etc. And the government, which is possibly the most important participant of the discussions, persists to destroy the building, and build up a new, better and more representative one. In fact, it is insignificant to be surprised within this discussion. Because, what has become to the ideology of modern Turkish Republic has also become to this building. The building stands as a perfect example of the last 70 years history of Turkish Republic. The AKM building stands like an alien just on the heart of the country. It looks cold, doesn’t regard the contrast and heterogeneity of the society, symbolizes a modern utopia but doesn’t introduce it to the people and instead of being an environment of differences it is a border between them. And it does all of these via the instruments of architecture –may look easy but obviously is the embodiment of the ideological behavior. Thus, it is (and will always be) the object of such discussions although the counter critiques are all about some absurd reasons, such as the operating costs of the building. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México This project tries to renovate the building, without destroying it, as an environment of differences –not a border between classes, a public arena of plurality –not a gift for any certain party, and a heterogeneous public space for action –not a monument of showy inertia. The language and objectives of the project are not realistic –however in the concrete, there is nothing unrealistic in it as well. Its major claim is to underline the necessity of considering the social differences in such a matter. Keywords: Place Memory, Culture, Preservation/ Restoration, Social Issues Tactics of Difference: Places of Discourse, Spaces of Encounter (Tácticas de diferencia: lugares para el discurso, espacios de encuentro ) Joern Langhorst (University of Colorado at Denver, CO) The question of how we treat difference, spatially, socially, culturally, ecologically, physically, and economically is at the center of any design and planning project – if it is design, if it attempts to “changing existing into preferred situations” (Simon 1969), then it does so by articulating those differences. The notion of creating places that offer equal opportunities for occupation, interaction and the construction of meaning across diverse subcultures, ethnicities, socio-economic conditions etc. has long driven design and planning disciplines and the respective professional practices. It has also suffered – some say fatally - from the modernist-positivist dictum that there is a basic similarity between all human beings with regards to their basic needs and preferences. While this may hold true for basic needs, there is little doubt that there once past meeting those the preferences become considerably more diverse and complex and defy being successfully codified into a set of legally binding or advisory rule sets. Adhering to the letter of those rules certifies the thus designed spaces as “inclusive”, “safe”, “ADA-compliant”, “universally accessible”, sustainable by LEED-standards, etc., but – more often than not, they are not occupied by the very subsets of humanity they were explicitly designed to include. Beyond, they actually tend to develop a degree of formal and material sameness and ignore Linking Differences / Defining Actions local conditions, which, considering their programmatic similarities, is hardly surprising. Polemically speaking, the idea of multi-cultural inclusivity has turned into a hegemonial mainstream culture where form still follows function – or program. This paper explores different ways to counteract this inadvertent ‘demise of difference’ by well-intended attempts to create ‘diversity by design’ and suggests a theoretical and practical framework in which design can be re-conceptualized to facilitate the creation of places that accommodate and foster diversity. The framework is based on the following axioms: Space operates as agency. Contrary to the prevalent ideas of space and landscape being a result of cultural activity, spaces are influencing the way in which differences play themselves out culturally, and are much more than passive “ground”. Design is more strategic than comprehensive. Any design effort takes place within dynamic, complex, interrelated, ‘nested’ systems. It is impossible to model those systemic processes in a way that allows for a comprehensive understanding of the results of any intervention. Instead of trying and failing to attain a comprehensive understanding, or being highly assumptive of systems behavior, designers should focus on how to strategically employ and interface with processes that will move the “existing” in the direction of the “preferred”. Design is an intrinsically open-ended process which is “precisely open-ended” and not “vaguely loose” (Berrizbeitia 2001). Design needs to define directions, not destinations, and to focus more on the performative rather than the formal qualities and aspects of space. Open-endedness should not be used as an excuse to avoid decisions or justify subtle or blatant relativism. Instead of ignoring “horizons of undecidability” (Berrizbeitia 2001)and engage in often unsuccessful attempts in spatial and social engineering, a framework based on the above axioms would allow for an integrative process that, instead of norming or foreclosing future possibilities, would allow for the emergence and development of rich, layered and meaningfully different and diverse places and communities, and be both agent and result of actions that activate citizens and bridge sub-cultural and other divides. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 171 Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente The paper will investigate a number of projects the author has participated in, operating in highly contested, socially, culturally and economically diverse situations, from urban and brownfield redevelopment projects to the ongoing revitalization and redevelopment processes in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. Keywords: aesthetics/meaning , culture, social issues, theory/conceptualization Cultural Meaning and the Shared Landscape Thematic Abstracts Culture & Environment Cultura y ambiente Neil Challenger (Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand) There has been considerable democratisation of the landscape over the last 150 years. In 1847 the world’s first public park was opened at Birkenhead (which launched the park movement), in 1898 Sir Ebenezer Howard carried this from park to town with the publication of Garden Cities for Tomorrow, and in 1938 influential landscape architect Garrett Eckbo expounded the idea that “our work is for people” (1950: 73). More recently, the significant relationship between the populous and its landscapes has been discussed by landscape theorists and geographers such as Lewis, Jackson, King and Corner; while Claire Cooper Marcus has written extensively about the relationship between people as physical and social entities and the landscapes they need and inhabit. Finally, Landscape Journal (2007) very usefully widened this discussion from its unwitting (some would say racist) focus on white society, to engage these understandings of landscape with the United States’ large non-white populations. This progression describes the landscape as a deliberate and meaningful construct with a democratic client for development. Significantly, however, while culture is discussed, this corpus has failed to draw out the design implications of post-colonial, polyglot society either conceptually or in terms of practice. Where Ebenezer Howard’s England was almost exclusively white and Anglo Saxon, Appadurai’s cultural flows (1990) and a global repositioning of indigeneity have re-coloured most population maps, creating mosaics of cultural character, occupancy and ownership where some sites are culturally shared and others are culturally owned, which raises complex questions of how to appropriately design such sites. In Aotearoa1 New Zealand issues of culture and development are as significant as they are in the rest of the colonized world. The country was settled by Britain from 1769, Maori were displaced physically, conceptually and economically making space for white hegemony; and the country’s landscapes, rural and urban, was re-formed after British modes of economics, culture and practice. Today white hegemony largely remains, but it has been considerably tempered by the increase of the Maori population to 18%2, by the blooming of the Maori culture and its politic, and by an increase in cultural diversity that has reduced the percentage of the population that is white to 68% (ibid). Predictably these recent changes have altered the landscape’s cultural ownership, are changing Maori, non-white and white notions of appropriate forms of landscape development, and are challenging landscape architects to find appropriate ways to resolve these issues in the landscapes they design. Building on design studios and case studies this paper addresses these issues in two interconnected threads. It firstly proffers the idea of landscape cultural ownership and suggests that culturally shared landscapes need to have a cultural legibility to more than one culture – giving them the character of a cultural hologram. Secondly, it uses sociologist Clifford Gertz’s theories on cultural interpretation (1973), in which he proposes that artefacts, behaviour and beliefs are culturally meaningful, to frame, interpret and develop design that will be democratic, meaningful and relevant to the cultures that use it. Key words: Maori, landscape, culture, culturally shared landscapes, design relevance 1 2 172 Aotearoa – the Maori name for New Zealand Statistics New Zealand: 2007 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology Architect Christopher Alexander’s Theory of Wholeness: Conceptual Critiques and Design Applications Teoría de la totalidad del arquitecto Christopher Alexander: críticas conceptuales y aplicaciones de diseño (intensivo de network de fenomenología) Organizers: David Seamon (Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS) Participants Seamon, David, organizer (Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS), Kho, Karen (Program Manager, Green Building in Alameda County, Oakland, CA), Mehaffy, Michael (President, Structura Naturalis Inc., Lake Oswego, OR), Pontikis, Kyriakos (California State University, Northridge, CA), Quillien, Jenny (New Mexico University of Highlands), Walsh, Robert (University of Michigan). Sponsor: EDRA’s Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Network This full-day intensive focuses on the theory and practice of architect Christopher Alexander, whose research and design involve a search for what he calls wholeness—the “source of coherence in any part of the world.” Most recently, in his four-volume masterwork, The Nature of Order (2002-05), Alexander has sought an in-depth explication of wholeness and the thinking, designing, and building processes through which wholeness might be facilitated in environmental and architectural design. In various ways, the participants and commentators in this intensive overview and evaluate Alexander’s conceptual and design efforts in regard to wholeness. Each participant will make a twenty-minute presentation, followed by a ten-minute critique from commentators and open discussion from the floor. Three presentations will be made in the morning session and two in the afternoon. Linking Differences / Defining Actions The intensive begins with architect Kyriakos Pontikis, who describes his design and construction of the Saint Andrew’s Christian Church in Olathe, Kansas. He discusses the challenges, successes, and shortcomings of Alexander’s theory of unfolding wholeness and concludes that the approach provides a practical tool for generating successful building environments. Second, architect Michael Mehaffy examines how Alexander’s ideas on wholeness are being used in innovative ways in computer science, biology, and environmental design. Mehaffy’s main focus is the efforts of one interdisciplinary group of investigators and professionals to apply Alexander’s design approach to the recovery of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and to the humane rebuilding of slums in the developing world. Third, anthropologist Jenny Quillien argues that one of the most significant aspects of Alexander’s ideas lie in their epistemology and innovative vocabulary, particularly their power of “sensemaking”—i.e., providing a clear and nuanced understanding of the problem at hand and a resulting “vision” of practical design and policy solutions. She argues that taking the scaffolding of Alexander’s new constructs and implementing real-world “sensemaking tools” can only be a collaborative social activity. Architect and planner Karen Kho opens the intensive’s afternoon portion by examining similarities between “placemaking,” as defined by the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and Alexander’s work. She introduces a “placemaking map” that integrates the PPS placemaking diagram (used successfully in hundreds of communities) with key principles from The Nature of Order. She explores four fundamental characteristics of place–identity, expression, value and connection–from three different perspectives: physical (3rd person), social (2nd person), and spiritual (1st person). Last, to better understand the various processes laid out by Alexander for understanding and making wholeness, environment-behavior researcher David Seamon draws on British philosopher J. G. Bennett’s theory of “systematics,” an approach that uses the qualitative significance of number to explicate the underlying structure of wholeness. Bennett delineated what he called six “universal processes”—identity, interaction, expansion, concentration, order, and freedom; Seamon examines how these six processes Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 173 Thematic Abstracts Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Phenomenology ambiental y arquitectónico Thematic Abstracts Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Phenomenology ambiental y arquitectónico are present or not in Alexander’s theory of wholeness and how they help identify some of the theory’s strengths and weaknesses. Presentations include: • Alexander’s Theory of Unfolding Wholeness in the Design and Construction of the Saint Andrew’s Christian Church in Olathe, Kansas. Kyriakos Pontikis (California State University, Northridge, CA) • The Application of Alexander’s Design Approach in the Recovery of Slums and Natural Disaster Sites. Michael Mehaffy (Structura Naturalis Inc.) • Alexander’s New Constructs as Real-world Sensemaking Tools. Jenny Quillien (New Mexico University, Santa Fe, NM) • Similarities between Collaborative Placemaking and Alexander’s Key Principles. Karen Kho (Green Building in Alameda County) • Comparing J. G. Bennett’s Theory of “Systematics,” and Alexander’s Theory of Wholeness. David Seamon (Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS) Discussants: Robert Walsh (University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI) Key words: construction; architecture; design process, Christopher Alexander; pattern language Avoiding the Gap: Is a Priori Intersubjectivity Achievable in Environmental Design? (Evadiendo la brecha: ¿es la intersubjetividad a priori factible en el diseño ambiental?) Paul Tesar and Hyejung Chang (North Carolina State University) “E pluribus unum: too much pluribus, not enough unum”! - Source unknown The material form of the results of our design endeavors, as it meets the senses of our fellow human beings, is never just the result of an intersection of necessities, but always involves a certain degree of freedom to choose one possibility over another. It is the choice that ultimately determines the outcome and poses the most confounding theoretical questions to designers: how to justify it rationally. The space of this “freedom”, which used to be largely filled with the consensual collective patterns of a culture in homogenous traditional societies, has been increasingly usurped by the individual designer and is often (abused for private ends of questionable significance for the public at large. Any “expressive system” (Bonta 174 1979) that is not rooted in shared frames of reference and structures of relevance will become a divisive force, creating multiple chasms of understanding and identification, and a concomitant need to “connect differences” -to fix the problem a posteriori. This paper sets itself the task to pose the question whether some of these gaps could be avoided with an attitude that springs from shared structures of understanding and relevance: from the “we” rather than from the “I” from our shared humanity. The body of the paper will make the case by intersecting concepts of cognitive theory (Piaget and Bruner in Rusch 1970, Lakoff 1987) with notions of “intersubjectivity” in social phenomenology (Schuetz 1971, Schuetz and Luckmann 1979, Schuetz 1981), arguing that there is potential for “common ground” on several levels of cognitive development, from “lower” to “higher”: the bodily level, the imaginal level, and the formal level. The intersubjective potential on the bodily level is perhaps the most obvious: design that “speaks” to us as physical beings engages us on an almost biological level across many of our differences that emerge only later in our development. On the imaginal level the potential for intersubjectivity resides mostly in its potential to tap into our collective memory, where our shared experiences of the patterns of nature and of common cultural artifacts establish a naturally metaphoric ground for environmental experience and understanding. The formal level, specifically the level of language, offers perhaps the most potent intersubjective realm: the shared classifications and categories of our language as sedimented in the emergence of cultural types. The repetitive nature of culturally evolved and established types (Tesar 1992) – whose potency as an intersubjective expressive system is most dramatically demonstrated in the structures of the vernacular architectures of the world – are perhaps the most apt manifestation of “the realm of the unquestioned” that constitutes our “life world,” our common, taken-for-granted and shared “reality” (Schuetz and Luckmann 1979). The paper will illustrate these points with examples from the world of architecture. Ultimately the legitimate question has to arise whether such “common ground” is possible – or even desirable – in the multi-cultural, heterogenous, and globalized environment we increasingly call our May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México home. We may have lost our faith in it, but not our yearning for it: the more we are divided, the more we also want to feel as one. Keywords: theory/conceptualization, phenomenology, culture, cognition Form versus Material Sensuousness: Kengo Kuma’s Aesthetics of “Anti-Object” and a Phenomenological Lesson (Forma vs sensualidad del material: estética de kengo kuma de “anti objeto” y una lección fenomenológica) Jin Back (University of South Florida) My paper investigates the idea of “anti-object” which has been presented by Kengo Kuma (b. 1954), a celebrated Japanese architect. His architecture ranging from the Kiro-San Observatory (1994) to Water/Glass Residence (1995) and the One Omotesando (2003) displays various strategies to minimize, if not erase completely, the presence of form and, in extension, that of architecture. In particular, the renowned Water/ Glass Residence is the culminating example for the case: a residence of an extreme transparency with glass – from the level of furniture pieces to the level of architectural elements including floors and walls – which further evaporates itself into the surrounding aquatic landscape composed of a pool and an ocean beyond. When understood in conjunction with minimalism (in art) during the 1960s and 1970s, this disappearance of form and the aesthetics of “anti-object” gives rise to an interesting interdisciplinary issue. Of particular interest in this regard is Michael Fried’s criticism of minimalism. The replacement of art work, that is heroically present as the embodiment of author’s intention, with the literal status of a non-signifying object parallels Kuma’s effort to erase the presence of architecture as the product of the architect’s authorship. In this context, minimalism suppressed form by reducing it to a geometrical pattern or shape – or “known form,” as a minimalist called it – as a way of disaffirming any embedded grandiose intention of the author. Curiously, according to Fried, this erasure of form as the realization of author’s intention opens an opportunity for material itself to come to attention. It further effectuates a theatrical situation in which the beholder now perceives the endless sensuousness Linking Differences / Defining Actions that each material manifests: from the rough steel meshes of tactile seduction to the reflectivity of the highly polished steel plates and the gentle spreading of fluorescent lights. With this preliminary observation, the aim of my paper is to criticize the aesthetics of “anti-object” by Kuma by adopting Fried’s criticism of minimalism as the reference. It illustrates the disparity between form and material in Kuma’s architecture; One’s absence is the opportunity for the other to come into visibility. A further interest consists in the ambiguity of glass in Kuma’s Water/Glass Residence, glass that operates both as form in the absence of materiality – like a graphical distillation of the floor, wall and furniture pieces – and as sensuous material in the absence of form, because, despite its transparency, it is always present through its reflective and refractive play with light. My paper illuminates this unique role of glass in the light of the dialectical, or conflictual, reciprocity between form and sensuous materiality. Lastly, my paper criticizes the limit of this structural glass, which oscillates between form and sensuous materiality. It shows how this oscillation, a unique aesthetic achievement, should be complemented by the phenomenological concern which appreciates the thingly nature of the glass as the platform for the praxis of human dwelling. Keywords: aesthetics/ meaning/ assessment, spatial cognition, housing, architecture, phenomenology Local Wisdom in the Flowing-Night Market: A Dialogue with Pattern Language (Sabiduría local en el mercado nocturno: un diálogo con un lenguaje pautado) Kuo Po-Sheng, His Pei Yin, and Liao Yen How (National Taiwan University) People in the places of subtropical zone whose personality, habitus, daily life, and the familiar ways of using space are affected by the weather, land, and socio-historic development and those are in particular embedded in the local context. ‘Local wisdom’ in the built space grew from the people who face the subsisting challenge in specific socio-spatial environment. In order to solve the continually living problems, the local people respond to the living needs by everyday practicing. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 175 Thematic Abstracts Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Phenomenology ambiental y arquitectónico Thematic Abstracts Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Phenomenology ambiental y arquitectónico The ‘flowing-night markets’ which usually occurs in rural places, and these probably are the specific characteristics among towns in South-East Asian countries within the domain of informal economy. Ordinary people in Taiwan rely on the characters of flexible and complex ways of using space, and then put the sequences from a day / night through a week connecting to different towns. From the experience of this case in Taiwan, emerges the ‘local wisdom’ of the ordinary people who have the capability of solving living problems, and then is endowed with different vitality to the space. This paper is based on the empirical research of ‘flowing-night market’ in Taiwan Nantou county. We find that the spatial planning theory of Pattern Language can’t appropriately respond to nor solve the socio-spatial issues in such a subtropical country like Taiwan. Further, its hierarchy, network, top-down, universal way of structuring space is much different from our body-space experiences. We try to get close to the local understanding of place, and in this process continually asking ourselves several important questions, i.e., “where are the people”, “where is the place” and “what is the wisdom”. Further, we propose that the interaction between human/ environment is more like an “circular ring relationship” among people, place, wisdom, these are dialectically developed; meanwhile, it shows the inherent contradiction and restriction of Pattern Language. This paper will suggest tentative conclusions as follows: 1. Pattern Language, as a general knowledge framework about space planning and design, is largely deriving from western countries’ socio-spatial histories. It hardly be able to understand and response to the socio-spatial issues in such subtropical countries where local people interact with the environment in very different ways. 2. By constructing a systematic language model, Pattern Language not only simplifies the richness but also excludes the cultural differences between human and environment relationships. Our article tries to use ‘local wisdom’ perspective, putting ‘subjective agency’ back to a deeper understanding of human and environment relationships. 176 3. When planners (like us ) uses systematic knowledge, discursive ways trying to solve the issues in local places, we must consciously recognize that the ordinary people have their local knowledge about understanding the place through everyday practicing. Maybe we should first deconstruct us, and then combine these two different knowledge systems to face the professional tasks of planning and design. Keywords: flowing-night market, local wisdom, pattern language, informal economy, local understanding May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Environmental Design Education, Research and Professional Practice Environmental Design Education The Bridge Studio Anderson, Nadia M. (Iowa State University, Ames, IA) To create a different kind of studio practice, The Bridge Studio focused on actively creating connections between architecture and community, buildings and the environment, and education and practice. As an option studio for students in their final year of professional study, students worked in teams to develop designs for single family, green, affordable houses to be built in the summer of 2008. They worked with a local non-profit housing developer, the neighborhood association, local contractors, and local architecture firms to generate projects that responded to the often conflicting priorities of a low budget, a diverse historical neighborhood, and a shared desire for sustainable design. As one of three pilot programs in the American Institute of Architects’ Practice Academy program, the studio was designed to expose students to interactive design as a critical component of architectural practice. By asking students to deal with clients, budgets, and diverse goals they could see their work as situated within a larger socio-economic context rather than only the expression of individual aesthetic concerns. By communicating with people who did not speak the lingo of the academy and working as part of a team, they worked in a manner more in keeping with professional practice and, perhaps more importantly, began to make connections between the ideals of their student work and the realities of practice that can continue into their future careers and so inspire a new generation of designers who see communication and interaction as critical to their roles as creators of spaces that can embody value for diversity, environment, and equality. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Burnout in Teaching Activity at University Level (Agotado para la enseñanza al nivel universitario) Alfonso Valadez, Cristina Bravo, José Vaquero, Patricia Ortega and Salomé Angeles (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) Burnout syndrome is present when person does not meet the demands of work and usually he or she is in a state of anger and depression. This term is used to describe a type of job and institutional stress occurring in professions that maintain constant contact with people who are beneficiaries of his own work (v.g. health personnel, teachers, social services). Some important elements in the etiology of burnout syndrome are: disruptions in workplace arises when there is no clarity in the roles and tasks to be performed by the employees; the shortage, inadequate and poor working tools, a suitable place to work, lack of a motivation system adequate and equitable (Peris, 2003; Alvarez, Cantu, Gayol, Leal, Sandoval, 2005; Gil-Monte, 2006). The purpose of study was to identify characteristics of burnout in educational areas at university level. It surveyed 200 university professors, 56% women and 44% men, average age 45.3 years, and an average 18.8 years of experience as teachers. It was designed a scale of 43 items, which assesses: depersonalization, emotional exhaustion and personal fulfillment areas. In depersonalization factor, 21% of teachers reported that occasionally show negative behaviors (e.g. irritability and loss of motivation) with students; 27% mentioned that, at least occasionally, feels emotionally exhausted as a result of their teaching activity, and particularly the interaction with students, about 5% of teachers expressed physical and or psychological reactions (exhaustion and weariness) with prospect of work; in the category of personal fulfillment, only 5% reported occasionally feel satisfied with the results of their work, while rest of teachers said that often appreciates your work. It was found differences statistically significant when comparing scores of depersonalization factor with teachers’ profession, that’s way, doctors have a highest average score in relation to other professionals -psychologists, nurses, biologists, optometrists and dentists- (F = 2. 385, df 8, p <.05); however, with regard to other factors of evaluation scale it didn’t find no differences statistically significant. In other sense, differences statistically significant were found when Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 177 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional comparing scores of emotional exhaustion and presence of chronic diseases, where teachers with illness cardiovascular suffering higher emotional fatigue and physical manifestations related to their teaching activities, as compared with those teachers who do not suffer from any chronic illness (F = 3884, df 4, p <.01). In conclusion, data are consistent with some previous research findings indicating that presence of burnout syndrome is among 15% to 25% of teachers at university, referring to dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization; however, a protective element could be considered a high degree of personal fulfillment paid to teachers. In that sense, it has been found that various work conditions impacting significantly on the performance of individuals and quality of service providers (Gil-Monte, 2006). Keywords: Burnout, depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, personal fulfillment Creating Collaborative Learning and Communication Environments with WEB 2.0 Tools Lyudmila Smirnova (Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY) In a world easily divided by communication and cultural barriers and private interests, and where distance is often an impediment to collaboration, it is important to recognize the power of the Web 2.0 environment as a qualitative leap forward over the original generation of computer and internet tools and services. Web 2.0 tools facilitate an advanced level of collaborative learning and communication that provide for a sense of connectedness and relationship not found in the cold and solitary environments of Web 1.0. As environmental phenomena, they create a virtual space that empowers genuine community and enables an intellectual community of learners. These two features are of great importance. Genuine community has suffered in a world of sprawl, overwork and displacement. The potential to create communities that collaboratively learn further suggests a potential for bringing people together who are not limited by tradition, culture and status quo. Rather, there is a potential to use learning and discovery to drive an openness to change. If allowed, this presentation will not only discuss the Web 2.0 environment 178 but demonstrate the environment created by Web 2.0. In its fullest extent, the presentation would occur in a computer lab that allowed participants to join in. However, it could even be displayed as a poster or on as a laptop presentation. Keywords: Curricular Development. Technology/ Computer Applications. Other: Education. Schools. Theory. Creating Cultural Connections in the Design Process (Creando conecciones culturales en el procesod e diseño) Haroon Sattar and Marie Gentry (University of Arkansas) To enhance awareness of global cultures and to improve effectiveness of design work, knowledge of world cultures is essential. According to Bruner, “It is culture that provides the tools for organizing and understanding our worlds in communicable ways” (p.3). Integrating meaningful cultural values with design studio experiences will support processes that encourage responsive design solutions in studio environments. In its professional standards, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) reiterates “programs must provide learning experiences that address a global perspective and approach to thinking and problem solving” (CIDA, 2006, p. II-9). By linking design with culture, today’s students/future professionals will benefit by applying thoughtful, relevant, and culturally-appropriate design decisions in our ever-expanding, rapidly evolving international workmarket place. This presentation will elaborate on the design process used and the integration of cultural dimensions in projects produced in a first semester sophomore interior studio. During the curricular planning process, the faculty recognized the changing disposition of the professional and global workplace. Although this generation of students is technologically and internet savvy, many lack a global perspective. In response, the faculty has introduced cultural elements across the studio sequence to help students gain insight of diverse cultures and global issues related to design. Recognizing the need to address learning styles of the new generation of students, faculty also incorporate problem-based learning, sketching, written justifi- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México cation for design decisions, reflective writing, and leadership and team building activities in an effort to “organize and manage our knowledge of the world: logical-scientific thinking, narrative thinking, and critical thinking” (Bruner, 1996, p.39). Culture was introduced as a means to enrich each stage of the design process used for the first sophomore studio project. Culture became the framework for research, analysis, programming, conceptual development, and design development and presentation. It was also an important consideration for site orientation and selection of finishes, fixtures, and materials. The studio project was structured for both individual and team work. The studio process was: (1) Teams completed brief surveys of four cultures/ countries/regions, (2) Each team selected two cultures on which to complete detailed research. Research included topics such as history, tourism, climate, natural environment (geography/topography, flora/fauna), socioeconomics, art-culture, architecture/interiors, etc., (3) Teams completed precedent /case studies of similar projects, (4) Teams explored and developed concepts derived from research and analysis of the cultures, (5) Individuals addressed programming requirements and details of design development, and (6) To enhance teambuilding and critical thinking, each stage of the design process was followed by self and team assessments and written reflections. Rapoport (2005), paraphrasing Mark Twain, says, “Culture in design is like weather, everyone talks about it but no one does anything about it” (p.76 ). Rapoport further suggests “one might begin to use culture in research, analysis, programming, design, and post- occupancy evaluation” (p. 92 ). Consistent with this perspective, the faculty within this program has made a commitment to integrate cultural dimensions throughout the studio sequence. Keywords: culture, curriculum development, design process, academic, interior design Linking Differences / Defining Actions Graduate Studies in Environment and Behavior in Spanish Language: Critical Analysis of the Environmental Psychology Residence (Estudios de posgrado en ambientes y comportamiento en idioma español: análisis crítico de la residencia en psicología ambiental) Organizer / Presenter: Javier Urbina-Soria (School of Psychology, National University of Mexico) The training of high-level human resources is a key issue in environment and behavior fields. Since several decades ago, there are many graduate courses in numerous universities of Europe –particularly in Great Britain and France- and the United States of America. The situation is not the same for LatinAmerica. According to the available information, there is only one graduate course: the Residence on Environmental Psychology that offers the National University of Mexico as a Master Degree. This course is the new version of the original Master on Environmental Psychology. The main difference is that the Residence is focused on professional training, instead of the former objective that was centered in research work. The Residence is nowadays in its second year and the general model implies a hard work in institutional locations, generally public government agencies. In this half a day session, the general model and the day by day operation of the Residence will be displayed and discussed, looking out for critical comments and suggestions that could improve it. In this sense, the attendance of academics and practitioners of environmental design research is encouraged, as well as the participation of undergraduate students that want to know some options for graduate courses. The expected audience is of 15-25 participants. The planned activities are as follows: 1. Introduction of speakers and attendants. 2. Presentation of the general structure and professional objectives of the Residence on Environmental Psychology. 3. Short presentations by Professors and students of the Residence, showing the different activities of the Residence and institutions involved. 4. Comments, suggestions and discussion of experiences from the audience. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 179 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional 5. Identification of possible ways and topics for academic mobility (short academic visits of Professors/ Researchers/Practitioners and students). Key words: Environmental psychology, training on environment and behavior, Environmental psychology graduate courses. Human Psyche and Architectural Design: Views from students and faculty at two programs Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional (La mente humana y el diseño arquitectónico: puntos de vista de estudiantes y profesores en dos programas) Anubhuti Thakur (California State University Northridge, CA) This study aimed to identify the perceptions of students and faculty at two architecture programs in the Southeastern United States regarding psychological concerns in architecture design. Observations, personal interviews with faculty teaching the fourth year design studio and focus group interviews with students were primary means of data collection. The data revealed that students and professors acknowledged various human issues in the design projects. The various aspects of psychological concerns identified through content analysis of observation field notes and interview transcripts are discussed. In-depth analysis of the data revealed five categories which contributed to psychological concerns in architectural design: (1) Interaction with building, (2) Image of the building, (3) Effects on occupant behavior, (4) Feeling within the space, and (5) Other psychological concerns. Each category is discussed in detail from the students and faculty’s perspective. Suggestions are made for architecture curricula to ensure that the inherent understanding of psychological concerns among students and faculty is fully harnessed and nurtured. Landscape Architecture Curriculum through the Lens of Multiculturalism (Curriculum de la arquitectura del terreno a través de las visión del multiculturalism) Meredith Forney (Pennsylvania State University) The profession of landscape architecture is 91% nonHispanic white (LANDonline, 2006), while the United States is becoming an increasingly diverse society 180 with 33% of the entire population a minority (U.S. Census, 2006). This is a qualitative study researching how accredited undergraduate landscape architecture programs are incorporating multiculturalism into their curriculum. While the research into multiculturalism in landscape architecture education is valuable, it is largely anecdotal, and lacking an extensive theoretical basis, or framework for incorporating multiculturalism into a professionally accredited undergraduate landscape architecture program. Specifically, literature looks in-depth into a handful of specific studios attempting to have an explicit multicultural component. In this day and age with increased immigration, travel and internet, people have a heightened awareness of different cultures and a world in which there is much less separation of cultures and much more intermingling, Different ethnic groups will require different solutions to design problems. Designers and planners need to be better prepared to meet the needs and desires of an increasingly diverse society; often the appropriate design choices are not considered, including different ethnicity’s preference for social and cultural services or public space (Hill, 2005). In addition to different ideas of programming, these ethnic groups have a variety of aesthetic preferences that are not accommodated (Hill, 2005). Department heads of 4 undergraduate landscape architecture programs in the Northeast region of the United States were interviewed regarding the inclusion of multiculturalism into their curriculum. Along with a review of accreditation standards and relevant literature, the interviews with landscape architecture department heads provided current strategies being employed in undergraduate landscape architecture curricula that respond to an increasingly diverse society. Based on these strategies, lists were formalized of conditions that encourage or inhibit the incorporation of multiculturalism into the curriculum of undergraduate landscape architecture programs. The findings of this study revealed four possible vehicles that lead to or conversely do not lead to the incorporation of this phenomenon into landscape architecture curriculum: 1. Community-Based design studios, 2. Individual faculty members, 3. Study abroad programs and 4. A multicultural student body. Along with these vehicles/themes, are intervening conditions that help or inhibit the incorporation of the individual May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México themes/vehicles, some explicitly cited in the interviews as contributing or inhibiting as well as those conditions, which were not explicitly cited but might be assumed. Landscapes present an opportunity, a forum with which to bring together the multitude of cultures thriving in the United States. As the field of landscape architecture continues to grow, it will shape more and more of the American landscape, telling a history, just as so many landscapes of the past have. Will the landscape designs of the current generation reflect the rich diversity existing today in the United States? Through interviews with undergraduate landscape architecture department heads, this study examines measures being taken that respond to the changing American demographic, and its manifestation in undergraduate landscape curriculum. Keywords: Curriculum development, Culture, Social issues, Race, Ethnicity Linking Cultural Differences: Teaching Material Culture (Uniendo diferencias culturales: enseñando la cultura del material) Catherine Wallack, Nancy Miller, and Jennifer Webb (University of Arkansas) As Cranz (1998) explains, “In the past century we have come to appreciate rather than condemn the way people in other cultures do things.” (p. 26). Material culture offers a vehicle for improving intercultural awareness and developing critical thinking through design analysis and application in a first-year design studio. Critical thinking valued in today’s educational environment but remains significant in today’s global context. The greater challenge is to encourage students become socially engaged critical thinkers, what Barnett (1997) described as “critical beings,” not just competent designers. The purpose of this presentation is to describe and demonstrate how the concept of material culture contributes to the development of critical thinking skills in a first-year design studio. Material culture is “the totality of artifacts in a culture …[that] facilitate social intercourse, to delight our fancy and to create symbols of meaning” (Schlereth, 1982, p. 2). Material culture is an appropriate way to introduce students of interior design to cultures outside of their own: it associates designed objects with Linking Differences / Defining Actions meaning: “ … almost everything… should be understood in its cultural context.” (Cranz, 1998). Learning through material culture allows students to appreciate meaning through context, an idea that translates to their professional lives. First-year studios in this program focus on two- and three-dimensional design through use of various media. Projects focus on developing not just sound design, but also on critical thinking. The Material culture is used as a springboard for the Culture and Identity Project, to teach design and critical thinking. A class that develops critical thinking skills requires clear tactics defined by the instructors (Paul, 2007). Design problems are inherently complex and require a variety of pedagogical approaches. Complex tactics require multiple parts over a period of time (Paul, 2007). The Culture and Identity project is composed of a series of related components. To expose students to a wide range of aesthetic sensibilities and culture, we assign each student a country, many of these being non-western. Students conduct visual and verbal research of their country, explore multiple design solutions, and create two- and three-dimensional interior elements. Each step of the project demands different thinking skills. The initial research paper establishes a body of knowledge on which much of the project is based. Next, sketching and ideation requires interpretation of the research. Finally, application is realized through the development of culturally derived pattern making. In the Culture and Identity project, critical thinking skills are enhanced through a sequence of increasingly complex assessments. Students’ exposure to material culture broadens their understanding of the world, simultaneously allowing students to move beyond the visual to recognizing the importance of context in design. Introducing students to a wider range of perspectives helps them become socially engaged professionals, and therefore “critical beings.” Keywords: Culture, social issues/social justice, curriculum development, interdisciplinary Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 181 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Linking Difference, Defining Action: Best Practices in Education Workshop (Asumiendo diferencia, definiendo acción: las mejores prácticas en el taller de educación) Organizer: Lynda Schneekloth and Robert Shibley (University of Buffalo/SUNY) Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Students, the future professionals of environmental design, architecture, planning and landscape architecture, will have to negotiate in a multi-cultural world. As educators, we need to think creatively of how to expose students to cross cultural differences, to explore various venues for these experiences beyond the traditional study abroad, and to use our existing curriculum in creative ways to expose the diversity we daily inhabit. As Edmund Carpenter noted, “We don’t know who discovered water, but we can be sure it wasn’t a fish.” Like the fish in water, students, particularly students from the United States, can be unaware of their own cultural milieu because they have never had the opportunity, the language, or the naming of experiences as being cross cultural. The organizers of the workshop will first offer some ideas of pedagogical moves that can strengthen the understanding of differences in higher education academic settings. Three types of opportunities will be discussed: 1. existing courses and studios, 2. service/ learning and student volunteer experiences, and 3. embedded international study. (1) Looking to existing opportunities within our existing curriculum greatly expands the realm of diversity education without having to initiate separate courses. For example, there are students with diverse backgrounds in any classroom – international, social class, race, ability, and other differences – how take advantage of this? How offer projects in studios, seminars, or courses that force address to differences? (2) Students from all over the United States have gone to New Orleans to help and been changed by that experience – demonstrating how service learning/volunteerism teaches difference and action. (3) Nothing can compare with international experiences in learning where you live in a culture and where one must listen carefully to understand differences in meaning and therefore actions. The study program we will present is “Sustainable Futures,” held over 15 years in Monteverde, Costa Rica. A consortium of schools – University at Buffalo, University of Maryland, 182 University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana, and Syracuse University working with the Monteverde Institute – have run a 10 week course for students from architecture, landscape architecture and planning each summer. Students live with families in the zone and engage with the community on projects the local people identify. After a presentation by the organizers, the discussion will be opened to workshop participants. The questions we would like to engage are: (1) What kinds of ‘diversity’ experiences do your students have? (2) What has been successful in facilitating learning about differences in academic settings? (3) Have you had any significant failures and what can we learn from them? (4) How can we make university education more relevant for our students – so that they may understand the complexities of living in a global world but also are willing and able to take action locally on behalf of better places? What best practices can we learn from each other? Keywords: culture; social issues; sustainability; curriculum development; academic; interdisciplinary Integrating Research-Based Sustainable Design into Design Studio to Increase Awareness (Integrando investigacion basada en diseño sustentable en en estudio del diseño para incrementar la concientización) Hyung-Chan Kim and Aditi Hirani (North Dakota State University) The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an experimental sustainable design project in a junior level interior design studio for understanding contemporary environmental issues such as passive solar house design and sustainable lighting design. Sustainable design education has recently become an important part of interior design curricula. According to Council for Interior Design Accreditation (former FIDER) Professional Standards 2006 included several new indicators related to teaching sustainable design Passive solar refers to a system that collects, stores, and redistributes solar energy without any mechanical system. Passive solar houses consist of two main parts; a collector consisting of south-facing glazing and an energy-storage element that usually May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México consists of thermal mass, such as concrete, marble, and water. This study considered three possible types of passive solar solutions; a Direct-gain system; to maximize south facing windows for increased heat gain, Trombe wall; to collect, store, and then radiate heat back into the living space, and Sun space; designed to collect heat for the main part of a building, as well as to serve as a secondary living area. Fall semester of 2005, junior level interior design studio dealt with passive solar house design in a suburb area. The main concern of this project was to develop both architectural and interior design for a single family residence that is environmental friendly and energy efficient to reduce electrical and heating cost. Before the students started designing, residential design procedures such as site and client analysis of residential design as well as passive solar house design principles were explained. During the subsequent weeks, students understood passive solar heating and cooling system, thermal floor and wall system, building orientation, selecting sustainable interior and exterior materials, and solar section (for air circulation). In addition, students developed a lighting design to maximize daylight use and select energy efficient lighting. Students developed architectural forms for the house based on passive solar design using a lot of sketches and study models for understanding spatial relationship, difference between exterior and interior design, and the relationship between building orientation and sun movement. A client profile guided the programming and design development of the spatial relationship and interior design of the project. As part of the final design solution the students were asked to create two models; a site model to show the orientation of the building and its relation to the site condition and features; and a detachable large-scale building model to demonstrate the relationship between the spaces and levels of the house. Implementing research and sustainability as the focus of the experimental project increased the awareness of design responsibility in students. Transforming the theory into an actual physical project made the application of the theory real and achievable. Design students are the future designers and hence making them aware of their design choices and how Linking Differences / Defining Actions they affect the environment should be an important component of the design curriculum. Keyword: Sustainability, Curriculum Development, Housing / Residential, Interior Design, Architecture, Case Study Re-Examining the Link between Practice and the Academy for a More Sustainable Future (Re-examinando la relación entre la práctica y la académico para un futuro sustentable) Organizer: Lynn Paxson (Iowa State University). Presenters: Nadia Anderson (Iowa State University), Lynne Manzo (University of Washington), Lynn Paxson (Iowa State University) The studio model typically used in design education is described by Boyer and Mitgang as “a model for the integration and application of learning” and thus a model from which other disciplines and levels of education can benefit (Boyer and Mitgang, 1996; 85). In architectural education, however, the design studio often becomes the site of isolated form-making, disengaged from social context and thus a passive receptacle for the values of today’s dominant culture that locates power in the hands of those with money and power. In this symposium session the presenters will discuss a variety of alternative studio teaching practices intended to address these issues primarily by linking students with communities, using these practices requires students to deal with issues of power and both community as well as environmental sustainability. This symposia will also consider the pedagogy of community research and design projects, and how they involve, create and transcend community politics and conflict. Panelists will discuss the dynamics of their own projects, but the symposium aims to foster active participation and discussion by all attendees. Nadia Anderson will present how an experimental studio sequence working in Des Moines, Iowa on the design of ‘affordable’ housing addressed these issues. This studio is being partially funded by the AIA through their practice academy grant. Lynne Manzo will examine participation and sustainability issues related to the HUD Hope VI program, and how they might currently be used in a critical way to pedagogically illustrate aspects of participation Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 183 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional and sustainability in community design practice to students. Lynn Paxson will use several examples of design studio projects working with various Native American Nations where students have needed to confront issues of identity and power between Indigenous groups and dominant culture. Presentations in this symposium include: • “The Bridge Studio” Anderson, Nadia M. (Iowa State University, Ames) • “What Constitutes Genuine Participation? Lessons from the Field” Manzo, Lynne (University of Washington, Seattle) • “What do Service Learning, and Native Communities have to do with Practice or a Sustainable Future?” Paxson, Lynn (Iowa State University, Ames) Sources of Stress in the Field of University Teaching (Fuentes de estrés en el área de enseñanza universitaria) Alfonso Valadez, Cristina Bravo, José Vaquero, and Patricia Ortega (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) A wide range of factors in physical and social environment influence people’s behavior in working scenarios, because most frequently found negative side effects in workers’ implementation and performance, due stressful situations and factors that they are present in workplace. Work-related stress is the response of a person who tries to adapt and adjust to internal and external pressures, especially when there is a mismatch between people, workplace and own organization. Work-related stress causes disabilities, absenteeism and poor performance at work. This process in workplace is a growing problem, with personal, social and economic quite high costs (Martinez, 2004). On this matter, Williams and Cooper (2004), state that we should never underestimate impact of work stress, as they have been found tremendously negative impact: in what represents a disease, bad relationships, and failure professional and low productivity. The objective of study was to identify the main sources of stress in teaching profession at university. 200 professors at university were surveyed, elected through a non-probability sampling. The evaluation scale contains 68 items, grouped into three subscales 184 (organizational, social and individual factors), Cronbach alpha coefficient .96. Data show that 87% of teachers believe that organizational factors are “little or nothing stressful,” while 13% perceive these factors as “quite stressful”; while the sources of social and individual are deemed “quite stressful”, only for 2% and 7%, respectively. Comparisons were made on variables such as gender, marital status, educational level, years of experience as a teacher, career in which teaching, and current medical condition, in general, it didn’t find differences statistically significant; it was found differences statistical related with condition health, where teachers with cardiovascular diseases show a higher level of workrelated stress linked with individual sources compared to those who did not suffer from any chronic illness (F = 3.575, df 4, p <.01) . In conclusion, teaching activity at university, although it is not an easy task, it’s not generally perceived as threatening or overwhelming the resources of individuals, so that this may explain the fact that there are no big differences in accordance with the different comparisons made; in that sense, the inclusion in the analysis of specific situations such as chronic diseases, which implies elements are not necessarily linked to the teaching profession in the strict sense, in general, it can imply a change in the perception of person on your own job performance, regardless of the professional field that people develop; therefore, the stress response can not be deemed as an automatic response, simple or passive, but as a complex set of responses result of the constant interaction between the individual and demands that the conditions lead, which qualify those responses. Keywords: Environmental stress, stressful situations, teaching A Study of the Spatial Perception of Beginning Design Students and a Teaching Method for Visualizing Space (Un estudio de la percepción espacial de los estudiantes principiantes de diseño y un método de enseñanza para visualizar el espacio) Elizabeth Pober (University of Oklahoma) The process of designing requires a specialized type of thinking and a unique form of perception. Designers must be able to “think visually and volumetri- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México cally” (CIDA, 2006). Acquiring the ability to accurately visualize space is and important skill for design students. Design educators often find teaching this skill to beginning students a daunting task. Design concepts are communicated with a technique and in a context that is a representation of what the real-life version will be. Students must learn to visually make the connection between the techniques for communicating the design, and the design’s real context. This paper will explore the beginning design student’s perception of space and a method for teaching them to more accurately visualize design concepts. Research was initiated investigating the beginning design student’s perceived size of a floor plan drawn at ¼”=1’-0” compared to their perception of the actual scale of 1’=1’. The study used quantitative style questionnaires distributed when the students were drafting the plan, and at two stages when generating the plan at the actual scale of 1’=1’. A total of 117 individual student questionnaires were analyzed and nine student group interviews were conducted. Students in a beginning design studio were given an empty floor plan of a “pool house” at a scale of ¼”=1’-0”. The students regenerated this plan with a section, learning to draft, to generate design drawings and their components, and to plan circulation paths and furniture arrangements. Once completed, the class went to a large empty parking lot. Each student brought their floor plan, rolls of masking tape, scale, and tape measure. In groups of four, the students regenerated the completed floor plans using their supplies at a scale of 1’=1’ (figure-4). Three questionnaires were distributed throughout the project asking the students to provide their perceived idea of the size of the pool house, ranging from one to five, one being small and five being large scale. In the weeks prior to this project, extensive time was spent learning about design elements and principles, including scale and its many forms. The first questionnaire was distributed after the completion of the drafted plan. The second questionnaire was distributed after the walls of the plan had been masked off, and the third questionnaire was distributed when the furniture had been masked off and the plan was complete. The results revealed that the initial perception of the drafted plan was larger (figure-1) than the perception of the plan were just the walls were masked Linking Differences / Defining Actions off (figure-2). The results also revealed that the final perception of the completed plan with furniture (figure-3) was larger than the masked off plan without furniture (figure-2), but smaller than the perception after the plan was drafted (figure-1). After the completion of the 1’=1’ plan, the students were asked to “walk through”, “use” the spaces and find mistakes in their planning. Overall, the students interviewed felt this exercise was very beneficial in helping them to visualize the true size of the spaces they had been drawing. Keywords: Spatial Perception, Visualization, Graphic Representation, Scale Understanding the Millennial Cohort: Design Students Respond to Educators’ Perceptions (Comprendiendo la cohorte del milenio: respuesta de estudiantes de diseño a las percepciones del educador) Megan Lee and Marianne Egan (Oregon State University, OR), and Amy Crumpton ( Mississippi State University, MS) The research discussed in this paper is the continuation of the exploratory study of Millennial cohort (born between 1982-2002) characteristics that influence design education. The first phase of the research was conducted in early 2007. A purposive sample from a diverse range of eight design educators was interviewed to explore educators’ perceptions of the current cohort of design students. Design educators’ expressed awareness, passion and interest in further exploring the generational influences on design education. Three important themes were identified during the interviews: 1. Design students’ dependency on technology as a crutch. 2. Awareness of social issues such as sustainability, and heightened awareness of the built environment from popular media. 3. Educators’ compassion towards students’ economic strains. Using both the findings from the interviews and the feedback received from our peers following the EDRA38 paper presentation, we found that the first stage of this project has influenced the second stage of the long-term project. This paper presents the results from the second stage that includes survey develop- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 185 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional ment using the themes identified from the educator interviews as the instrument development guide. The short survey was administered to a purposive sample of introductory level ‘design students’ from two regionally diverse universities. The findings explore the different viewpoints between educators and students while helping to explain the disparities based on cohort characteristics. The limitation to the current project is that generalizations can not be made to all design students in differing design majors. Nevertheless, the project of ‘Understanding the Millennial Cohort as Design Students’ is being developed utilizing a mixed-methods approach to combine educators, students and cohort perceptions and attributes that are currently shaping design education from a social ecology and systems perspective. Bronfenbrenner and Morris’s (2006) Bioecological Model of Human Development indicates that human development is primarily stimulated by microsystem influences such as parents and siblings, followed by mesosystem influence of friends and teachers. At the most distal level of development are macrosystem influences which tend to influence cohort characteristics. The reason to propose the study of macrosystem influences is the identified connection between design education as a reflection of the macrosystem influences such as sustainability, technology and globalism. As environment and behavior research strive towards the building and maintaining of a global and socially sustainable future, we propose that research examining all levels of system analysis influencing the students is important towards the continued development of a holistic curriculum. Keywords: Curriculum development, interdisciplinary, qualitative research, quantitative research. Reference: Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The Bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R.M. Lerner (Series Ed.) & R.M. Lerner (Vol. Ed.), Handbook on child psychology: Vol 1. Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., chapter 14; pp. 793-828). New York: Wiley. What Constitutes Genuine Participation? Lessons from the Field Lynne Manzo (University of Washington, Seattle, WA) In this session I will discuss the implications of participation and the goal of sustainability in the context of HOPE VI, a competitive grants program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that transforms public housing sites into mixed-income developments. As part of the redevelopment, the government requires that local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) involve current residents in the redevelopment process – in both the development of a new master plan and in discussions of the relocation process. In other words, they mandate citizen participation. There is good indication that by some standards what is done does not constitute genuine participation, but rather is part of a larger, unfortunate trend toward more normative, institutionalized participation, as noted by Randy Hester (1999) and Mark Francis (1997). Additionally, there are important issues of sustainability at play as that is one of the goals of HOPE VI redevelopments. However, in light of how the program actually works on the ground and its attendant issues of social engineering by deconcentrating poverty and mixing incomes, there are critical social sustainability issues that this program also raises. Because of this and the enormous impact of HOPE VI on both our landscape and the lives of disenfranchised people, it is important to explore resident participation in the redevelopment process. What is genuine participation in the context of HOPE VI? How can we define it differently? How can it be accomplished within a studio context? To address these questions, this paper will review several lessons learned from the field – of both what to do and what to avoid in seeking to educate our students about participation and social and environmental justice. What do Service Learning, and Native Communities have to do with Practice or a Sustainable Future? Lynn Paxson (Iowa State University, Ames, IA) Community, Participatory, and Advocacy Design are all terms used to describe an orientation or a way of practicing design that grew out of the participatory 186 May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México democracy movement of the 1960’s. The social and cultural issues raised during this time were heavily critical of the status quo and sought to make a better world which was more inclusive of a wide range of groups – many of whom did not have resources or, a voice in existing design practice or other “professional” fields that made decisions about the places in which they lived. Much has changed since that time, design and research fields have developed more critical understandings about participation, and the design fields have gone through periods where this type of practice or orientation has been marginalized. Most studios in design schools model practice in very limited ways and those are mostly based on some version of contemporary corporate design practice. In both design practice and schools the definition and understanding of sustainability is limited to physical environments excluding any social aspects of sustainability. Students rarely have opportunities in studio that challenge their cultural viewpoint or openly require them to deal with conflict, power, alternative points of view, and issues of marginal or ethnic identity. This presentation will look at what has been learned about some of these issues in a number of different studio service learning projects. These projects involved design students working in a variety of ways with Native American communities. The projects have been undertaken to provide various tribal communities with support that will assist them in preparing to hire design professionals and or to gain funding rather than to provide or take the place of professional design services. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Environmental Design Research Cross Cultural/International Research: Contributing to the EB (EnvironmentBehavior) Body of Knowledge (Investigación internacional / intercultural: contribuyendo al cuerpo del conocimiento EB.) Organizer: Mary Anne Alabanza Akers (Morgan State University, Baltimore) Sponsor: EDRA International Connections Network Conducting research in various cultural and international contexts brings forth many questions and debates about the universality of research paradigms, epistemologies and methods. Because cultural communities are socially constructed based on different and unique histories, traditions, world views, and environmental elements, we challenge the notion that an objective universal research prototype can readily be applied in any culture. We understand the need to develop diverse frameworks as we inquire into relationships between people and their environments around the world. The proposed half-day intensive workshop will explore environment-behavior (EB) research from an international perspective. Using case studies of research conducted in places such as Sri Lanka, Brazil, England, Algeria, Jordan, Philippines, and Australia, the workshop will specifically address the following questions: 1. Why is there a need to challenge standard EB research protocols and their applications to cultural studies around the world; 2. What research methods are used in international research and how are these created and/or modified so they are culturally appropriate; 3. As international researchers, how do our worldviews, assumptions, familiarity with the culture and language impact the nature of our research; and 4, Is it necessary to develop an “international epistemology” so that our research converge at some coherent point or should we continue to conduct relative studies that do not intersect? The proposed intensive workshop is divided into three parts. Part One will consist of seven 15-minute presentations with 10 minutes Q&A for each study. After these presentations, a full discussion is planned for 45 minutes. Presentations Include: Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 187 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional • Street Vendor Life in the Philippines. Mary Anne Alabanza Akers (Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland) • Privacy and Mores in Vernacular Jordanian Architecture. Rula Awwad-Rafferty (University of Idaho) • Urban Public Spaces and Street Life in Sri Lanka. Nisha Fernando (University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point) • Universality or Cultural-specificity of Research Methodologies and Methods in International Research?: Examples from research at the University of Sydney. Gary Moore (University of Sydney, Australia) Data Gathering by Environment-Behavior Professionals: A Working Group to Explore Innovative Techniques and Instruments Working Group (Recolección de información por los profesionales de ambiente-comportamiento: un grupo de trabajo para explorar técnicas innovadoras e instrumentos de trabajo de grupo) Organizers: Sally Augustin (PlaceCoach Inc., Michigan) and Janetta McCoy (Washington State University) Architectural programmers, academic researchers, designers, and others who need to know more about how humans interact with their physical environments gather information using various tools. New information gathering techniques and instruments are continually being created and existing ones are regularly revamped in useful ways. The purpose of this session is to involve all interested parties – practitioners in the field, researchers, teachers of environment-behavior courses, students, etc.- in a discussion of the best new data collection tools available to gauge human responses to particular environments. In this unstructured session, individuals will be invited to share new techniques and instruments that they have found useful for learning about human/environment interactions. These might range from new observation protocols to a set of insightful survey questions to virtual reality simulations to Internet based focus groups. The techniques and instruments discussed will be determined by the tools that attendees choose to share. Keywords: Research methodology 188 A Different Kind of Writing: What and Why Workshop (Un modo diferente de escritura: que y por que? Taller) Organizer: Karen Franck (New Jersey Institute of Technology). Presenters: Karen Franck (New Jersey Institute of Technology), Galen Cranz (University of California, Berkeley), Jack Nasar (Oklahoma State University) Many environmental design researchers adopt a certain style of writing, one common and appropriate to the social sciences, that is largely neutral in tone, based on facts and the careful interpretation of those facts. Some researchers may sometimes adopt a more journalistic form of expression or one that is accessible to the general public but even then it would not be called “creative writing.” Some of us, however, have wished to try another form of expression, that could be called “creative writing”, possibly with a different purpose, a different audience in mind and, possibly, because there is something else, something different we want to say. In this workshop session, three long time EDRA members will each give a short reading from an ongoing creative writing project. Audience members will be asked to guess which excerpt is fiction and which non-fiction. Then the three presenters will answer several questions: What is the project I am engaged in? How am I pursuing it? Why am I pursuing it? Those attending the workshop are urged to share their own experiences in pursuing creative writing projects. Learning Objectives: 1) To discover what kinds of creative writing projects some environmental design researchers are pursuing 2) To explore the reasons for and the advantages of undertaking this kind of work 3) To consider what the writers bring to and take from these projects Keywords: writing, memoir, fiction, non-fiction May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Environmental Autobiography as a Means of Understanding Memories of a Small-town Theater (Autobiografía del ambiente como un medio de entender las memorias de un pequeño teatro de población) April Allen (Michigan State University, MI) Environmental autobiography, a method of bringing out a person’s conscious and unconscious affective ties to environments through personal reflection, analysis, synthesis, and presentation has been used as a learning experience in classroom settings (Boschetti, 1987), as well as in investigating the connections among human values, behavior, and space in residential settings (Hasell and Peatross, 1991; Marcus, 1997; Marcus and Sarkissian, 1986). This study was undertaken to discover the affective ties and social importance of the Pulaski Theatre to the residents of the town. Various research methods were utilized, including a drawing exercise. Six males and nine females participated in the study. Ages ranged from 43 to 82 with an average age of 60. Four participants were African-American and 11 were Caucasian. All had grown up in the Pulaski area with six living there their entire life and attending the theatre from childhood through adult years. Before beginning an open-ended interview, participants were given a sheet of drawing paper and offered pencils and felt-tip pens, and asked to draw a picture of the theatre that expressed their feelings of their experience of the space. The emphasis of the picture was left to the discretion of each participant. Seven people participated in the drawing exercise portion of the interview. After the drawing exercise, participants were asked to discuss their drawings of the theatre and the meanings connected with them. They were interviewed regarding their earliest recollections of the theatre; the dates they attended the theatre; the types of movies they remember seeing; where they sat in the theatre; if they attended the theatre alone or with others; and what the theatre meant to them. The drawing exercise helped to bring the experience of the theatre to a conscious level for the participants and allowed them to express these feelings during the interview. Drawings created by the participants were examined to discover significant memories and associations regarding the theatre. Since participants were given Linking Differences / Defining Actions no direction when asked to “draw a picture of the theatre that expresses their feelings of their experience of the space”, the drawings reflected what the participants considered most important and memorable. The theatre building was seen as an integral part of the community and a reflection of its social norms and roles, and the interior space of the theatre contributed to the social atmosphere of the patrons’ experiences. The close, affective ties the townspeople have for the theatre speak to the need to preserve this building within the landscape of their community. Keywords: meaning, place memory, preservation, neighborhood Life-Space Design & Research Workshop (Diseño de espacio de vida & taller de investigación) Organizers: Mardelle Shepley, Susan Rodiek, Cerruta Minyoung, and Kirk Hamilton (Texas A&M University) Pastalan (1997) and others have endorsed the “provision of specialized facilities through purposeful design, construction and operations.” A specialized facility suggests an awareness of the impact of life-span differences on environmental requirements. However, the concept of heterogeneity is also central to the theory of life-span design. Children’s developmental stages vary dramatically and rapidly over the first 18 years of life. Likewise, the population of seniors is broadly diverse; it is likely that their individual differences exceed the differences between their age group and other age groups. Awareness of the acute similarities and differences of children and seniors has resulted in the development of the Texas A&M College of Architecture Life-Span Reference Center, which includes the Powell Lawton archives, and the 400+ references associated with Healthcare Environments for Children and their Families (Shepley, 1998). Three topics will be briefly presented in the workshop: 1) research theories and agendas that are appropriate for both populations, 2) research associated with environments which are shared by children and seniors, and 3) the application of research data to professional practice. The structure of this workshop Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 189 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional is geared to specifically address the objectives of the conference: to “link differences and define actions.” Research theories and agendas. Several theories which were meant to address environmental needs of seniors can be applied to children. For example, Pastalan identified 10 types of activities that can be associated with spatial zone: solitude, intimacy, personal care, relaxation/play, companionship/friendship, anonymity, eating, entertainment, and healthcare. These zones are equally applicable to the activities of children. Rodiek’s (2005) research on seniors and access to nature can also be addressed in the context of other populations. These theories and others, will be discussed in terms of their impact on the design of environments for individuals of varying ages. Intergenerational Environments: Several researchers have focused on the impact of intergenerational environments. One recent study (Seo, 2006), found that semi-enclosed spaces were the most effective environments for fomenting interaction. This study and intergenerational design research will be integrated into the workshop discussion. Application to Professional Practice: One focus of this workshop will be to discuss the way in which lifespan research can be incorporated into professional practice. The role of varying levels of researcher/ practitioner (Hamilton, 2004) in the development of evidence-based design projects which acknowledge life-span design will be presented. The primary objective of this workshop will be to develop an environmental research agenda which acknowledges evolving and re-volving needs of children, seniors, and other adult populations. Keywords: child/youth, elderly/gerontology, intergenerational, professional practice, design for aging 190 Mixed Methodologies for Capturing the Complex Dynamics of People-Place Relationships Workshop (Metodologías mixtas para capturar la dinámica compleja del taller de relaciones de personaslugares) Organizers: Penny Travlou, Susana Alves (OPENspace, Scotland) and Andrea Faber Taylor (University of Illinois) Presenters: Gary Evans (Cornell University), Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi (University of Northern Iowa), Andrea Faber Taylor (University of Illinois), and Penny Travlou and Susana Alves (OPENspace, Scotland) Place is conceptualized as dynamic process of interactions rather than as a static entity. The theoretical framework is informed by place philosophy in which place is conceptualized as encompassing self and others, subjectivity, memories and experience in place (Casey 1993, Malpas 1999). It is also informed by the transactional perspective from environmental psychology (Altman and Rogoff 1987) in which personenvironment transactions form one interactive system integrating the individual, social and physical environment. The theory of Affordances (Gibson 1979, Heft 1988) similarly views the individual and environment as one interactive system. Affordance is a dynamic perceptual process between individual and environment, in which the physical features of the environment afford (or offer up) a range of possibilities for action. This workshop will present and discuss mixed qualitative and quantitative methodologies that capture the complex interactions of people with place with a special focus on diverse communities. A range of multi-disciplinary techniques will be presented to include: place ethnography, new technologies, experiential mapping and audio walks, and use of GIS in this process. The workshop proposal is directed to researchers wishing to develop integrative research methodologies and will focus on integrating diverse communities into the research process (i.e. immigrant populations, older people and young people at risk) who find it difficult to engage in traditional quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies. The discussion from the May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México workshop presentations will focus on some of the following key questions: a) How successful are the methodologies in capturing dynamic people-place relationships? b) How well do the methods address issues of diversity? c) What are the implications for further developing these methodologies to evaluate sustainable quality of life in urban and peri-urban environments? d) What are the benefits and challenges of a multimethod approach? References: Altman, I. and Rogoff, B., (1987) “World views in psychology: trait, interactional, organismic and transactional perspectives.” in D Stokols and I. Altman (eds.) Handbook of environmental psychology. Vol. 1. Ch 8, pp. 245-281. Casey, ES (1993) Getting Back into Place: A Phenomenological Study (Studies in Continental Thought), Indiana University Press. Gibson, J J (1979) The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception: Boston: Houghton-Mifflin. Heft. H (1988) ‘Affordances of children’s environments: a functional approach to environmental description’ in Children’s Environments Quarterly, 5 (3): 29-37. Malpas, J. (1999) Place and Experience: A Philosophical Topography, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Keywords: Place-people relationships, Multimethods Integrative, Socio-cultural and ethnic diversity, Multi-disciplinary Psychosocial and community level impacts of internet use: A literature review and future research agenda for environment-behavior studies Shalini Misra (University of California, Irvine) Evidence about the effects of the Internet on interpersonal communication, social relationships, and sense of community has been conflicting. This review argues that the contrasting evidence on the psychosocial and community level consequences of Internet use can be explained by the congruence between specific personal dispositions of people, their socio-physical context, and the characteristics of the Linking Differences / Defining Actions particular cybernetic environment. Specifically, this review realizes three objectives. First, it connects and integrates the various strands of research in the areas of psychology, urban sociology, and media and communication studies that have dealt with specific psychosocial variables associated with Internet use. Second, it presents a model of ‘personcybernetic environment fit’ linking the characteristics of cybernetic environments, personal dispositions, and the socio-physical environmental context to certain behaviors. Third, it identifies theoretical and methodological gaps, potential extensions, and questions that environment-behavior theories and methods can address. Keywords: environmental psychology of the Internet, virtual environments, cybernetic environments, person-cybernetic environment fit A Study of Attributes Measuring Model by Case of Interior Design (Estudio del modelo de medición de atributos por caso en el diseño de interiores) Tzung-Hui Wang and Szu-yu Tzeng (National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan) With regard to the analysis of measurement in interior design, the empirical study process has long been neglected by past researchers. Therefore it is an essential task for researchers to gain a quantitative consumer understanding which hopefully will form the basis of design quality improvement. This paper establishes a measuring model, explores the particularity and the complexity of design elements and discusses design attributes and orientation. Based on a literature review and qualitative analysis, the paper sums up design attributes and explores measurement dimensions. Based on confirmatory factor analysis in structural equation modeling, the paper establishes an attribute measuring model, and tests its stability and fitness. The paper converts a scale into measurement indicators which form the pragmatic viewpoints, thus facilitates further research. First, design samples from design literature, magazines, and designers’ works, published or unpublished were selected. Based on spatial function, spatial composition elements, spatial vocabulary words, and design materials, six design samples are selected by Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 191 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional a scholar and two professional designers as stimuli samples. Next, this paper uses projection experiment to collect subjects’ responses to stimuli. The research method included collecting subjects’ cognition vocabulary words in response to six interior design samples. By interviewing 156 subjects, we selected attribute adjectives in interior design from the above vocabulary. The attribute adjectives are organized and coded for measurement terms on the questionnaires. Then, a pilot study which used exploratory factor analysis to put interrelated cognition vocabulary words in the same dimension in order to form a scale. The measurement dimensions in interior design are as follows: Pragmatic Function, Stylish Peculiarity, Economic Value, and Spatial Aesthetics. Finally, Confirmatory factor analysis was performed by the software LISREL 8.72 to establish a design attribute measuring model. Based on the formula of Bruhn and Grund, the paper establishes a measuring model in which attribute measurement is designated by numbers. According to the dimensions of the model, measurement indicators of each sample are respectively calculated. The objective is to convert the developed scale into a result-oriented evaluation tool. The scale forms the Comprehensive Evaluated Index and thus the improvement direction for interior design. With regards to measuring models, the reliability and validity is based upon Latent Dimensions evaluation and Measurement Error Control. Any individual tool is unable to provide an accurate prediction. It is advisable to use various tools to construct a reliable and valid measuring model. Keywords: Measuring Model, Quantitative Methods, Interior Design. 192 Environmental Design Professional Practice Coalition of National Design Associations’ Proposal for a New National Academy of Environmental Design: An Opportunity For EDRA Participation and Influence (Coalicion de propuestas de las associaciones nacionales de diseño para una nueva academia de diseño ambiental: una opotunidad para la participacion e influencia de EDRA) Janice Bissell (Stafford King Wiese Architects, CA) A growing coalition of national organizations focused on the built environment has agreed to create a new National Academy of Environmental Design (NAED) to coordinate research, generate new knowledge, distribute vital information, and make recommendations to policy makers on how to reduce the negative impact of cities, buildings, landscapes, and transportation on our global climate. The built environment—the communities and buildings we occupy—produces nearly half of all the greenhouse gases and consumes almost 40% of the energy that humans use. Architects, engineers, landscape architects, interior designers, public health physicians, building contractors, researchers, scientists, and many others each play vital roles in designing and constructing the built environment. Yet there is no single entity, no national-level public or private body, charged with coordinating the existing work, or defining the needed research to improve the energy performance and environmental impact of the designed world. Similarly, there is no single entity charged with understanding and documenting improvements to the quality of life that can come through a better built environment. The NAED will take up that charge. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) have all endorsed a resolution to establish the NAED. The NAED would incorporate the full range of design and planning May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México disciplines, including architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, interior design, product design, and graphic design and work with the other National Academies in providing expertise for the National Research Council boards and committees that advise Congress and other levels of government on public policy. The coalition’s steering committee will work to organize the NAED with a plan to seek congressional support for its establishment in 2009. “Today, the United States and the world face pressing and catastrophic challenges, including precipitous climate change, species extinction, epidemics affecting human health, and a wide range of toxins, the impacts of which are poorly understood even when recognized,” said Kim Tanzer, AIA, President of ACSA. “The NAED will marshal the extensive knowledge of the environmental design disciplines to help the existing academies, through the National Research Council, and address these critically important issues.” The existing National Academies bring together committees of experts in areas of scientific, engineering, and technological endeavor to serve “pro bono to address critical national issues and give advice to the federal government and the public.” Four organizations comprise the academies: the National Academy of Sciences (created in 1863), the National Academy of Engineering (created in 1964), the Institute of Medicine (created in 1970), and the National Research Council (created in 1916). The National Academies receive funding from a range of sources, including government allocations, private grants, and foundation support. All four organizations were established during times of extreme need for the nation to act in the face of crisis – the Civil War, World War I, and the Space Race. The founding organizations of the NAED believe that we have entered just such a perilous period in our planet’s history, and that we must act now to secure the future for our children and the generations to come. The purpose of this workshop is to get input from the EDRA membership on the direction for the NAED research agenda, and to establish a database of accomplished and noteworthy individuals who should be considered for nomination to the Academy. Linking Differences / Defining Actions EDRA Input Session (Edra aportación de los asociados) Every year at the EDRA Membership meeting, too little time is available for the EDRA Board to receive feedback from the EDRA Membership. This year, in addition to feedback opportunities at the Membership Meeting on Thursday evening, we will hold two feedback session on Friday and Saturday mornings. At these session we take input and feedback on any topic members would like to raise. In addition, we are excited to discuss the Board’s strategic initiatives and organization governance work over the past year. In addition, we are excited to discuss the EDRA website, get your feedback about it, and consider plans for how it may grow over the next year. Social and Ethnic Stratification in the U.S. Green Industry: The gap between elite design professions and laborers (Estratificación social y étnica en la industria verde en los estados unidos: la brecha entre la elite de profesionales del diseño y los trabajadores) Neil Korostoff, Meredity Forney, and A.E. Luloff (Penn State University) Because of recent trends in immigration and U.S. population demographics Latinos (used inter-changeably here with “Latino”) now represent the largest single minority – over 13% of the total population (US Bureau of the Census 2005a). Compared with other American populations Latinos have lower levels of educational attainment, occupational status, income, and household wealth (US Bureau of the Census 2004b; Kochhar 2005a; Kochhar 2005b). Latinos tend to cluster in low-wage, low-skill jobs or specific occupations in the US economy (Kochhar 2005b). Many Latinos find employment in the Horticultural Services Sectors that include Landscape Services. The grounds maintenance and landscape architecture sectors of the US “Green Industry” – formally termed the Horticultural Services Sectors - employs over 551,000 people with an annual payroll of $13 billion and sales of more than $38 billion (Hall 2005). Despite the expansion of the Latino population in the US and the concentration of Latino employment in horticultural services, very few Latinos have made the transition to the professional and managerial levels – such as landscape architecture (Ahluwalia 2005; Kochhar 2005b). Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 193 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education, Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional Data from professional landscape architecture organizations corroborates with the shrinking proportion of professional and managerial jobs held by Latino in this industry and the growth of income inequality. The small number of Latino landscape architects currently employed in an industry that depends ultimately upon the low wage, low skill labor dominated by Latinos raises important issues for the profession. Are landscape architects comfortable in their role in the Green Industry as well-compensated, high-status professionals whose success depends entirely upon the demanding, physical labor of people whose color and culture differ from their own? Given the very small numbers of Latino landscape architects, far below the proportion of Latinos in the U.S. population, are there specific educational or cultural barriers that prevent Latinos from entering landscape architecture? As the Latino population in the U.S. increases, does landscape architecture run risk becoming irrelevant to this growing market? Some of these issues will be considered in the discussion section of this paper. Why Do Some Architects Care? Motives behind Choosing a Socially Responsible Career (¿Por qué a algunos arquitectos si les importa?) Elif Tural (Arizona State University) Today a major portion of architecture still stays as a profession that eliminates the disadvantaged groups, privileges the privileged, and prioritizes aesthetic/ formal dimensions of design presenting itself as an artistic practice. The relationship between the powerful sections of the society who control the economic and cultural capital, and architects who possess cultural capital was extensively discussed by Stevens (1995; 1998) within the framework of Bourdeiu’s theories of power. Within this context, Stevens elucidated how the field of architecture has its own “favored circle,” as a social system favoring the favored, i.e. who already has the symbolic capital, and at the same time, addressing this favored group with their professional service via producing ‘Culture’ for them. This “favored circle” within the field of architecture can be defined with personal and social backgrounds of its members, such as their class, race and gender traits as well as their socializations and enculturations from 194 family and educational histories. As demonstrated in several studies, this “favored circle” is mainly gendered, classed and raced (Stevens, 1998; Ahrentzen & Anthony, 1993; Davis, 1993). However, beside this approach, there are several architects who pursue alternative directions within the profession adopting a social agenda of the practice that emphasizes service to the subordinate fractions of the society, utilizes participatory design processes, and are sensitive to socio-cultural contexts within which they design. Even though their perceptions of social responsibility differ among each other, there is a significant difference between the architects who choose to practice architecture as a form of art to serve the power status quo versus the ones who claim architecture should address the needs of ‘the other,’ regardless of how ‘the other’ is defined—in terms of economic class, race, ethnicity or gender. This study argues that designers who choose to practice, teach or research socially responsible architecture are: a) the ones who have entered the profession, but do not belong to the “favored circle” due to their personal/social backgrounds, attributable to their class, gender, or race-based identities; or b) the ones who have somehow experienced how the world is like out of their “favored circle,” because of a specific event, an activity, an educational experience, the epoch—the larger cultural context, or via a person/role model; either temporarily or in long-term; either directly or indirectly. Within the context of existing research, and biographies and statements of architects, the study attempts to provide evidence that the experience of ‘otherness’ is the reason how these architects perceive the world and the profession they are operating in differently than, for example, the “star” architects who choose to define their architecture in relation to their artistic geniuses. The study concludes with demonstrating a knowledge gap in explaining which factor(s) or combinations of them are most influential in shaping the social directions architects pursue in their career choices and the nature of work. Keywords: social issues, professional practice, architecture May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Women in Academia: City Planning Departments in the United States (Mujeres en academia: departamentos de planeación de ciudades en los Estados Unidos) Zeynep Toker (California State University, Northridge) these phone interviews will provide guidance for the next step of this research project. Keywords: Women, city planning, academia. As the first step of this research project the city planning departments in California were examined. Female faculty constitutes only 31% of the tenured and tenure track faculty in city planning departments in California. Moreover, the distribution of female faculty in these departments across ranks is imbalanced. There are only female assistant professors in some departments, and only associate and full professors in others. Therefore, lack of mentorship and guidance for junior female faculty members is a disadvantage. Also, lack of female faculty in the personnel committees which evaluate the junior faculty is another disadvantage. These findings are parallel to previous studies’ findings on women either in academia in general or in professional practice of city planning. However, specifically city planning departments have not been the focus of a comprehensive study with an emphasis on female faculty members. Considering the fact that the criteria for promotion in city planning departments usually include professional practice as service to communities, which is different from the conventional descriptions of scholarly activities, female faculty members in these departments might have unique experiences in academia. The purpose of this study is to examine the city planning departments in the United States in order to identify if the distribution of female faculty members across the ranks and in terms of percentage compared to their male counterparts is a pattern around the country. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), which is a consortium of universitybased programs offering credentials in urban and regional planning, lists 70 accredited and 18 non-accredited city planning programs in the United States. The percentage and the distribution across ranks of female faculty members will be documented for the total of 88 departments of city planning. Based on the findings, a small group of female faculty members in California will be interviewed as a pilot study to explore the affects of such a distribution on their experiences as faculty members. Content analysis of Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Thematic Abstracts Environmental Design Education Research & Professional Practice Educación del diseño ambiental, investigación y práctica del profesional 195 Environmental Gerontology Activities that Promote Wellness for Older Adults in a Rural Community (Actividades que promueven el mejoramiento para adultos mayores en una comunidad rural) Mihyun Kang and Randall Russ (Oklahoma State University) Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental The importance of wellness for older adults, which is more than the absence of disease, is a topic of growing significance. Older adults is the fastest growing U.S. population sector, and it has particular wellness needs. Growing interest in healthier aging coincides with a new model for health and well being, the comprehensive whole person wellness model. This model includes six dimensions: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, and vocational. Whole person wellness programming offers new opportunities for the senior market in each dimension. Community centers in rural areas, though, may not be aware of the need for developing and maintaining dimensions of wellness in addition to the physical. Community centers that integrate the six dimensions will maintain a healthier, more capable older adult segment by responding to the diverse needs of that group. Providing programs that are attractive to and serve older adults will foster additional opportunities for broader services and larger audiences. This study examined current activities for older adults in rural community centers. The population was community centers in rural areas, and a convenience sample was obtained from the directory of Oklahoma community centers. Data was collected via a mail survey sent to the directors of these centers. The questionnaire, which consisted of open-ended questions on activities offered in each center, was developed for this study. The questionnaire was sent to 259 community center directors; 90 returned their questionnaires, which provided a response rate of 34.7%. Findings from the survey indicated that 16% of the centers offered activities for all six dimensions. In terms of the dimensions, activities addressed, in decreasing order, physical, social, spiritual, intellectual, vocational, and emotional needs. Activities for 196 the physical dimension were the most diverse, consisting of a variety of individual and group exercises focused on muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, coordination, and balance. All activities were held in the same physical space. The most frequent activity was the use of exercise equipment such as treadmills. Additionally, planned meals and nutrition education were frequent activities related to the physical dimension. Respondents indicated that games, such as bingo, dominos, cards, and puzzles, and parties/gatherings for family and friends, were the frequent social activities aimed at creating and maintaining healthy relationships. It was also observed that not only does each dimension contribute to overall wellness, but individual dimensions interact with one another. For example, in addition to games serving the social dimension, they also serve as intellectual activities that encourage individuals to expand knowledge and skill, vocational activities that promote positive attitudes toward personal and professional development, and emotional activities that help seniors maintain confidence in managing their physical and emotional health. Spiritual activities were more personal than other activities. The whole person model can be achieved through diverse activities for each dimension. Activities reported included individual and small or large group activities, implying the need for diverse space in which to provide programs. Therefore, to accommodate activities in a rural community center, both programs and space for the programs must be addressed. Keywords: Wellness, rural community, design for aging, interior design. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Activities of the “Workshop for the Home Environment Improvement for Elderly People with Dementia” By Family Caregivers and Experts (Actividades del “taller para el mejoramiento del ambiente del hogar para ancianos con demencia” por cuidadores de la familia y expertos) Chiho Oshima (Den-en Chofu University, Japan), Hikaru Shimogaki (Japan College of Social Work), Tetsuya Akagi (Kogakuin University, Japan), and Keiko Kodama (Japan College of Social Work) 1. Background and purpose In Japan, half of the elderly people with dementia who need to be cared for live at home. However, the practical applications of home environment improvement for their family caregivers are not established. For this issue, we organized “the workshop for the house environment improvement for elderly people with dementia”, and have had sessions of group case example studies. The purpose of this report shows the studies of “the workshop for the house environment improvement for elderly people with dementia”, and proposes the direction for the development of home environment improvement. 2. The activities of “the workshop for the house environment improvement for elderly people with dementia” The workshop consists of researchers in architecture, psychology, and social welfare, caring experts, and architects. Group case studies were conducted by the following process: 1) collect case examples; 2) analyze the cases; 3) feedback the analysis; 4) share the studies in the group. From 2005 to 2006, we had five sessions of group case example studies. 3. Characteristic and achievement of the workshop One of the main characteristics of the workshop is that various experts participated and studied one common topic, home environment for family care givers, together. The participants experienced cooperation not only between experts and family caregivers, but also between researchers in different specialized areas. Through the workshop, each researcher rediscovered the value of their specialty and the need for understanding other areas of study. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Another characteristic of the workshop is that elderly people with dementia themselves also participate in this workshop. We could analyze more practical situations, having opinions from the most involved party. Our next goal is to propose a study of developed home environment improvement, combining the both purposes of caring and home improvement. Keywords: home environment, elderly people with dementia, family caregivers, expert, case study Aging Friendly Experience Pavilion of Korea Chaesuk Lim, Miseon Jang, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) While the birth rate has tremendously decreased, the aging process of Korean society has been the fastest in the world. Along this phenomenon, the change of family formation and function and the diversification of life styles lead the elderly to the changed values of their own independent and healthy old age rather than to depend on their offspring. In spite of these social structures, Korean studies and experiences are ill-prepared for the aging society. Thus, with the preparation and the need to be done, it is necessary to develop diverse environments and products for the elderly, which make it possible to sustain their independent lives in housing sites. The purpose of the study is to analyze domestic and foreign aging friendly experience pavilion to grasp their tendencies and investigate the advanced concept of the aging friendly. The study proceeded with two stages: First, after investigating the cases of worldwide future housing through literature reviews, we selected total five places: Welfare Techo House and Toyota Universal Design Pavilion, a Japanese representative house of experimental houses to study the aging friendly housing environments, Barrier-Free Smai in Shinagawagu in Tokyo, Yokohama Sun City in Ganagawahyun, Kameda Medical Center in Chiba. And we investigated the existing comparison cases through literature reviews and touring-sites targeting spatial formation and characteristics of contents. Second, we used content analysis to analyze the spatial formation and characteristics of contents for the cases of Korean aging friendly experience pavilion in order to grasp current tendencies. As for Korean Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 197 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental cases, we selected five representative places: The Universal Design 1 and 2, exhibited at Seoul Art Center in 2003, as the cases which have come to grips with the concepts of universal design, the Senior Simulation Center of Hallym University already operating, The Aged Experiencing Center of Ansan College, and The Senior Experiencing Center of Seoul Gwanak Senior Welfare Center. The analysis objects of the spatial formation and characteristics of contents were analyzed on the basis of information collected through touring-sites and literature reviews. The process of analyses was completed by 2 researchers in order to compare their individual results to grasp a tendency. The process was also verified through the professional workshops relevant to the study to reinforce reliability on the study results. The results of the study are as follows: First, although the aging friendly experience pavilion of Korea is divided into three experiencing pavilionseducational preparation, sentiment and physical strength and walking, a designed space needs to be developed in a way to reinforce reliability on experiencing through the production like realistic living spaces and give users participant and dynamic experiences. Second, the pavilions, leading a rotational experiencing path, were relatively operating well, they needed to be complemented and designed to maximize the effect of learning supplements to experience by leading systematic spatial deployments of environmental elements and the smooth path of flow. Third, medicine- and science-based contents should be developed in a way to make it possible to lead systematic provision of contents and organized experiences for the proper grasp of the aging. Though the study proceeded with limited cases, understanding the current tendency of the aging friendly experience pavilion of Korea in which supports the sustainable life of the elderly confirms specific ideas of future directions of developing pavilions. Moreover, by investigating the Japanese advanced experiment cases previously developed, this study will reduce trial and error which may occur in the process of developing the aging friendly residential environment eligible for the Korean circumstance. The idea of the aging friendly residential environment produced in the process will be a basic knowledge for an industrial design which makes it possible to explore the idea 198 eligible for the products of the aging friendly environments. Finally, this study will explore an advanced concept of the aging friendly through the experience and conversion of the aging friendly consciousness. Key words: Aging friendly, Aging friendly environment, Aging friendly experience pavilion Attributes of Living Environment for Thai Elderly (Para ambientes de vida para la vejez) Praima Israsena Na Ayudhya (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand) The demographic trends of the past decades are leading to unprecedented increases not only in the absolute numbers of the older persons but also in the relative share of the population that belong to the elderly age group (National Statistical Office of Thailand, 2002). As in most Asian countries, the family is the traditional social institution for Thai elder-care. It is the responsibility of each family to look after their elders at home (Hugo, 1996), and this has become a considerable burden on them. Appropriate living environment can help decrease elder care burden and promote well-being. Wilson(1990) recognized six attributes of housing for the older persons: privacy, choice, independence, individuality, and home-like environment. Cohen and Weismen(1991) have identified nine therapeutic goals established for the older frail people. And Regnier (1994) has expanded the categories in the list, suggesting twelve environmental principles: privacy, social interaction, control/choice/ autonomy, orientation/wayfinding, safety/security, accessibility & functioning, stimulation/challenge, sensory aspects, familiarity, aesthetics/appearance, personalization, and adaptability. Since most research in the West focus on enabling the elderly to be independent in a care center with trained caregiver. Only some parts of the finding can be applied to the Thai context. Besides the difference of elder care by untrained family caregivers at home in Thailand, the culture and ways of life are also different from the West. This study aims to: 1) identify the attributes of living environment that are important to Thai elderly and caregivers. 2) better understand the effects of sleeping areas on elder care burdens. Data from 38 pairs of elderly and caregivers were collected through May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México contextual interview and observation, self-documentary study, and floor plan sketch. Mapping of living conditions and the elderly and caregiver’s burdens reveals findings as follows: 1) For those who live in the city, where the Western lifestyle were adopted, privacy, independent and control are the most important attributes. They prefer sleeping in a bed, living in a bedroom and facing elder care problems similar to those of the West. 2) For many families who are living the Thai lifestyle, a higher importance is giving to social interaction with family member, safety and familiarity than for privacy, control, and other attributes identified by Wilson (1990) and Regnier (1994). Many prefer moving the elderly, who has difficulty in using stairs, to sleep in the living room downstairs in order to be surrounded with family members all the time. Many prefer sleeping on the floor as Thais are used to it, and also think it is safer than sleeping in a bed. These families have to deal with many problems specific to Thailand which are left unexplored and unsolved. For example Sleeping on the floor greatly affects caregivers as they must bend down and exert a lot of energy in transferring the elderly. The research pointed out that each culture has specific needs and requires the study of local problems in order to achieve the best living criterion and solutions. Keywords: elderly, culture, design for aging, interior design, qualitative research Characteristics of Universal Design Products Applied to Japanese House in the View of Aging in Place Minah Park, Hyejin Kim, Soojin Lee, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) the elderly population was 9.1%, into account; Korea requires immediate attention to devise a countermove as the aging percentage is currently 9.5% in Korea. Especially, the progress pace on the shift from the aged society to super-aged society in Korea is much faster than in Japan; therefore, a policy provision and a house development in respond to the aging society are an urgent task. Thus, developing houses that would ensure physically impaired elderly people’s independence and support their life is required. The objective of this research is to analyze the characteristics of the latest universally designed products in Japan and to understand their trend. This is expected to be a groundwork data for aging friendly houses’ prosperity in Korea. This research was progressed through two courses. Firstly, the recent Japanese housing trend and the general idea of the universal design were examined through domestic journals and theses. Secondly, the universal design products were chosen from the recent Japanese houses and the universal design characteristics were extracted from these products. Then they were analyzed by the 5 principles of the universal design. Although a notion of universal design paradigm is widespread and the level of preparation for the aging society and people’s interest in quality of lives are increasing in Korea, there have not been comprehensive case studies. This research was analyzing products in Japan where universal design paradigm was applied and developed earlier than Korea. This paper could provide a guideline for supplying housing product plans and welfare system in relation to realistic improvement of universal design in Korea. Amongst society transitional presuppositions towards the future, an aging population is the most significant matter. Revolving around the advanced countries, the whole world’s population is aging, in other words, the proportion of the elderly population has been rising. This indicates that the elderly population is going to be a main consumer group. Korea has entered the aging society in 2000 and will face the aged society by 2018, which is the fastest time that takes from the aging society to the aged society in the world. Taking Japan’s reaction on planning a constructive aging related policy, when the ratio of Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 199 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental A Comparison Study of Living Space and Activity Territory for the Elderly Living in Charitable Home: By Cases of ChiFei Institutions in Kaohsiung City Relief Institution (Un estudio comparativo del espacio de vida y el terreno de actividad para la vejez en casas de caridad: casos de la institución chi-fei en la ciudad de Kaohsiung - institución de descanso) Szu-Yu Tzeng (National Yunlin University of Science & Technology) Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental Public Charitable Homes were established by municipal government in the 1960s, were stereotyped relief institution with large scale, with congregated care services. This research chose Chi-Fei Institutions in Kaohsiung City Relief Institution as objectives, we conducted focused interviews, observations and timestudy surveys, and there are three main purposes in this study: 1) By view of health states, to realize the characteristics of using behaviors of living space and activity territory of the elderly in three kinds of Chi-Fei institutions; 2) To look into the reasons and causes of different using behaviors of living space and activity territory of the elderly; 3) To conclude the orientations in the future for Charitable Home, from a board view of physical aspects and socio-cultural aspects of environment. Finally, we attain the results as follows: The space atmosphere of residential care home is stereotyped, the activity territory of the majority of elderly is limited inside the space of institution. Whereas, the mostly activities are occurred inside the Charitable Home, the activity territory for the elderly in Chi-Fei Institutions and senior apartment are various. Partly of the elderly were extended to the outside of Charitable Home. The functions of bedroom and bathroom are overflowed, and cooking, diet and storage behaviors are extended to the common space. We find personal aspects, such as healthy and economic condition, education, traffic method, supports from relatives or outside world; physical aspects, such as the area and layout of bedroom and common space, barriers in outdoor space; software service aspects, such as meals, support of recreation and interaction using behaviors of living space and activity territory of the elderly. And the healthy condition is a key vari- 200 able. We suggest four topics that Charitable Home should improve in the future: to supply a mini-type home considered with privacy and personal territory; plural accessible common space; flexible and with choices meal service; better support various recreation and interaction. Keywords: elderly, living space, activity territory, charitable home Designing Ubiquitous Environments for the Elderly: From the Perspective of Environmental Behavior Approach (Diseñando ambientes ubicuos para la vejez) Soo-been Park (Pusan National University, South Korea) Ubiquitous Environment (UE) put its origination on “ubiquitous computing (Weiser, M., 1988)”, creating a vision of people and environment augmented with computational resources that provide information and services when and where desired (Abowd, G. D. et al., 2002). Creating UE is concerned with not only technology itself but also the users managing daily lives in that situation. Recently researchers creating UE are forced to examine what the people expect in UE (Intell, S. S. et al., 2003; S.S. Intille, 2006). It is also expected that the elderly, who constitute an increasing percentage of the population, will be able to function independently and maintain an acceptable quality of life in UE. An important issue for the designing UE for the elderly is whether they feel the same as the younger people who adapt easily to the rapidly changing environment. It is, therefore, necessary to understand age-related differences in sensing, processing and acting on information in order to plan the digital place for the elderly to make them more comfortable and delighted. This study concentrates on the behavioral factors to design UE for the elderly. It is undertaken with two differentiated processes: One is re-examination of available data from diverse sources including the project groups of the universities, the companies, and the consortium. The representative research projects that address challenges facing the future technologies are The Aware Home Research Initiative (Georgia Tech.), The PlaceLab (MIT), The Smart Medical Home (University of Rochester), and The interLiving (The Royal Institute of Technology in May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Stockholm). Their research processes and results have included the concerns of how technologies contribute to assisting the physical limitations of the aged, the memory and learning of an older adult, as well as the interpersonal relationship between seniors and other family members. The other is the comprehensive survey and the analysis of the seniors’ use and meaning of home. The subjects were 305 healthy and computer-literate senior adults aged from 45 to 78 years of age. As a result, four factors are classified: the physical defeat and health, the safety and comfort, the social and emotional interaction, the cognitive works and lifelong learning, and entertainment. Keywords: Elderly, Ubiquitous Environment, Behavioral Factors Discussion on Environmental Experience of the Elderly’s Outings: From Accompanied Observation (Discusión sobre la experiencia ambiental de paseos con ancianos: de observación acompañada) Kotaro Matsumoto (Nagoya University, Japan) In Japan, the average span of life has become dramatically longer in recent years and reached 79.0 years for men and 85.8 years for women in 2006. The society has been aging. In 2005, 20.5% of the population was over 65 years old. Since the majority of Japanese industries have shifted from primary industries such as agriculture to secondary industries such as manufacture industries and third industries such as the service industries, these majority people are to retire at some time in life. If anyone retired at 65 years old, it means for men to have a vacant time of 14 years and for women, 20 years. For us to understand lives after retirement, it is noteworthy for us to see that people lose their routine of going to their work places. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Japan’s research shows that people have a tendency not to go out as they get older. In the day the research was carried out, 35.5% of the subjects over 65 years old didn’t go out anywhere the whole day while it was only 15.5% of the counterpart in the age group of 54 to 65 years old. The author has accompanied the elderly and kept descriptions on what happened during their going out. It was a fact there were not many opportunities for the elder to go out, but we should not Linking Differences / Defining Actions to immediately conclude that is bad. It is important to reveal what happens on their going out in order to discuss what they are missing if they don’t go out in their daily life. To conduct accompanied observation, this research relates to the research concepts of “Transaction” (Altman & Rogoff, 1987) and “Environmental Experience” (Ittelson, 1960; Rowles, 1978). When we try to reveal what happens on their going out, it is important to consider two characteristics of environment; person is surrounded with environment and person encounters the environment. In other words, it is impossible for us to go outside environment and have interaction with environment as the object. Also Altman & Rogoff(1987) pointed out that the observer was one aspect of the event, and they were not able to go outside the event. It is needed for the observer to be inside of the environment and describe the event as Rowles(1978) conducted “Experiential Field Work”. This research presents some characteristics of the elderly people’s environmental experience, and tries to discuss differences how each audience gets feelings through our showing concrete episodes of the elderly people’s going out. Keywords: Elderly, Outdoor Environments, Interdisciplinary, Qualitative Research, Environmental Experience Digitalization & Housing Design for the Elderly (Digitalización y diseño de hogares para la vejez) Chanohk Oh (Inje University, South Korea) Our living pattern is rapidly changing due to digitalization. In the field of housing design, ‘home automation’ was appeared long time ago at first, but most of them were not used at all. After that, ‘intelligent home’ or ‘digital home’ was developed, and recently ‘ubiquitous home’ is developing. However, only several digital systems are using by actual residents and many systems are presented only in experiment room or model house. Some researchers are interested in how to apply ubiquitous technology to the space for old peoples. The supportive space environment would be necessary for the elderly in order to live independently as long as possible. There are many ways to make the supportive space environment. One of them is to use new digital or ubiquitous technology. The study was Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 201 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental intended to identify how to use new digital or ubiquitous technology in housing for the elderly. In order to achieve it, first, the physical and behavioral characteristics of old people were reviewed, and the ones which would be met by digital technology were selected. Then, how to apply those technologies to space design for the elderly was suggested. Keywords: elderly/gerontology, design for aging, housing/residential, interior design, qualitative research Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental Features of Interior Design Preferred by the Elderly (Rasgos del diseño de interiores preferidos por la vejez) Chun Yeop Lee (Inje University, South Korea) Most researches of space design for the elderly has focused on how to meet with the physical frailty of the elderly. However, the effort to meet with the emotional and psychological aspects of the elderly should be considered, too. To grasp the elderly’ preferred features of interior design, such as furniture, color, material, lighting, and interior style or image, would be useful to design the space for the elderly. The purpose of this study is to identify the features of interior design preferred by the elderly. The subjects are 200 old peoples whose ages are more than 65 years. Data are collected by interview using a questionnaire. Keywords: elderly/gerontology, design for aging, housing/residential, interior design, quantitative research Fire Safety among Korean Elderly Household and Escape Plans in High-Rise Apartment Complexes Soojin Lee, Jiin Choi, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) Population aging is a global phenomenon, the challenge facing Korea, however, is especially daunting. With life expectancy rising and birthrates plumbing record lows, Korea is about to undergo a stunning demographic transformation. According to the latest government projections, 38 percent of Korea’s population will be elderly by 2050, putting it in contention 202 with Japan, Italy, and Spain for the oldest country on earth. Older adults are not only the fastest growing segment of Korean population, but also one of the groups at highest risk for fire deaths. As a natural result of the aging process, older adults present unique challenges in the fields of fire protection, prevention, and safety. Changes associated with the aging process predispose older adults to ignite a fire yet, at the same time, reduce their chances of surviving it. Analysis by National Emergency Management Agency showed that 446 Koreans died in fires in 2006 and 23.3 percent was older adults (individuals 60 years and older) amongst them, representing one of the highest fire risk populations in Korea. Meanwhile, unsafe dwelling environments may contribute to high morbidity residential fire among the elderly people. Residential fatalities that occurred by fire in 2007 comprises 57% and burns are the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths. Even in Korean situation in which high-rise apartment complexes are representative form of housing culture, fire-related deaths and injuries might be more serious without developing special device and escape plan. Although successful exit from a home fire could greatly reduce fire-related deaths and injuries, little is considered about both of them. This study investigated the prevalence of fire safety devices and related risk factors considering escape plans for elderly households. Websites and brochures of construction companies within the top 5th contract ranking were analyzed. As a results, fire alarms, smoke detectors, cutting-edge digital sensors worked by ubiquitous network and exits in the elevator hall are well designed, however, there is no place to escape quickly from the inside of each unit to outside. Alternative plans were presented. These findings have important implications not only for the government and policy makers but also housing providers to improve residential fire safety for the elderly. Future fire safety interventions should increase their awareness of the risk of home fire and also consider formulating and practicing escape plans with developing escape device. It is essential to greatly reduce fire deaths and enhance the chance to escape safely, especially in high-rise apartment complex. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Outdoor Space for Aging: Environmental Assessment and Survey of Assisted Living Residents and Staff (Espacios abiertos para la vejez: contribución ambiental y la perspectiva de los residentes y el staff asistidos) Susan Rodiek (Texas A&M University) Contact with the outdoors is considered a potentially important contributor to quality of life and well-being for both staff and residents in long-term care facilities (Cutler & Kane, 2006; Martin, Marler, Harker, Josephson, & Alessi, 2007). However, the usability of outdoor space depends largely on appropriate design: where are the outdoor spaces located, how do they connect with indoor circulation routes, and how does the building envelope help shape the spaces? Although the importance of this topic is widely acknowledged by designers and care providers, few studies have evaluated the quality of outdoor space in comparison with levels of usage and satisfaction. This multi-regional study evaluated outdoor space at assisted living facilities and compared the results with surveys conducted with residents and staff members (N = 1530). Based on the existing literature, a 63-item environmental assessment tool was developed and tested for inter-rater and test-retest reliability. The core hypothesis was that residents may be discouraged from using outdoor areas due to preventable problems with the built environment (both outdoors and indoors). Seven major environmental issues were developed as “design hypotheses,” to examine their correlation with residents’ outdoor usage and satisfaction with the environment. To record resident and staff perceptions, two 40+ item survey instruments were developed and pre-tested. Surveys and environmental assessments were conducted on-site at assisted living facilities randomly selected within a two-hour diameter from the urban cores of three of the ten largest U.S. ‘megapolitan’ regions (Houston, Chicago, and Seattle), chosen for their wide diversity of climate and geography. A total of 68 randomly selected facilities with 50+ resident capacity participated in the study, representing a range of different-sized provider organizations, with about 85% for-profit, and15% not-for profit. Facilities ranged from single-story to 14 stories, and site contexts ranged from high-density Linking Differences / Defining Actions urban areas, to outlying towns and suburbs. Facility administrators recruited about 1100 residents and 400 staff, representing all levels from direct care to executives. Written surveys and videotaped interviews documented outdoor usage and preference for specific environmental features. Residents who spent more time outdoors reported having better overall health, higher physical activity levels, and more satisfaction with the physical environment. Those who went out less said the outdoor areas were hard to see and reach, and were more concerned about the possibility of falling. The great majority of residents and staff reported feeling “better than before” after spending time outdoors. About 80% of residents said they preferred to do their walking “mostly outdoors” or “half indoors/ half outdoors”; but 40% reported that walkways and outdoor areas were either “not very well-designed” or “partly welldesigned” for seniors. Specific features and problems were described as ‘barriers’ to outdoor usage; many of these could be modified by environmental design and/or staff intervention. By improved support of users’ specific requirements for outdoor space, the long-term care environment may encourage higher levels of outdoor usage and physical activity, potentially leading to improved health and quality of life for both residents and staff (Rodiek, 2006; Takano, Nakamura, & Watanabe, 2002). References: Cutler, L. J., & Kane, R. A. (2006). As great as all outdoors: A study of outdoor spaces as a neglected resource for nursing home residents. In S. Rodiek & B. Schwarz (Eds.), The Role of the Outdoors in Residential Environments for Aging (pp. 29-48). New York: The Haworth Press, Inc. Martin, J. L., Marler, M. R., Harker, J. O., Josephson, K. R., & Alessi, C. A. (2007). A multicomponent nonpharmacological intervention improves activity rhythms among nursing home residents with disrupted sleep/ wake patterns. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 62A(1), 67-72. Rodiek, S. (2006). A missing link: Can enhanced outdoor space improve seniors housing? Seniors Housing and Care Journal, 14, 3-19. Takano, T., Nakamura, K., & Watanabe, M. (2002). Urban residential environments and senior citizens’ longevity in megacity areas: the importance of walk- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 203 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental able green spaces. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56(12), 913-918. Keywords: Outdoor space, aging, environmental assessment, surveys, assisted living The Requirement and Factor Weight of Environmental Element Designing for the Wandering Space of Demented Elders Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental (El requisito y factor de peso de los elementos de diseño ambiental para el espacio deseado de ancianos dementes) Yao-Rong Hwang (National Yunlin University of Science & Technology, Taiwan) Many experts agree that all people with dementia should be presumed at high risk for wandering due to their cognitive deficits. Risks associated with wandering include the potential for encountering hazards, falls and fractures, interventions and management strategies must take these risks into account. A negative care orientation to wandering involves dependence on physical and chemical restraints, physical restraint often results in serious injuries and chemical restraint may cause serious side effects. Many facilities are encouraged to discover the strategy that elders with dementia can walk in a therapeutically supportive environment which maintain safety with the least restriction. The purpose of this research is to look for environmental elements designing as therapeutic setting for demented elders with wandering. Six typical special care units were selected as samples which included two units with wandering path of indoor single loop, two units with wandering path of indoor double loops and two units with wandering path of indoor & outdoor loops. The patient was focused on moderate dementia with wandering, and there were 66 caregivers from special care unit participating in this research. A field study was to observe existing environmental elements which were recognized as therapeutic setting for wandering space and encouraged care unit to design all kinds of environmental elements. Care- givers were questionnaire in terms of the requirement of environmental element after three months. A one-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the frequency of environmental element recognized as therapeutic setting, and 204 factor weight of environmental element was established by using multiple-regression stepwise. We found that reminiscence element, occupational element, religion element, interest element and animal element are five kinds of environmental elements mostly recognized as therapeutic setting for wandering space. As to the comparison of different typology of wandering space, indoor & outdoor loops of wandering path are more available for designing environmental elements as therapeutic setting than indoor double loops or indoor single loop of wandering path. Elements of reminiscence figure, exhibition, Information board, decoration on the door of bedroom, vine, plant in the water, tree, plantlet, monkey, small rat and small pig are not significant importance for designing as therapeutic setting in Taiwan. Keywords: wandering space, environmental element, therapeutic setting, factor Staying Connected: Designing to Enhance Social Opportunities for Older Adults (Permaneciendo conectados: diseñando para acrecentar las oportunidades sociales para adultos mayores) Lisa Waxman (Florida State University) Proshansky et al. (1983) stated that place attachment involves the interplay of emotions, knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors in reference to a place. Place attachment typically occurs after people have long or intense experiences with a place and the place acquires great personal meaning (Gifford, 2002). Often these feelings of attachment involve the home, but they may also include other public gathering places in the community such as the grocery store, barber shop, coffee shop, or other favorite gathering spot. Regardless of the location, feelings of attachment to these special places and the people who inhabit them can enhance feelings of connectedness to the community at large (Putnam, 2003; Waxman, 2006; Sucher, 1999). The United States Census Bureau reported that fewer than five percent of people 55 or older move in any given year, and of those who move, 49% stay within the same county. These feelings of attachment illustrate the concept that people develop special bonds with certain settings that hold deep meaning to them (Altman & Low, 1992). May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México In a passionate article on designing for the elderly, Roslyn Lindheim (1974) stressed the importance of good design for older adults. She stated that the physical environment should serve as a reinforcing system to enable people to meet their needs effectively. Lindheim examined needs which affect the young and old, which included the need to be socially useful, and the need to exercise choice as to where and how one lives and maintain continuity and roots. The ability to engage in the community can happen in many venues, including third places, those places other than home or work were people can bump into friends and neighbors, and connect with people from their community (Oldenburg, 1999). Purpose: This paper will address the social and physical attributes that enhance the ability for older adults to gather in third places, specifically coffee shops and small restaurants. Method: These findings have been collected using the techniques of visual documentation, observation, and interview. Findings: Social Implications. Although designers often focus on the design of the physical environment, the social aspects of an environment must not be overlooked. The themes that emerged emphasized the importance providing places where people could linger, feel productive, engage in social interaction, feel trusted and respected, and be in the company of familiar strangers. Physical Implications and Design Guidelines. Design guidelines were developed following the observations and interviews of patrons. Design features that could be modified to better serve older adults included access to the space, layout, restrooms, flooring, seating, outside areas, service bar, tables, lighting, aroma, acoustics, access to a view, and overall visual appeal. Conclusion: Clearly, it is simplistic to say coffee shops and small restaurants are the answer to the complex question of community engagement. However, the coffee shop or restaurant simply provides an opportunity to informally connect with the members of the community, thereby making allowing connections to be made which enhances the engagement in community. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Keywords: Place attachment/place memory, elderly/ gerontology, design for aging, interior design, qualitative research Study of the Characteristics of Enhancing Social Integration of Elderly Housing Kaboo So, Heejin Lee, Hyeyeun Kim, and Yeonsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) Nowadays, we need regular qualitative and quantitative levels of physical spatial environment. While the physical spatial environment is not easily changed, our lives have consistently been changed by cultural paradigm and needs a new spatial environment for the changes. In particular, we experience various changes physically, psychologically and socially according to the aging, the elderly do need a new space and environment for the aging. If all physical circumstances do not properly support the elderly’s declined functions, not only will it isolate them socially but also decline the quality of their individual life. Thus, alternative housing for proper social integration community for the elderly and the members of a society reduce tensions from the aging members of the society and further makes it possible for a community to preserve its sustainable values. Korea has now many the public houses for the elderly which normally have a group accommodation in residential patterns. However, in foreign cases, the elderly tend to choose their way of life for independent and sustainable life rather than are lodged in the elderly houses. Thus, it is quite remarkable that they can extend their residential duration and raise the quality of life. Moreover, Koreans have mostly resided in apartments. The Korean elderly adjusted to this residential pattern have been faced with difficulties sustaining their residences caused by an invasion of their privacy from community life and conflicts between residents. Thus, two issues should be considered: diverse solutions to improve general social recognition and alternatives to reduce the problems caused by communal use in terms of physical operation. These will be considered as variable in terms of the elderly’s independence, the exchange among local communities Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 205 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental as social integration with physical environment such as the scale of houses. Consistently residing in the existing local community, the elderly in Korea prefer integral housing environment which makes it possible to exchange among generations. Their attitudes will be changed in positive ways according to how the house is planned and designed. However, although it has been asserted that city and housing development should be prepared for the aging future in a way to solve the elderly’s housing problem in perspective of social integration, there have no eventual alternatives for this. This study aims to examine the advanced cases with diverse systems in relation to the elderly’s housing environment. Besides simple rearrangement of physical environment, it is to reconsider the patterns which makes it possible to sustain their lives by promoting local and community. Of these cases, this study examined the case to promote social integration by opening a part of the elderly’s house to a local community, the patterns and characteristics of exchange program to produce local exchange. In doing so, it suggested an alternative for social integration community as the elderly’s housing model which can accept an architectural alternative to form their houses as an open space, promote their social participation and other diverse desires for housing. Walk-Through Post Occupancy Evaluation of Recently Built Elderly Care Environment in Korea Soohyun Lim, Chaesuk Lim, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) The proportion of the elderly population; 65 and over; that requires a care service in Korea is 12.1%. In respond to this particular elderly population, the proportion of admitted inpatient numbers at elderly medical care facilities; elderly medical care centers and hospitals; is 3.8% which is insufficient. Up to the present, most elderly medical care facilities have been developed in a sporadic way rather than an intentional way. However, Korea has recently stepped into a stage that provides a well-planned built environment with awareness of an aging society. Recently, ‘The northern elderly medical care hospital (1999)’, ‘The eastern elderly medical care center (2002)’ and ‘The 206 western elderly medical care center (2005)’ have been developed in Seoul and these developments differ to others as that focused on satisfaction level of medical care patients’ needs through research. ‘Short, intermediate and long term of medical care service below severe illness’, ‘Elderly medical care on low income class’, ‘Day care center’, ‘Elderly service at home’ are additional services that those facilities offer which are lacking in generic hospitals. Wards and patients’ space in those buildings have increased for severely ill, long term elderly people compared to generic hospitals and a medical treatment is composed mainly around a curative treatment and the size of nursing space has reduced. It is significant to focus on personnel and facilities that can assist patients’ movement and room variability for care assistants’ operational efficiency when elderly medical care environment is designed. Even though a guideline considering various users is applied when medical care facilities are developed, it is common to discover a suitability issue while using the space. Therefore, this research sets out to understand what needs to be improved within newly developed built environment through post occupancy evaluation and to provide a foundation for the present and the future built environment’s enhancement process. In order to achieve this research’s aim, analysis and observation methodologies were used and their procedure contains three stages. Firstly, literatures of previously developed elderly medical care facilities’ space characteristics and post occupancy evaluation in developed countries were reviewed. Secondly, taking ‘The northern elderly medical care hospital’, ‘The eastern elderly medical care center’ and ‘The western elderly medical care center’ as case studies, a literature review was done on their space characteristics and post occupancy evaluation, furthermore, by analyzing related data in Korea and abroad, advantages and disadvantages were discovered. Lastly, analyzing data and observing the users’ built environment took place through case studies’ site visits to verify suitability between the space users and its built environment. The evaluation standard on verification is based on SCEAM (Sheffield Care Environment Assessment Matrix) and ASPECT (A Staff and Patient Environment Calibration Tool) and their evaluation standards are May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México transformed to a measuring scale that is appropriate in Korea. Case studies, as mentioned above, were planned and developed through a turn-key system. During the course of development, various advanced countries’ standards were used and still there was a side issue on actual users’ suitability such as circulation, sizes of space, distance etc. Thus, the standards for a development process required to be adjusted to the actual Korean circumstances as the users are elderly Koreans and discovering benefits and improvement schemes is essential through an appropriate post occupancy evaluation on elderly medical care environment in Korea. Consequently, this study has profound significance in the future development of elderly medical care environment plans in Korea, which would be useful in providing better built environment and service for the users. Keywords: Elderly care environment, Elderly medical care center/hospital, Post occupancy evaluation Linking Differences / Defining Actions Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Thematic Abstracts Environmental Gerontology Gerontology Ambiental 207 Environmental Psychology Analysis on Distance Cognition Situation with Body Movement and Human Factors in Cognition Process Through Computer Simulation Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental (Análisis del conocimiento de la distancia con respecto al movimiento corporal y de los factores humanos en procesos cognitivos a través de la simulación por computadora) Yu Wang, Takeshi Suzuki, Yasuhiro Tanaka, Shigeki Matsubara, Toshinobu Oku, and Michihiro Kita (Osaka University, Japan) This study aims at examining the relationship between visual changing phenomenon and the distance cognition using cognition experiment in computer simulation environment, base on J. J.Gibson’s spacial perception theory. Most of previous studies took the influencing factors at the physical aspects of the space itself as a study object. In this study, we focus on the influencing factors of human themselves to analyze distance cognition situation with a mobile viewpoint in terms of ecological geometry. The experiment was carried out in a simulation environment which was a simplified modeling of the visual phenomenon in the real environment. The human’s distance cognition situation was tested by magnitude estimation. The subject had to tell the relations between the object and standard stimulus in numbers then they were required to tell what their conclusion was based on. The participations were Chinese, Japanese and westerns aged from 20 to 35 with various occupations. By examining the cognition situation of 26 subjects, it showed that there were possibilities that people might cognize a distance that could not be identified directly by observing the visual changing phenomenon generated from body moving. It is also noticed that the cognition situation was affected significantly by the subjects’ criteria used in distance cognition process. There are totally five kinds of cognition criteria which can be seen in this experiment when classifying by their characteristics. (1) “Relative sinking amount” criteria: The subjects who used this criteria 208 tended to cognize a distance by comparing height changes of the objects. (2) “Relative sinking speed” criteria: The subjects told a distance by observing the relative speed changing generated by the movement of the viewpoint. (3) “Stepping analysis” criteria: The subjects who used this criteria always divided the whole process into several steps and chose the proper visual elements for every step to cognize a distance. (4) “Multiple observing elements” criteria: Subjects picked up more then one observing elements for distance cognition. (5) “Direct sense” criteria: the subjects observed the visual changes on the whole and judged a distance by their “sense” of the visual phenomenon. The most different part of this criteria which makes it distinguished from the above-mentioned other criteria lies in the few words about concrete visual elements in the subjects’ utterance. There are significant effects which could be seen in the cognition results by different criteria, especially in longer distance. For the accuracy of the cognition distance, “direct sense” criteria could be the most effective one in the cognition of longer distance. Keywords: Body movement, distance cognition, cognition criteria, multiple visual objects, visual changing phenomenon Bridging the Gap between the Public and the Historic Preservation Professional: Understanding how People Value New and Old Residential Environments (Puenteando la brecha entre la preservación profesional pública e histórica: entendiendo como las personas valoran los ambientes residenciales nuevos y viejos. Tender un puente sobre el boquete entre el profesional público e histórico de la preservación: entendiendo cómo la gente valora nuevos y viejos ambientes residenciales) Jeremy Wells (Clemson University, South Carolina) There is a need for an effective bridge between public and professional values in historic preservation in order to define more acceptable interventions for older built environments. The professional methodology of valuing the historic built environment is based May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México on an antiquated philosophical system developed in almost complete isolation from public input. Only a few white males have been responsible for developing and refining the methodology and methods of historic preservation. While age is the central tenet of historic preservation, we know precious little about how everyday people actually value, perceive, and experience age as an intrinsic part of an urban environment. This situation is due to the lack of empirical studies that specifically address this topic. With so large a gap in our knowledge, changes to historic environments are not adequately informed by the diversity of stakeholder’s values, especially in regard to residential environments. The result is that professionals sometimes make poor decisions about which elements of historic places to retain, change, and remove. In order to ameliorate this knowledge deficit, this study aims to build on the existing literature on place attachment (i.e., a cognitive and affective bond to place) and connect the sociocultural meanings of the built environment within a residential context to specific, physical elements in that environment. The goal is to understand the nature and degrees of attachment to new versus old places and how specific physical elements in the built environment influence place attachment. Specifically, these two questions have guided this study: What physical elements in a new and old residential community evoke a sense of attachment for those living and working in the community? Can a new environment authentically replicate the age of an old environment and thereby foster the same degree and character of attachment found in authentically old environments? In order to answer these questions, this research project was designed as a comparative, qualitative case study, employing a phenomenological methodology, and two methods: interviews and photo elicitation techniques. There are two units of study: (1) residents in a new residential environment, I’On, a new urbanist development in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and, (2) residents in an old residential environment, the historic part of Charleston, South Carolina, south of Broad Street. In both places, the physical characteristics of the built environment are remarkably similar in density, form, layout, and design, but the age is dramatically different. The results of this study reveal that residents of historic Charleston and I’On value their built environ- Linking Differences / Defining Actions ments in remarkably similar ways. Surprisingly, elements that evoke a strong sense of attachment tend to be landscape features, such as gates, fountains, trees, and gardens rather than buildings; doors and balconies were mentioned as important building elements, however. The informants valued the “mystery” that they felt was part of the landscape and which consisted of layered elements such as fences, gates, and paths, such that these features (including buildings) had to be “discovered.” Lastly, the informants strongly valued landscapes that showed “people care” through regular maintenance. The essential difference in people’s experience and valuation of the new environment (I’On) and the old environment (historic Charleston) is in the older environment’s ability to instill creative fantasies in the minds of the informants based on a hypothetical past of their own creation. The informants in I’On did not share these kinds of meanings. A Case Study of Icon Design for Wireless Application Protocol (Un estudio de caso de diseño de icono para protocolo de aplicación inalámbrica) Phil Choo (Oklahoma State University) Along with advances in technology, information can be accessed faster and more easily with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) through mobile communication tools. Users want these tools to be not only lighter, smaller, and handier, but to have more effective Graphic User Interfaces (GUI) that allow easy access to information. To develop effective GUI within WAP technology, this study was conducted to suggest prototypical icons for WAP screens. While developing these icons, a framework for icon development was created that involved the logical and creative design processes of a matrix. The interconnected criteria of the study of WAP, characteristics of good icons, and the graphic representation of ideas were identified to develop an evaluation matrix for WAP icons and to evaluate prototypical alternatives for these icons for Frequently Used Functions (FUFs). The procedural development for WAP icons included the identification and analysis of WAP user needs and the investigation of images for WAP icons. The analysis of the FUFs of WAP users included identifying characteristics of the FUFs and creating Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 209 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental prototypes of icons that represented these functions. Visual forms were investigated to prototype the FUFs on WAP devices. Based on these procedures, a morphologic matrix was created to discover all possible relationships among WAP user needs and the images and functions of WAP icons. The matrix was used to establish a clear pattern of relationships and to identify the possible solutions within the icon development process. Using this icon development matrix, more than a thousand WAP icons were systemically designed to represent each of the WAP FUFs. These icons were then self–evaluated for the final icon design process. In this process, three icons selected for each FUF were transferred to the actual small screen size. Once the icons were scaled down, grids were applied to measure the number of pixels and to manipulate dots, lines, and shapes. The selected and refined icons were applied to a WAP device screen to test recognizability. This study was an inquiry into the basic criteria for effective communication of WAP GUI design and resulted in a set of FUF prototypical icons for WAP. The study evaluated graphic user interface designs based on the criteria of iconic communication in combination with both the application of current technology and an investigation of icon design for WAP devices. Furthermore, this study explored and demonstrated a case study to enhance the effectiveness of GUI for WAP screens. The study’s recommendations are limited to logical creative processes and experimental image investigations for WAP iconic communication. The analysis of immediate and long-term needs suggests a set of criteria for improving the functionality of WAP tools through the use of icons. Hence, this study suggested a framework for the development of WAP icons – from research on user needs to visualization of final icon designs on a WAP screen. This framework can be extended to other fields of icon design for LCD screens. Keywords: Wireless application protocol, graphic user interfaces, graphic design, icon design. 210 Choosing Between Facades for Professional Services (Seleccionando entre fachadas para servicios profesionales) Lindsay J. McCunn and Robert Gifford (University of Victoria, Canada) The role of building facades in the consumer choice process is not well understood. In two studies, photographs representing two commercial building types (office building and converted heritage house) were shown to participants, who chose between them for legal, dental, financial, and medical services, and also rated them for expected comfort level and quality of service. In Study 1, Canadian university students preferred office buildings for all four services. In Study 2, Canadian community residents (M = 44 years old) preferred converted heritage houses more often for legal services. Participants in both studies reported that they would be more comfortable using office buildings for dental, financial, and medical services. Participants in Study 2 expected that they would be more comfortable visiting converted heritage houses for their legal needs. Participants in both studies also expected better dental, financial, and medical service in office buildings, but those in Study 2 expected higher quality legal service in converted heritage houses. Implications of these preferences and predictions are discussed. Keywords: Facade, building exterior, consumer choice, comfort, service quality A Climate for Change: The Role of Environmental Psychology and Design in Bringing about Eco-Social Transformation Un Clima para el Cambio: El Rol de la Psicología (ambiental y el diseño en traer a nosotros la transformación eco-social) Organizer / Presenter: Michael R. Edelstein (Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ) We live in an interesting time, one where the demand for quick yet wise translations of ideas to action is demanded. Driven by concern over the climate issue, a new impetus for social transformation toward a sustainable society has been created. This presentation describes the environmental psychological issues and potential roles for Environmental Psychology and May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Environmental Design associated with climate change, with social transformation away from the dominant world paradigm of the modern period, with the definition of and then shift to a new sustainable paradigm, and with meeting the decision making requirements created by the need to consider multiple timely issues as one complex and the traps associated with partial solutions - where one problem is addressed but new problems created. Several case contexts are offered. First, concrete actions to make campuses sustainable and to have them serve as models and axes of sustainable change are explored. These create important experiential laboratories for preparing models, training leaders for sustainability and for collecting information vital for influencing both individual and societal change where campus both transform themselves and serve to transform society. A second case involves rethinking the presumptive Environmental Psychological constructs—or lifescape - that underpin current ways of living. The sustainable transformation demands that home and shelter be rethought, the relationship of person to environment be reshaped, assumptions about health be reconsidered, the myth of personal control be reframed and that social trust be formed within new contexts of relationship. In these ways, we must remold the built environment, lifestyle and create a civil social fabric capable of active learning and guidance, tools for creating community and preserving place relationships and local knowledge. A third case explores an important social experiment created in the State of New Jersey by the bold decision to reduce greenhouse gasses by 80% by 2050. There is a major environmental psychological role to be played in achieving these targets effectively and acceptably and in generating new patterns that can be sustained. A combination of technological and social change is demanded of this transformation. The New Jersey instance will be instructive rather than idiosyncratic, as multiple experiments are created worldwide seeking the same path. A number of concrete methodologies for guiding the transformation are offered, including Sustainability Planning and Impact Assessment, Sustainability Shoppes and other modes of collaborative learning and meeting the meta-challenge of instituting new modes and levels of social learning that unite with common responsibility those holding Linking Differences / Defining Actions diverse cultures, perspectives and stakes rather than allowing conflict and social dissolution. This session can occur as a keynote, as an intensive offered by one speaker with full active audience participation or additional participants can be recruited. The Effects of Commercial Signs on Users’ Sense of Visual Quality in Historic City Centers of Different Urban Contexts (Los efectos de muestras comerciales en el sentido de los usuarios de la calidad visual en los centros de ciudad históricos de diversos contextos urbanos) Adriana Portella (University College London, United Kingdom) This paper focus on the relationship between visual quality of the built environment and commercial signage in historic city centres. It identifies the physical aspects of commercial signs and buildings that should be taken in account in the development of a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres of different urban contexts. This study suggests that while some visual preferences are influenced by users’ urban contexts, others can be universals and applied to define general urban design principles. This study explores whether user perception and evaluation of the number of commercial signs and the percentage of building facade coverage by these media has some influence on (i) user satisfaction with commercial street facades, (ii) user perception and evaluation of order, color variation and complexity, and (iii) user feeling of pleasure and interest in relation to the appearance of commercial streetscapes in historic city centres. The findings (i) show that there are common visual preferences among users from different countries, and (ii) suggest that these can be applied to develop a general approach to control commercial signs in historic city centres. Keyword: Visual quality; commercial signage; historic city centre; user perception and evaluation. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 211 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental Information Enriched Environments for People Patricia Taylor (Independent Scholar) and Robert McGrath (NCSA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL) Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental New technologies (both hardware and software) offer a variety of ways to augment daily life through information enriched environments. These technologies can work through physical installation in intelligent built environments, through on- and offline virtual environments, and through overlaying the virtual on the real environment (also known as Augmented Reality). Many intelligent environments focus on efficiency – e.g., control of building atmosphere, lighting and security. Some technologies offer psychological escape from the local environment (virtual worlds, MMOGs). Other technologies, such as Wi-Fi, allow human interaction across any amount of distance, from face-to-face to global. New possibilities involve information enrichment, not just of buildings, but of outdoor public spaces. Regardless of what the designers, manufacturers, and building owners might mean to do with their technologies, creative (and sometimes subversive) users find new ways to use the equipment, bandwith, etc. for purposes both practical and whimsical. These technical developments raise many significant challenges for environmental psychology and design. How can we combine these technologies to add value to local places and people-centered activities? How can we encourage use by diverse populations? How can we open up the resources to encourage participation, innovation and personalization by interested users? First, we review some recent examples of the ways people are modifying their use of local places through innovative repurposing of available technological capabilities. These include not only individual or group use but ways to allow for several users to enjoy the enhancement together, even if they are strangers to one another. Second, we identify issues regarding the use of technologies and potential place enhancement by different segments of society. For example, can ways be found that not only allow but encourage both teenagers and seniors to participate in extended information capabilities at the local shopping mall? And at the same time? Third, we ask how changes in user behavior in information 212 enriched and Augmented Reality environments might be measured. In summary, we review the questions w have raised and suggest strategies for the future. Keywords: Technology/computer applications, urban (city, suburb, exoburb), interdisciplinary, theory/conceptualization Linking Differences by Finding Common Somatic Experience: Designing from the Consciousness of the Organs (Uniendo diferencias a través de experiencias somáticas comunes: diseñando desde la conciencia de los órganos) Organizer / Presenters: Galen Cranz (University of California, Berkeley, CA) and Jader Tolja (Domus Academy of Design, and Polytecnic of Milan, Milan, Italy) This half day intensive offers the opportunity for participants to experience for themselves an application of “experiential anatomy” to design education. Experiential anatomy comes from movement educator Cohen (1979) and has been applied to design at all scales by two somatic educators (Cranz, 2000; Tolja, 1993) who also teach in architecture, design and landscape departments, one in Milan and one in Berkeley. The theory and history are explained, and then experienced through a carefully crafted sequence of exercises in this workshop, which has been conducted internationally--most recently in Denmark, Slovakia, Spain, and Italy. A measure of the power of the direct phenomenological experience of the organs is a comparison of before and after drawings done in one state of consciousness, ordinary rational thinking, and in a second state of “organ consciousness.” The differences are profound and the process pleasurable. The theory about the linkage between organs and the horizontal plane in environmental design at all scales is discussed, and the application to design pedagogy at all scales from object to building to landscape are explored by the group. Three learning objectives: 1) understand “experiential anatomy;” differentiate ergonomic from somatic perspectives on the body; May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México relate to the triune structure of the brain to the horizontal, vertical, and capital dimensions in design; 2) learn how to design from the point of view of the organs, in this case the kidney; and 3) Explore “organ consciousness” as a form of conflict resolution and integration of opposites. Mutating Third Places (Mutando terceros lugares) Patricia Taylor (Independent Scholar, Illinois Third Places, as defined by Ray Oldenburg (1989), are those public places where people can casually gather or just hang out. However, they are increasingly being invaded by the worlds of work and study as they offer internet connections and as their customers bring along a variety of mobile connectivity devices. This paper explored the changing social scene through observations at local coffee shops. Variables studied includes: location of coffee house (downtown, campus, mall), provision of internet connections, whether the connection was free or not, the number of connectivity devices (computers, mobile phones, etc) being used, the number of face-to-face interactions taking place, and the extent to which people were engaged in both types of interactions. The results, so far, indicate that a layering of work and connection functions has not yet eliminated the faceto-face social functions that Oldenburg argues are so important for sustaining community. Keywords: culture, urban (city, suburb, exoburb), quantitative research Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS): Differences by Age and Sex in Mexican Adolescent and Adult Samples (Percibiendo la escala de restauración (PRS): diferencias por edad y sexo en adolescentes y adultos mexicanos) Joel Martinez Soto and Montero y Lopez-Lena (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) The “Environmental Restoration Experience” refers to the perception of properties of the different scenarios contributing to the psychological adjustment through mitigation of mental fatigue and stress (Coles & Keshavarz, 2006). Restorative environments and Linking Differences / Defining Actions experiences highlight certain characteristics of the places that allow people to relax, unwind, free their minds and distance themselves from the ordinary aspects of everyday life. The environment’s restorative components have been evaluated by the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) (Hartig, Kaiser & Bowler, 1997; Hartig, Korpela, Evans & Garling, 1997). The PRS (T. Hartig, personal communication, February 14th, 2006) was accepted and validated with the Mexican population by Martinez-Soto and Montero (2007). The Mexican version of PRS was called EPRA. This scale is based on the Attention Restoration Theory, which states that a restorative experience has five dimensions: (1) Being Away -BA, (2) FascinationFA, (3) Coherence-COH, (4) Extent-EXT and (5) Compatibility-COM (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). Several studies have shown restorative experiences in children, teenagers and adults (Korpela, 1992; Korpela & Hartig, 1996; Wells, 2000; Wells & Evans, 2003). However, there is little information documenting the impact of the restorative components on the subjects through a life cycle. For this reason, it is important to hypothesize on possible differences in the perception of environment restorativeness based on the person’s age. Thus, in this study, possible differences of EPRA scores are explored, considering the age and gender of the subjects. 109 subjects participated in the research (men, n= 33 and women n= 76, = 24 years old) ordered in three contrast groups: a) 14-18 years (teenagers), b) 20-29 years (young adults) and c) 30-52 years (adults). The consistency indexes of this scale were: COH, α= .70; COM, α= .75; BA, α= .76; FA, α= .81 and EXT, α= .81. It was found that the FA (F= 5.444; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) and ALC (F= 5.523; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) components were more important in the restorativeness for teenagers (FA, = 8.44; ALC, = 7.98) than they were in the restorativeness for young adults (FA, = 7.04; ALC, = 6.45). Also, COM (F= 3.690; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) and ALC (F= 5.523; gl 2, 106; p < 0.05) were significantly more important for teenagers (COM, = 8.35; ALC, = 7.98) than for adults (COM, = 7.15; ALC, = 6.47). Finally, women scored significantly higher in the five dimensions of EPRA when compared to the men. In summary, the psychometric qualities of EPRA were ratified with the Mexican population. The differences in the evaluation of environments based on age and gender were docu- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 213 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental mented, and the relevance of environmental restorativeness as a subject that deserves further research within the Latin American context became obvious. Keywords: cognition, healing environments, restorative environments, quantitative research, preservation/restoration Place Experience: Meaning, Emotional Links and their Influence on Identity Development Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental (Experiencia del lugar: significado, conecciones emocionales y su influencia en el desarrollo de la identidad) J. Antonio Corraliza and Paz Ferrer-Ispizua (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain) Environmental experience is not only a part of everyday experience, but it is one of its core parts, as long as the environment surrounds and takes part in the whole existence of human beings. Even if the attention is not focused on the place, it is experienced and a certain meaning is given to it. To try to define this experience three dimensions are suggested: the first one is related to how much of the environmental experience is related to real experience and how much to imagined, “lived” experience (feelings, cognitions, beliefs, values, symbolism, fantasies, attributions). The second one is related to the nature of the stimulation received or the situation undergone in a particular setting (physical or social). The third one is referred to the kind of environmental set itself, from micro sets (like residential ones) to macro sets (like natural landscapes). Environmental settings or “places” have also great links with emotions and feelings, which become important elements not only of the present experience but of the memories, and can have consequences in peoples’ behavior. These emotional experiences can be positive, negative, neutral or, very commonly, ambivalent or mixed ones, and they have influence in the development of personal identity as well as in psychological and physical well-being. The nature of the emotional experience depends also on its temporal course (long-term and moderately intense vs. critical and highly intense ones). In order to describe the different emotions taken place on a particular place Russell’s affective descriptors are proposed: depressing, exciting, relaxing and stressing emotional experiences. 214 This work intends to go deeper in the understanding of environmental experience and environmental memories, how people perceive they influence their lives through the emotions they elicit and how it is perceived they help to build personal identity. In order to reach these objectives an interview instrument was designed (adapted from Manzo). Emotional significance was also assessed using a graphic instrument and a rating system based on Russell’s affective descriptors. The subjects interviewed were students from an adult program at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, all of them aged more then fifty-five. The preliminary results suggest the perceived importance that certain environmental experiences have on peoples’ lives and the possibility of characterizing those using common categorical patterns. These located experiences seem to be perceived as significant and important on self and social identity development. They also indicate the high complexity of the connections established with different places and the need of further research on the area, specially oriented to relocated population, immigrants and people who have to move from their meaning environments, in general. Key Words: Environmental experience, meaning, environmental settings, memories, emotion. Privacy Regulation and Place Attachment to a Student Residence Hall (Reglamento de privacidad y anexo de colocación en un domitorio de residencia de estudiantes) Nam-Kyu Park and Naz Kaya (University of Florida) Effective use of privacy regulation has been shown to have positive place attachment outcomes in the home (Harris, Brown, & Werner, 1996). The privacy regulation model proposed by Altman (1975) describes privacy as selective control over access to the self or to one’s group. Central to Altman’s privacy model are the constructs of desired privacy, achieved privacy, and optimum level of privacy. Place attachment is defined as a process involved in affective, cognitive, and behavioral bonds between individuals or groups and particular places (Low & Altman, 1992). By linking concepts of privacy regulation and place attachment, a theoretical model was developed by Harris et al. (1996) to study the relationship between the two constructs in the home. Consistent with the May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México study model of Harris et al. (1996), the purpose of this study was: (1) to examine the relationship between privacy needs and place attachment for undergraduate students living in university residence halls, by gender, and duration of time living with a roommate and (2) to investigate the relationship between the desired and achieved levels of privacy by gender and by duration of living with a roommate. The survey was conducted at a large university in the North Central United States. The total sample size was 978 undergraduate students (340 males & 638 females) living in double occupancy (suite-style) rooms. The majority of the participants (71%) had lived in the residence hall with their roommate between seven months and one year, while 17% lived there less than six months, and 12% lived there between one and two years. Multivariate analysis of variance and univariate analysis with LSD test were used to determine the effect on the dependent variables. The result of achieved privacy level showed that there was significant two-way interaction (gender by duration). Male students achieved much higher privacy than did female students the longer they lived with their roommates. For the identity of attachment, there were significant differences for duration by group interaction. The students who felt crowded in their double occupancy rooms had lower identity scores than the students who scored optimum in that range, where the duration of living with a roommate was longer. Also, a significant difference for gender by duration interaction was found on overall place attachment. Male students had higher overall place attachment scores than did female students, when they lived with a roommate for more than one year. The opposite result was found for male students who had lived with a roommate between seven months and one year. Moving to a university residence hall is often a young adult’s first experience of independent living; if the room is double occupancy, it may well be their first time sharing close living quarters with a nonfamily member. Feeling comfortable with the degree of privacy and experiencing feelings of place attachment may mean the difference between the student succeeding in or retreating from dormitory life. Keywords: Privacy, Place attachment, Residence hall, Interior design, Quantitative study Linking Differences / Defining Actions Space of Knowledge: Bridging Architectural and Curatorial Spaces (Espacio de conocimiento: vinculando la arquitectura con los espacios tutelares) Pegah Zamani (Georgia Institute of Technology) Knowledge is thought to be spatially rendered and articulated in museums where gallery layouts are treated as pedagogical devices to organize, present and transmit knowledge. There is a rich body of morphological studies on the pedagogical role of museum which has emerged over the last decades. This interdisciplinary study is aimed at bridging two different but interrelated spatial structures for formation of knowledge in gallery layouts: architectural and curatorial. Architectural and curatorial spaces, with two different operational modes, tend toward homogeneity in generating display space. These two modes deploy their own mechanisms of classification with particular design languages by defining ways of distributing, accessing, seeing and knowing objects. Thus, they bring spatial and conceptual orders to the heterogeneous collection of objects. The study, therefore, interrogates two fundamental and interrelated questions: First, how architects and curators address the display objects and display space; Second, in what ways architectural and curatorial spaces of galleries interact and influence each other and shape an emergent space for presenting and transmitting knowledge. As a case, the study analyses the High Museum of Art (HMA) by Richard Meier in Atlanta, USA, in order to reveal how the potential for the spatial classification of the permanent collection has changed due to different architectural and curatorial stages of the layout modifications. The examination focuses on the three stages of internal transformation of the HMA layout (1983, 1997, 2003) with particular focus on the ways in which the spatial grouping of objects has been transformed. The method consists of three main components including: a morphological analysis of the HMA architectural layouts; an examination of curatorial notes, conceptual maps and objects layouts; and an analogical profile of interactions across the architectural and curatorial organizations. The investigation outlines specific morphological properties of display layouts and applies an analytical diagramming to map the curatorial and architectural spaces. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 215 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Psicología Ambiental The technique, to be more specific, explores whether the same collection of objects, viewed, accessed and displayed by the different architectural and curatorial settings, activates different formations of knowledge. Within multiple intersections across architectural and curatorial spaces, the study offers a preliminary evaluation of the direction of change for embedding knowledge inside the gallery layouts. The findings propose a fundamental shift in architectural and curatorial approaches and in the underlying pedagogical principles. Keywords: Informal pedagogy, Curatorial intentions, Architectural principles, Museum design Stressful Sources Perception in Inhabitants of Mexico City (Percepción de las fuentes de estrés en habitantes de la Ciudad de México) Alfonso Valadez, Cristina Bravo, and José Vaquero (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) Development, creation and fast urbanization has led to an increase in the problems that affect the health of cities inhabitants, some of the psychosocial factors that influence people produce a social environment of uncertainty, anxiety and lack of control, which can be consider example of stress situation. The purpose of study was to identify the sources of stress in a non-probability sample of 200 inhabitants of Mexico City. The assessment was performed using the Urban Stressors Evaluation Scale, which has two sections: stressors and stress levels; and frequency of exposure to stressors, each one sections has reliability through Cronbach’s alpha, 0.9542 and 0.9313, respectively. The situations more stressful were related to crime, public transportation and pollution. Women have a higher stress levels with regard to situations of crime, besides being who are exposed more often to them. We found differences statistically significant in level of stressrelated crime, pollution and behavior of people, married people reported more stress; there are differences statistical in level of stress in situations such as crime, behavior of people, pollution and traffic, people with elementary education reported more increased stress levels compared with those with higher educational levels. With regard to frequency about people are exposed to stressful situations, it was reported those 216 related to environmental pollution, urban distribution and public transportation, occur frequently. It was found differences statistically significant frequency of exposure to situations involving people’s behavior and demonstrations, married people reported more often this type of situation. Regard to schooling, we found differences statistically significant in how often reported situations such as pollution, behavior of people, demonstrations and crime, people with elementary educational level refer most frequently exposed to these situations, compared with those with educational medium and higher levels. In conclusion, data found most stressful situations are linked to factors associated with crime, (v.g. to think a loved one can be a victim of it), which may explain why married people are more stressed for this reason that the single people. The inhabitants of large cities are exposed to many situations which generate stress; they linked to satisfaction of needs, such as transportation and the number of hours that residents of large cities invest in moving from one place to another. Accordingly, its necessary identify intervention areas in the built environment, to prevent and or reduce the impacts on health and human behavior. Keywords: Urban Stress perception, stressful situations, stress levels. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Neuropsychology An Overview of Courthouse Design Research Debajyoti Pati (HKS Architects, Dallas, TX) The presentation will focus on three recently conducted studies on courthouses. Two of the inquiries attempted to identify the environmental correlates of the abstract notion of openness. Openness as an ideology surfaced in contemporary courthouse design as an attempt to bridge a perceived divide between the State and the citizens. The first study focused on identifying the clients’ (judges, designers) intentions in infusing openness in courthouse architecture and ways the intentions were translated into built forms. It was found that openness was conceived and interpreted in six different ways, resulting in multiple means of portraying it through architecture. Studying the impact of the clients’ intentions on building users constituted the objective of the second study. Using a survey methodology, 108 courthouse users were solicited to assess the openness of their courthouse in three federal projects. The findings suggested that only two of the six interpretations of openness by clients were meaningful to building users. The third study addressed the issue of functional courtrooms using user evaluation data from 31 state superior courts in Georgia. Multivariate analyses of environmental and user data suggested key courtroom attributes that significantly impact task performance and symbolic rendition of courtrooms. Architecture and the Neuroscience of Courthouse Design (El diseño arquitectónico: y neurociencia y diseño de la corte) Jay Farbstein (Jay Farbstein & Associates, California) The presentation will report on a workshop sponsored by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) and the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA). The workshop explored the application of neuroscience concepts and methods to understanding the impact of courthouse design on judges, staff, victims, offenders, and other users. It brought together neuroscientists, court administrators, court planners, and architects who design courthouses. The workshop considered the potentials for applying Linking Differences / Defining Actions and developing knowledge that can improve the safety, humanity and effectiveness of courthouses by defining a neuroscience-based research program to be carried out in courthouse settings. The workshop reviewed neuroscience concepts as they apply to the way architectural environments are perceived and looked at specific research topics in the areas of wayfinding, the impact of natural light and views of nature, the relative location of participants in the courtroom, including the height of judge’s bench and its impact on perceived status & interaction, and on the image and symbolism of the courthouse. Neuropsychology and the Environment Establishing the Right to be Neuro-Diverse, Other Sensing and the Creation of Criteria for Neuro-Accessibility Workshop (Estableciendo el derecho a ser neuro-diverso, con otro sentido y creando criterio para neuro-sensibilidad - taller) Organizers: Sarah Clemerson (University of Essex, United Kingdom) Dorit Ben Shalom (Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience Ben Gurion, University of the Negev) and David Morris (Mayor’s Senior Policy Adviser for Disability and Deaf Equality, London) Worldwide, with increasing use of the internet, those on the autistic spectrum are demanding to have their sensory rights and neurodiversity to be accepted on an equal basis with those whom they term neurotypical. In the United Kingdom there is an increasing striving towards social inclusion and respecting both cultural diversity and local distinctiveness in terms of both landscape and community. As part of this move, person-centred planning and the holding of individual budgets for care by those with various impairments as well as supported living for those who need additional support is gaining momentum. David Morris will argue that “....everybody is on a spectrum of difference. Normality is an illusion. A mirage of perfection and people strive towards it, driven by the fear of isolation and consequently label and stigmatise those people with different abilities.” Ken Livingstone speaking at Disability Capital, October 2007 argues ‘If we remove hurdles for some people we remove hurdles for the rest of us’. This debate has added impetus with Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 217 Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Neuropsychology Psicología Ambiental Neurociencia Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Neuropsychology Psicología Ambiental Neurociencia preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012. Our intention is to run a morning intensive workshop. David Morris will do a presentation on the right to be neurodiverse, Dr Dorit Ben Shalom; cognitive neuroscientist will review work in relation to sensory processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Sarah Clemerson; Landscape Architecture Student and Assisted Living support worker will present her application of these theories as design criteria to three projects created as part of her Master’s dissertation. Then we envisage questions followed by a discussion of examples of attendee’s projects, the limitations and possibilities of this approach and how as design professionals we can create a design development continuum to promote and sustain neuro-accessibility. All three of us are informed by the social model of disability rather than a medicalised curative one. Sensory processing and integration issues are not particular to autism; other researchers such as U.K. based research optometrist. Ian Jordan argues that 25% of the population have 10 or more undiagnosed symptoms of sensory impairment (Jordan, 01/05/07). Therefore we will argue that the understanding and acceptance of the perception of the world by people on the spectrum, creates criteria for enabling for a far wider group. Key words: Sensory perception, social model of disability, neuro-diversity, applied design References Jordan, I. (01/05/07) Your Head Has Disappeared, You Smell Strange and I Want to Take My Clothes Off. Blinded By the Light Conference: Lincoln. Neuroscience Approaches to Understanding Wayfinding in the Courthouse Richard Wener (Polytechnic University, New York) Wayfinding issues are particularly appropriate for discussions of neuropsychological responses to the environment because they are, on the one hand, so fundamental to the experience of a place and, on the other so clearly related to studied neural processes and mechanisms. Wayfinding is commonly the first part of any person’s experience with a setting. In courthouses, the focus of this workshop, it may be particularly relevant because often they are large, 218 imposing and complex. Whether or not getting to the facility is easy or difficult, finding ones way into and through entryways, halls, elevators and numbering systems to the desired place is often frustrating and confusing. In addition, wayfinding in a complex environment is made more difficult by stress - which reduces one’s ability to engage on complex cognitive processes, and first time visitors are typically under considerable stress in these settings, complicated by the pressures of their legal proceedings. Neuropsychological advances have increased understanding of how and where these functions occur in the brain and also provide increasingly sophisticated means for monitoring and measuring response to environmentally related stresses. Toward an Environmental Neuropsychology: Neuroscience and Courthouse Design (Hacia un ambiente neurosicológico: neurociencia y diseño de la corte) Organizer: Debajyoti Pati (HKS Architects, Texas). Presenters: Debajyoti Pati (HKS Architects, Texas), Jay Farbstein (Jay Farbstein & Associates, California), Richard Wener (Polytechnic University, New York), Melissa Farling (Jones Studio, Arizona), Dr. Eve Edelstein (Snr. Vice President, HMC Architects, San Diego, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture) Since its inception as an interdisciplinary branch of intellectual inquiry, neuroscience-in-architecture has been offering innovative objective techniques to study unique environmental design problems. Incidentally, this development is coinciding with an emerging interest on the part of architectural clients in understanding the down-stream impacts of design decisions on key parameters of interest. Among the settings of intellectual pursuit by environmental design researchers are justice facilities, where there is an increasing awareness among court designers, administrators and researchers of the need to create “functional environments” for the stakeholders (victim, juror, offender, judge, community and staff). Such functions include those that are instrumental to justice delivery as well as the symbolic portrayal of the fundamental essence of the judiciary and the May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México State. The conflicting requirements and complexities involved could easily make the judicial process extremely stressful to the users. In addition, stress resulting from the litigation itself (violent and non-violent crime, divorce, bankruptcy, custody, etc.) and the physical environment (light, color, noise, orientation, etc.) could render the judicial experience distressing. In the pursuit of designing a less harrowing judicial experience (courts as regenerative spaces, producing hope), some of the challenges to justice facility designers and researchers are in comprehending abstract constructs, and finding objective means of assessing the impacts of alternative design ideas. Moreover, with societies around the world getting increasingly multi-cultural as a result of economic globalization, experiences associated with the procedural and symbolic aspects of courthouses are increasing in complexity. Several previously held symposiums and workshops explored the potential of neuroscience research designs and methodologies in addressing similar challenging issues in the context of healthcare architecture and correctional facilities. This symposium will build on the previous knowledge to explore an environmental neuropsychology approach to courthouse design. The symposium will begin with a presentation of three recent courthouse research studies that will outline the key issues and constructs dealt with in contemporary courthouse and courtroom design. Subsequently, results from a recently conducted workshop on neuroscience and courthouse design sponsored by the Academy of Architecture for Justice will be discussed, specifically focusing on lighting and wayfinding. The symposium will conclude with an open discussion on: 1) environmental correlates of stressful experiences in courthouse settings, and 2) potential means of objectively measuring neurological correlates of physiological and perceptual/experiential parameters. The symposium will include four presentations totaling 45 minutes. The remaining 45 minutes will be opened up for audience participation in the discussions. The discussant of the symposium will be an eminent neuroscientist, Dr. Eve Edelstein, Associate of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. Dr. Edelstein will contribute by suggesting/ elaborating on objective measures of neurological Linking Differences / Defining Actions correlates of physiological and perceptual/experiential parameters, among other topics. Presentations include: • An Overview of Courthouse Design; • Architecture and the Neuroscience of Courthouse Design; and • Neuroscience Approaches to Understanding Wayfinding in the Courthouse. Key words: Stress, wayfinding, justice, architecture, neuroscience Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Thematic Abstracts Environmental Psychology Neuropsychology Psicología Ambiental Neurociencia 219 Health Environments Are Hospitals Stress Generators? A predictive model of stress in the case of cancer patients Adina Dumitru and Patricia Ortega-Andeane, (School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud Environmental psychology has long studied the influence of the built environment on its users. Previous studies identify certain factors of the physical and social environment that influence the stress level of users and the functionality degree of the space. (Ulrich & Zimring, 2004). The environment can either facilitate/support the behavioral needs of users or it can hinder the achievement of objectives, thus creating stress. Stress, defined as the process in which environmental demands exceed the coping abilities of an organism, producing different biological and psychological changes which are associated with strong coping demands (Cohen, Kessler y Underwood, 1997), is particularly relevant in the case of cancer patients, whose coping resources are already diminished by their health situation. Among determinants of stress we considered the ones proposed by Reizenstein, Grant and Simmons (1986): physical comfort, social contact, symbolic significance, orientation and way-finding. The present paper seeks to test a causal model of stress, in which the exogenous variables refer to the physical and social environment and include physical space perception, negative physical evaluation, functionality of space, human quality of attention and trust in and safety of the medical attention. The setting was a general hospital in Mexico City dedicated to women, and the data were collected in two areas of the hospital: a general waiting room and the two hospitalization rooms from the Oncology section. The sample was constituted from 116 women with a diagnosis of cancer, half in ambulatory treatment and half hospitalized. 51 % of the women were married, 32 % were single and the others were widows, divorced or in a partnership. The majority of them (75 %) were unemployed. We used the Environmental Evaluation Scale, designed by Ortega et al (2000) to collect data on the perceptions of physical and social environment 220 factors and an adapted version of King, Burrows and Stanley’s Stress/Arousal Adjective Checklist (1993) to measure stress. We used structural equations modeling. Our model shows that the negative physical evaluation, trust in and safety of the medical attention and functionality are direct predictors of stress. It also shows very interesting mediating mechanisms of stress generation in the case of cancer patients. The results were very satisfactory in the sense that they show a very good fit of the data to the model (GFI = 0.98; AGFI = 0.94). We conclude with a few recommendations to improve the environment of hospitals. Keywords: stress, cancer, women, hospital, evaluation Chemotherapy Area Design Research: Implications for the Design of Consolidated Cancer Care Centers (Investigación para el diseño de áreas de quimioterapia: implicaciones para el diseño de centros de cuidados contra el cáncer consolidados) Nicholas Watkins (Cannon Design) Chemotherapy patients can experience side effects from treatment including reduced quality of life, increased anxiety, vomiting, nausea, and longterm psychosocial challenges. The environment of a chemotherapy bay might serve as a stressor contributing to patients’ side effects and perceived treatment progress. Yet, (to this researcher’s knowledge) no one has attempted to measure the impact of the chemotherapy bay environment on the patient experience. An ongoing study examines chemotherapy bay environments as contributors to patients’ chemotherapy experiences by exploring how patients perceive and respond to specific features of chemotherapy bay environments. These features include private chemotherapy bays, communal chemotherapy bays, ambient conditions, amenities, other patients, staff responsiveness, and availability and proximity to a window. The longitudinal, cross-comparison study has consisted of pre- and post-occupancy measurements using the Chemotherapy Area Design Survey (CADS), a questionnaire specifically created for the study. The CADS asks patients to evaluate their current chemotherapy session relative the room and its surround- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México ings, what they did during treatment, the presence of guests and other patients, and overall experience. This presentation includes a description of the chemotherapy experience, a discussion of the design aspects of chemotherapy environments, and a description of the study’s findings thus far. Research findings have implications for the planning and design of consolidated cancer care centers consisting of treatment areas, clinic spaces, counseling spaces, and spaces for radiation oncology. Keywords: Chemotherapy, chemotherapy bay, consolidated cancer care, radiation oncology Designing for Addiction Recovery: Reflections from an Architectural Case Study (Diseñando para la recuperación de la adicción: reflexiones de un estudio de caso arquitectónico ) Brian Schermer, Caitlin Boyle, Emi Kiyota (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee), Newton D’Souza (University of Missouri – Columbia), and Matt Jarosz (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee) This paper discusses and architectural case study that affords a unique opportunity to better understand how physical places are implicated in addiction recovery. The Milwaukee Alano Foundation is a club and drop-in center for recovering alcoholics. As the owners of a historic, but rundown residence, the members sought assistance from the authors to renovate the building. The authors proceeded to conduct scenario planning, assessment of organizational and architectural fit, pre-design programming, and schematic design. These activities paralleled, in a very real sense, the kind of critical self-inventory and removal of character defects associated with addiction recovery. In addition, while places can support and enhance recovery through instrumental and symbolic mean, they can also play a dual role as both the object and instrument of recovery. In other words, people recovering from substance abuse, as suggested by this case study, may seek to rehabilitate their physical setting in order to rehabilitate themselves. The case study also suggests that ownership and control over places for recovery can be a critical factor in recovering from substance abuse. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Empowering the Caregivers through Inclusive Design: An Autobiographical Essay (Dando poder a quienes dan cuidados a través de diseño inclusivo: un ensaño autobiográfico) Rula Awwad-Rafferty (University of Idaho) “Nearly 45 million Americans are caring for ailing adult family members. More than 60% of these caregivers are women” (Berman, 2005). Increasingly resources are made available nationwide for caregivers to assist them in their roles, however, one critical area remains inadequately addressed: what role does the built environment play in enhancing or hindering caregivers’ role, health, and independence. This paper presentation underscores the importance and means of empowering and addressing needs of caregivers through design and participatory action process. Process/Contexts - Caregiving means caring for others, whether friends or relatives, who have health problems or disabilities and need help in their daily activities and tasks, from grocery shopping to helping with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Many caregivers struggle to balance caregiving with other responsibilities including full-time jobs and caring for children. Constant stress can lead to “burnout” and health problems for the caregiver. Caregivers may feel guilty, frustrated, and angry from time to time. The Built Environment: Empowering and Forever an Anchor - It is a very difficult and emotionally charged undertaking to revisit an event that has changed one’s life so absolutely and to explore its depths and turns with a disciplined professional mindset. The content here are autobiographical, they deal with a drastic life change for both husband and wife; a change that in many ways demanded much attention, flexibility, readjustment, learning, more readjustment, and certainly strength to move forward and hope. Prior to beginning, the following poem was shared by a friend, it is very characteristic of many of those caregiving stories; the vigilance, the independence, the ;letting go, and the anxiety. I have started this reflection with a story and will end with another. Shortly after Dan was injured, we were asked to complete a questionnaire. One question asked about changes in social life and changes in quality of life. Dan’s answer was that both were a zero, since he “had gone from something to NOTHING”. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 221 Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud Fast forward a couple of years later, we met a couple after the husband became quadriplegic. That young man recently passed away after some severe complications. Dan’s response when he heard the news was “that is too bad; he would have had a great life once he got through this”. Yes, we will fully live our next many years together, each day will be a little different, each day may bring some challenges, but we will have many victories along the way, and for that we are grateful. Today, caregiving is much more than a personal family issue. It is the issue of our age because it will sooner or later affect every family in America and we are underprepared, either as individuals or as a society, to deal with it. This reflection is aimed to give pause to the significant power our environments, built, social, political, and economic have on people’s abilities to persevere, and on the overall notion of self and community membership. Environmental Evaluation of Hospital Waiting Rooms: Relationships of psychoenvironmental variables Patricia Ortega-Andeane and Cesareo Estrada-Rodriguez (School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) According to some theories (Canter and Canter, 1979), physical environment can play a decisive role in the effective functioning of hospitals, since it can help promote patient recuperation and staff activity and offer a comfortable, secure, and well-attended stay for users. In order for environmental characteristics to function for and not against therapeutic work, it is necessary to pay attention not only to architectural design but also to psychological concepts, which can define the difference between a positive and a negative environment. In this sense, Environmental Psychology has generated substantial information to improve the design of hospitals, supported by systematic findings, which analyze and evaluate the interaction of human relationships between environment and behavior. Rubin and Owens (1995), as well as Ulrich and Zimring (2004), have reviewed studies on the impact of physical environment in hospitals and reached the conclusion that most studies accept the hypothesis that environmental effects on patient health do exist. Shumaker and Pequegnat (1989) maintain that 222 environmental organization and hospital design can directly affect patient recuperation or the well-being of users in two ways: one is the obstruction of effective and immediate provision of healthcare, since, from the patient’s point of view, the hospital layout interferes with the movements necessary for prompt healthcare; this is supported by the results reported by Reizenstein, Grant, and Simmons (1986) and Shumaker and Reizenstein (1982). On the other hand, physical features such as deficient lighting, excessive noise, inadequate localization of medical equipment, or large distances between related areas can indirectly hinder immediate attention and create a stressful environment for users. In the present study we identified the relationships of air humidity and noise, both measured objectively with specific equipment, with stress perception, measured exhaustion, and physical evaluation with self-reporting instruments, in addition to delay time, in 253 patients who waited for care at three waiting rooms in a public hospital for women in Mexico city. Patients answered the Environmental Evaluation Scale and the Checklist of Adjectives for Stress and Activation. While they were answering them, noise and humidity levels in all waiting rooms were measured every 30 minutes during working hours. The results identified significant relationships between the physical evaluation of waiting rooms and humidity, noise levels, stress perception, exhaustion, and time of delay; there were also significant differences in physical evaluation among the three waiting rooms. In a specific way, when patients evaluated their environment negatively there were objectively observable worse physical conditions of humidity and higher noise levels; at the same time, they reported a high level of stress and exhaustion and longer waiting times before their medical consultation. The conclusions emphasize the need to reduce adverse environmental conditions that pose a threat to the process of recuperation in patients. Keywords: Hospitals, stress, women, noise, air humidity. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México From Bench to Bed: Do the Design of Transitional and Interdisciplinary Research Facilities Contribute to Scientific Discovery and Improved Healthcare? (De la banca a la cama: ¿el diseño de investigación transicional e interdisciplinaria contribuye al descubrimiento científico y cuidado de la salud mejorado?) Nicholas Watkins and Jeanne Qiu (Cannon Design) Translational research involves scientific investigations that pair discoveries in the laboratory with insights from clinical research and practice. Research follows a bench-to-bed cycle where observations in the clinic can guide innovation in the laboratory and vice versa. Patients benefit from participating in clinical trails that discover cures and prevent diseases. Researchers benefit from accessibility to patients and faster pharmaceutical and treatment development. Consequently, innovations in treatment keep up with staggering advances in research and technology in laboratories. Translational research leads to nontraditional research collaborations and roles. It is projected that nanobiotech research will be a $1 trillion dollar industry by 2015. Academic institutions and corporate industries are partnering up to supplement each other’s resources and to share significant profits. Translational research requires collaboration among researchers from various backgrounds. Interdisciplinary teams approach one problem from several facets by using multiple techniques and disciplines. These may include genomics, proteomics, cell biology, molecular biology, imaging, biomedical engineering, synthetic biochemistry, high-throughput genotyping and broad transcriptional profiling. Design may facilitate the discoveries that develop from impromptu conversations and interdisciplinary collaborations. Collaborations can occur in write-up areas, at the lab bench, and the in the kitchen and cafeteria areas. Conference rooms accommodate formal collaborations, while break rooms, lounges, coffee bars and lunch rooms accommodate informal collaborations. However, there can be tradeoffs. Open laboratories might contribute to improved collaborations and safety, but create noise detrimental to private work requiring quiet and concentration. Transparency Linking Differences / Defining Actions afforded by window views and glass walls might reinforce collaboration among neighboring researchers, orient researchers to the outside world and provide daylight. Yet, this transparency might create distractions with conducting focused research. These are just a few of the considerations designers and facilities managers address when creating facilities that attract and retain top research talent. This presentation will define translationsl and interdisciplinary research, and share research findings from ongoing mixed-methods facility evaluations of multiple translationsl and interdisciplinary research facilities. In doing so, the presentation will explore if and how facility designs impact scientific discovery and the contribution of environmental psychology research to the programming of research environments. Keywords: Translationsl research, bench-to-bed cycle, laboratory, interdisciplinary collaboration. Hospital Environments, Image and Stress in Women Symposium (Simposio sobre ambientes hospitalarios, imagen y stress en mujeres) Organizer: Patricia Ortega-Andeane (School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) The role of the physical environment in reducing or increasing patients’ stress in hospital settings is crucial in countries like Mexico, where demand for inexpensive care is excessive, and especially when the environment in public hospitals interferes with the primary activities of their primary users, patients. Considering that the lack of fit between environmental properties and personal needs may induce stress, by creating demands that exceed the person’s capacity to cope, in this symposium we present three papers that exemplify the effects of the impact of physical environment in waiting rooms and patients’ rooms on the perception of stress and exhaustion in women of low socioeconomic levels. The symbolic qualities of the environment, in other words the perception of quality, safety, and confidence in medical services, and their mediating role in generating stress in patients, are also identified as part of the evaluation of physical environment. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 223 Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud We will focus particularly on the sociodemographic characteristics of the subjects in the three studies in terms of their low social and educational level, as well as the reasons for their hospitalization, which include gynecological conditions and cancer. The symposium will seek to reinforce our knowledge of the importance of reducing adverse environmental conditions which, as occurs with stress, if they are not addressed prolong or exacerbate illness or represent threats to the process of recuperation in patients who are hospitalized or required to wait for long periods of time before they receive care. Presentations include “Environmental Evaluation of Hospital Waiting Rooms: Relationships of psychoenvironmental variables”, “Are Hospitals Stress Generators? A predictive model of stress in the case of cancer patients”. and “The Image of a Public Obstetric Hospital”. The Image of a Public Obstetric Hospital (Imagen de un hospital público de obstetricia) Beatriz Vazquez-Romero and Patricia OrtegaAndeane (School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) The image of the place is influenced by the circumstances in which they find the subject, as well as their personality traits and environmental characteristics of the setting, this image influences the behavior and expectations about itself. In general the image of many public hospitals in Mexico is negative because of the waiting time and the quality of its services, particularly in the area of outpatient. The objective of this study was to research the institutional image that had a group of women interned in an obstetric hospital. The sample included 200 women from lower middle class and poor, they were hospitalized for emergency for the birth of their son or abortion, they all shared the hospital room with more than three people and were interned for two days. In this study were applied to) a questionnaire data general hospital and b) a scale of institutional image designed by Ortega-Andeane (2000) in which it is measured confidence in the safety and quality medical service; environmental evaluation comprised by functionality and spatial perception and perceived stress in the rooms. The validity of the scale was obtained through a factor analysis with varimax rotation with eigen values greater than unity, 224 explained 42% of the total variance, comprising the factor 1 “Confidence in the safety and quality medical service” explains 25% of variance and has a reliability Alpha .93; the factor 2 “Stress perceived” explains the 7% of variance and has a reliability of .81 and the factor 3 “Environmental evaluation” explains the 6% of variance with a reliability of .79. The results showed that most patients had a favorable image of the hospital, it is recognized and recommended by their families because of the good quality of medical care and the low cost of their services. The physical aspect is not very important charged at the time of the image of the place, only 34% said that the settlement, comfort and tranquility in the room itself influenced their hospital stay. Nor any woman perceived crowding in the room. As for the stress, patients reported a high level in relation to his personal life but is not related to environmental stress of the place, it is worth noting that the patients suffered from anxiety it by the state health suffered their roommates. It is concluded that in this group of women patients is favorable institutional image mainly because there is a great satisfaction with the medical care they receive during their hospitalization. We discuss the results from other studies that have been made in the image hospital in Mexico and the environmental aspects that relate with it. Keywords: hospital, women, image, stress, evaluation. Impacts of Different Patient Room Configurations on Patient Care Activities in Adult Medical-Surgical Units (Impactos de diferentes configuraciones de habitaciones de pacientes en actividades de cuidado de adultos en unidades médicoquirúrgicas) Debajyoti Pati and Tom Harvey (HKS Architects, Texas) Patient room configuration is a critical topic in healthcare design since it constitutes the setting where most of the care process occurs. A typical issue considered during the initial phases of bed unit design pertains to the location of patient toilet/shower. More specifically, decision-making focuses on whether to locate patient toilet/shower on the corridor wall (inboard), window wall (outboard) or create a nested May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México arrangement. Another decision relates to toilet/shower location on the headwall (the wall with medical gases) versus the footwall (the wall opposite the medical gases). The decisions are, however, typically taken in a non-systematic manner, with only a handful of issues taken into consideration in design decision-making. Such considerations include patient’s visual access to the outdoors/nature, the caregivers’ ability to monitor patient conditions, or accommodation of family members in the patient room. With the current massive investment into bed tower design and construction, understanding the trade-offs associated with each option, systematically, constitutes an important step in designing an ideal environment for patients as well as care givers. With that objective, a symposium was organized in HKS, Inc. office in Dallas, Texas in May 2007. The symposium was attended by clinicians, patient, patient advocate, educators, and healthcare designers from Integris Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City, M D Anderson, Houston, University of Texas at Arlington School of Nursing, and HKS Architects. Six typical patient room layouts were used in the symposium. Only adult medicalsurgical units were considered since such units are the most common inpatient units across all hospital types – rural, suburban, and urban hospitals as well as in general hospitals and centers of excellence. A total of 23 issues were identified as being affected by the location of toilet/shower in patient rooms. The issues can be classified into six (not mutually exclusive) groups: 1) patient safety, 2) staff efficiency, 3) circulation, 4) patient consideration, 5) infection control, and 6) family consideration. Each issue was discussed in details, and symposium participants were asked to rank the issues, individually, in their order of importance. In addition, the participants rated each of the six room configurations along each of the 24 issues or criteria. The data collected from the ranking and rating exercises were analyzed using simple descriptive statistical techniques. Data analyses focused on two major topics: 1) the priorities of clinicians and healthcare designers in patient room design, and 2) the perceived comparative performance of different room configuration options. This presentation will discuss the 23 criteria in details, and review the key findings from the data analyses. Keywords: healing environments, hospital, architecture, interiors Linking Differences / Defining Actions “Impressive!” Credentials, Family Photographs, and the Perception of Therapist Qualities (“¡¡Impresionante!!” Credenciales, fotografías familiares, y la percepción de las cualidades terapéuticas) Ann Devlin, Sarah Donovan, Arianne Nicolov, Olivia Nold, Andrea Packard, and Gabrielle Zandan (Connecticut College) Attention has been given to the role of décor as it affects various kinds of social and personality judgments for over 50 years (e.g., Maslow & Mintz, 1956; Heppner & Pew, 1977). The present study assesses the impact of credentials displayed on the wall of a therapist’s office that participants view in a projected image. Earlier researchers had displayed a maximum of 5 credentials (Heppner & Pew, 1977). Here, that number has been increased to nine, viewed as a reasonable test of the question about the limits to which the number of credentials has a positive effect. Participants were 177 students at a small liberal arts college in the Northeast. Six conditions (2, 4, or 9 credentials displayed, with or without 2 family photographs) were created. Participants rated a total of 32 characteristics, each on a 9-point rating scale. Each of the first 14 characteristics was presented with an appropriate lead-in stem, for example “With this person’s schedule, making an appointment to see this person would be” 1) very easy to 9) very difficult. The next 18 items were bipolar adjectives on a 9-point scale where the survey stated “Please indicate how you view this person on the following scales.” Background characteristics and a manipulation check were included. The 32 ratings were subjected to a principal components analysis with varimax rotation. Twenty-seven items loaded on three factors that were labeled Qualifications, Friendliness, and Energy. A 3 (number of credentials) x 2 (presence or absence of family pictures) factorial Manova was conducted. The analysis for the number of credentials was significant, Wilks’s Lambda = .789, F(6, 338) = 7.07, p < .001. Univariate findings for the number of credentials showed significant differences for both the Qualifications factor, F(2, 171) = 10.88, p < .001 and the Energy factor, F(2, 171) = 16.42, p < .001. Tukey post hoc tests for the Qualifications factor indicated that the 2-credential condition differed significantly from both the 4- and 9-credential conditions. Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 225 Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud For the Energy factor, the 2-credential condition again differed significantly from the 4- and 9-credential conditions, and 4-credential condition differed significantly from the 9-credential condition as well. For both of these factors, Qualifications and Energy, the greater the number of credentials, the more positive (lower) the ratings. Supporting the findings from earlier studies, the results here indicate that displaying diplomas and other indicators of competence has a positive effect on people’s judgments of a therapist’s qualifications. A display of such credentials also affects people’s assessment of the energy or dynamism of the therapist (e.g., being active rather than passive, bold rather than timid, forceful rather than forceless). Thus, credentials appear to provide an important indicator of the professional competence of the therapist and his or her professional strivings. Many states require practitioners to display their licenses. The display of a license alone might be considered a “minimalist” approach. Displaying many credentials appears to send the message that the practitioner is not only qualified, but very qualified, and also a person who has demonstrated energy with regard to the pursuit of success in his or her career. Keywords: healthcare, aesthetics, psychology, experiment Privacy and Territoriality in Cancer Patients (Privacidad y territorialidad en pacientes con cáncer) Maricela Irepan and Patricia Ortega-Andeane (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) Privacy, understood as selective control of access to oneself or the group to which one belongs (Altman, 1975), is an issue of great importance for the hospital environment, considering that when a patient is interned in a room with other patients, it means that she must remain in constant contact with others, whether she wants to or not, and therefore will lack the ability to maintain an adequate level of privacy. Ulrich et al. (2006) affirm that privacy depends on the opportunities provided by our physical surroundings and the circumstances that make us seek privacy, for which people use various psychological mechanisms to find and maintain an acceptable and effective balance of privacy desired and privacy achieved. When 226 the former clearly outweighs the latter, it produces a perception of overcrowding and invasion of personal space with the resulting behavioral manifestations and psychosocial costs. For this study we interviewed 72 female cancer patients, with ages between 18 and 70 years, interned in a specialized public hospital. The interviews were conducted in three kinds of rooms: private, semiprivate, and public, applying the Ortega-Andeane Environmental Evaluation Scale (2002), consisting of 31 items with 10 answer options, where zero indicates total disagreement with the question and 10 indicates total agreement. For the purposes of this study we discuss only the two factors related to the topic of interest with the corresponding percentage of explained variance and reliability coefficient, resulting from factorial and reliability analyses: Privacy 10% (α=.61) and Territoriality 9% (α=.64). The results obtained by means of “t” tests show statistically significant differences in relation to perception of privacy and educational background, with persons without schooling reporting an average of 7.72 and those with schooling an average of 6.42 (t70 p= 0.05); as regards the relationship between privacy and subjects’ places of origin, those who lived in the Mexico City area obtained an average of 5.83, compared with those from other parts of Mexico, who scored 7.24 (t70 p=0.38); as regards privacy compared with density, subjects with private rooms obtained an average of 9.26 and those in rooms with more than two patients 6.30 (t70 p=0.058). In the case of territoriality, we also found the same pattern of significant differences (t70 p=0.053), in other words a higher average for those with private rooms (8.7) compared with those in shared rooms (7.2). In other words, patients with more schooling who lived in Mexico City and were interned in shared rooms reported a greater need for privacy and territoriality, compared with unschooled people, who live elsewhere and were interned in private rooms. The discussion revolves around the consequences for patients in situations of extreme physical and emotional frailty, as occurs in the case of cancer and its relationship with the environment. Keywords: Hospitals, privacy, territoriality, health, women. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Restorative Properties of a Therapeutic Environment (Propiedades restaurativas de un ambiente terapéutico) Rocio Estela and Patricia Ortega-Andeane (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) The most common idea people have of a hospital is that it should provide care and attention to persons who have lost the ability to handle the demands of everyday life; however, it is not always so. According to Canter and Canter (1979), the physical environment can play a decisive role in the effective functioning of hospitals, as it can favor patients’ recovery and staff activities, with the added benefit of offering a comfortable, safe, and well attended stay for their different users. Due to the sensitivity of patients and their companions during hospitalization, environmental factors can calm, cheer, and even further the recuperation of a patient or, on the contrary, can represent sources of added stress and prolong illness (Ortega, 2005). If a hospital’s goal is to cure disease and promote health and well being, then environmental factors that favor recuperation also need to be taken into consideration. Recent investigations have evaluated design characteristics in different settings that tend to reduce the effects of environmental stress in users, many of which have been found to promote “restorative environments”. Restoration involves a renewal of resources and abilities that have been diminished through experiences that offer the subject the opportunity to reduce the fatigue produced by direct care, through visual exposure to natural settings or the experience of being in them (Hartig, 2003; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989). The goal of the present study was to evaluate patients’ perception of the restorative nature of environmental qualities in an hospital.The investigation was conducted in a public hospital specialized in cancer, applying an adapted version of the Hartig’s Perceived Restorativeness Scale (1996) to 72 hospitalized female patients. The scale was applied in two types of rooms: private and shared with one or two patients. The scale was made up of 17 items with seven answer options, ranging from agree totally to disagree totally. Three valid factors were obtained: abstraction, exploration, and coherence, with an explained variance of 56.30 and reliability of α=0.71. The results indicated differences between patients who were in private rooms and Linking Differences / Defining Actions those who were accompanied; specifically the perception of exploration in the setting was worse for those who were alone (average score 3.4) and better for those who were accompanied by one or two other patients (average score 4.9) (t70 , p= .003); in other words, patients who lacked privacy preferred to examine their surroundings, moved about them more easily, identified reference points to move about, and wanted to get to know their surroundings more than those who were in private rooms. The results are analyzed in the light of existing knowledge of restorative environments in therapeutic settings and their benefits for internees. Keywords: Hospitals, restorative environments, women with cancer, health, privacy. The Healing Garden Designed for Active Use: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of the Rooftop Therapy Park (El jardin curativo diseñado para uso activo: una evaluación post-ocupacional de la parte superior del parque de terapia) Brad Davis (University of Georgia) Considerable research supports the theory that the inclusion of green spaces within health care contexts is beneficial to multiple user groups (Ulrich, 1984). Marcus and Barnes (1995) describes the healing benefits of hospital gardens and identifies common obstacles to their success. Much work has focused on passive garden use rather than active. Research is needed of healing gardens serving an active user population. This study uses a post occupancy evaluation to identify the successes and shortcomings of a rooftop hospital garden designed for patients of a physical and mental rehabilitation center. The Center admits patients ranging in age from toddler to senior citizen who have suffered trauma such as stroke or accident and receive individualized physical and cognitive therapies. Patient stay is often three months or longer. The study garden is heavily programmed to provide outdoor physical therapy, while also considering the mental, social, and spiritual user needs. The park was constructed on an existing rooftop many years after the initial hospital construction. Questions posed by this study include: To what extent is the garden adequate for walking and active Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 227 Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud uses? Does the layout provide comfortable social and private spaces? What are user’s perceptions of the value of various park elements? What issues result from the addition of the park years after main hospital campus construction? The following methods were used to answer these and other questions: Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud 1) Behavioral observation and mapping: garden use was mapped over a period of one week during seasonally pleasant daytime temperatures and anticipated increased garden use. Twenty-eight patients, visitors, and staff were observed and mapped. 2) Interviews: telephone and personal interviews were conducted with the lead therapist and garden designer. 3) Staff Survey: twenty-five of sixty Center staff participated. 4) Patient Questionnaire: twenty-three out of fortyfive patients were identified by Center staff as cognitively capable of participating. Of these, twelve were given the thirty to forty-five minute questionnaire. Using Zeisel’s framework, data sets were analyzed for convergence (Zeisel, 1984). Analysis reveals many issues to be addressed in the design of future healing gardens, specifically those with programs of active use. The results suggest that: A) Incompatibility of active/passive space requires resolution; B) The hospital masterplanning process must be driven by a holistic view of healing; C) Garden placement within the campus is critical in optimizing user wayfinding, accessibility, and use; D) Human perceptions of garden elements become heightened and these elements take on deeper levels of meaning in physical, mental, social, and spiritual ways. E) The addition of a rooftop garden post facility construction creates design challenges ranging from technical to user comfort. This proposed paper offers the unique design challenges carried by active use, rooftop, healing gardens. As in any type of design activity, these elements must be addressed at the beginning of the masterplan process. Keywords: Healing environment, healthcare, green roof, behavior mapping, wayfinding 228 The Mental Representation of the Differences Space Form in Outpatient Environments (La percepción psicológica de diferencias en la forma del espacio, en ambientes de pacientes dados de alta) Jui Sung Huang and Szu-Yu Tzeng (National Yunlin University of Science & Technology) The study is based on the presumption that the index in the actual environment does clearly guide people to understand the environment organizations. However, without index information, people will use the mental representation in the environment recognition to help them search the correct position in the similar space. The study aims to discuss the encoding, retaining and retrieval of the information in the differences space form when people move in an environment and to further understand which environment design elements affect the memories of the users as environment representation. The experiment environment is based on the differences space form in outpatient environment without index (graphic/text information). The experimenters have never been to the experiment environment. There are two experiment groups. One is given text stimulants while the other is given graphic stimulants. After receiving different visual stimulants, the experimenters immediately perform search in the actual outpatient environment and mutually verify the psychological representation in two stages of sensory memory and working memory. The search process was videotaped for the visual space and psychological movements of the experimenters. After the operation of the experiment, free recall was used to explain the psychological process of different visual stimulants an environment search behaviors while recorded images were verified in order to ensure the memories of the experimenters on environment representation from search process. The expected contributions of the study are: 1. To understand the differences of different visual stimulants to environment verification. 2. Which design elements in environment design can be retrieved for verification. 3. Which environment information of outpatient users forms psychological representation. Keywords: Environment information, psychological representation, environment memory, space form. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México The Relationship between Workspace, Activity and Hierarchy in a Clinical Exam Room: An Innovative Design in Practice (La relación entre el espcio de trabajo, actividad y jerarquía en una habitación de examinación clínica: un diseño innovador en la práctica) Julka Almquist (University of California, Irvine), Caroline Kelly and Joyce Bromberg (Workspace Futures, Steelcase Inc.), and Victor Montori (Mayo Clinic College of Medicine) The clinical exam room is a space in which an important encounter takes place between patient and physician. Traditionally the patient- physician interaction follows a paternalistic model; the physician is the “expert” and the patient seeks their “help.” The nature of this interaction is hierarchical and elements within the physical environment reinforce this power structure. In a collaborative study conducted by Mayo Clinic and Steelcase a new clinical exam room was prototyped to examine the extent to which changes in the design of an exam room, aimed to decrease hierarchy, would be functional in practice. In a typical exam room the physician sits directly in front of the computer and the patient sits laterally in front of them. During the design research phase of this study it became apparent that this room design communicated a spatial divide between physician and patient. Three major factors were found to contribute to this: the placement of the computer screen, the face-to-face seating arrangement and the defined physician workspace. Consequently, a new innovative design was created to diminish the sense of a spatial divide. Each of these factors were addressed in a new design that included; a new half-round table allowing patients to sit alongside the physician, a computer screen placed on the wall in the center of the table and an even distribution of work related artifacts (i.e. printer, phone). Observational data was collected during the prototyping phase in August of 2007 with 4 physicians and 20 patients. Through live video we observed how the physicians and patients used the space and obtained feedback from the physicians immediately after they saw their patients. The primary finding was the nature of activities contributed to spatial divide more than the placement of the artifacts alone. There were three categories Linking Differences / Defining Actions of activities; shared, discreet and potentially shared. Shared activities were those patient and physician do together. In this setting the computer screen was the primary artifact necessary for shared activity. Previously, the lack of transparency in information sharing was a critical factor in the spatial divide and hierarchical nature of the relationship. In this design the monitor was placed in such a way that all parties seated at the table could see it. The placement of this computer did not interfere with the physicians work and led to a diminished sense of a spatial divide. Discreet activities were those done only by the physician such as prescription printing. Artifacts necessary to perform these activities needed to be in a fixed position for easy access. However, the fixed position of these artifacts did not contribute to a spatial divide because they were not related to a shared activity. Finally, there were the potentially shared activities that patients could, but were not likely to participate (i.e. use the mouse and keyboard). The keyboard and mouse were placed in a fixed position, but were wireless and could be moved around if the opportunity to use them arose. This did not contribute to a spatial divide because of the option for mobility. In the theoretical part of this study the placement of artifacts created a clearly defined workspace and contributed to a spatial divide. In practice it was, more specifically, the activities related to these artifacts that created this divide. A new approach to workspace was developed based on this finding. Prioritization of artifact placement was made based on the nature of the activity and not the artifact alone. This allowed physicians to have a functional workspace that diminished spatial divide and potentially decreased hierarchy in the interaction The Visual Image: Aesthetics versus Ethics of What is Appropriate in Healthcare Settings (La imagen visual: estética contra ética acerca de lo que es apropiado en los espacios para el cuidado de la salud ) Upali Nanda and Kathy Hathorn (American Art Resources, Texas) There is a growing body of evidence on appropriate design for healthcare settings and a shift towards evidence-based design- t he process and product of scientific analysis of healthcare environments Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 229 Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud Thematic Abstracts Health Environments Ambientes de la salud (Hamilton, 2003). This entails a push towards making design answerable, and measuring the outcomes of design interventions by clinical indicators (such as change in heart-rate or blood pressure), patient/staff based outcomes (such as patient or staff satisfaction surveys) and economic outcomes (such as change in staff turnover) (Ulrich and Gilpin, 2003). With this change in approach, guidelines and directives have begun to emerge for appropriate healthcare design. At the same time there is an emerging concern for potentially compromising aesthetic quality. Are evidencebased directives being used to justify design decisions at the cost of design quality? After all, aesthetics is largely immeasurable, and the onus of measurability may be pushing design into mediocrity. Nowhere is this debate more potent than in the context of healthcare art. The evidence on the restorative quality of exposure to nature is overwhelming. In the stead of nature views, artwork depicting nature is also seen to serve as a positive distraction for pain reduction (Diette et al., 2003, Miller et al. 1992 etc.), and as a means to reduce stress (Ulrich, 1991, 1992, Heerwagen and Orians, 1990 etc.). In fact, a study has also shown that while artwork with nature content showing verdant foliage and a large depth of field improved outcomes in patients, an abstract image, using the same colors, worsened outcomes (Ulrich et al. 1993). In this study the abstract image was computer generated, which raises the question about whether the results would have been the same if an accomplished artist had created the abstract image. After all, the greatest art of our times is abstract in nature. To address this issue we undertook an art survey with two different populations: 64 adult in-patients with short-term stays in a hospital, and 45 long-term care residents in a rehabilitation center. We showed them images of best-selling artwork from online art vendors, including works of grandmasters like Van Gogh, Klimt and Chagall, and images that were similar in theme but followed evidence-based guidelines with nature and figurative content. We found that in spite of the undoubtedly superior “aesthetics” of bestselling artwork, patients still preferred the images that had positively reinforcing nature content for their hospital room. In fact patients made a clear distinction in what they would like to see in their hospital room, and what they would like to see in their own 230 homes. The evidence-based images were also rated as images that made them “feel better”. Overall, there was a preference for realistic imagery over stylistic or abstract imagery. In this paper we will discuss the power of the visual image, the importance of content and style, and the appropriateness of positively reinforcing nature images. We will also discuss if an evidence-based approach is at the cost of aesthetics, or is it the other way round- is a purely aesthetic approach at the cost of the ethics of designing for the vulnerable populations of healthcare? May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Housing & Residential Environments Affordable Housing: Getting Beneficiaries to Agree to Sustain Functioning of a Prescribed Housing Delivery System in Pumwani, Nairobi (Alojamiento equipado: adquiriendo beneficiarios para acordar el funcionamiento de un sistema preescrito de alojamiento en Pumwani, Nairobi) Crispino Chicano Ochieng (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) The study looks at upsurge in housing delivery in Nairobi from mid-1980’s to the present and the reaction of the government to this development. More than fifty percent of Nairobi’s population is living below acceptable poverty level. With this kind of situation there is the need to deliver various categories of housing. Study identified the existence of both informal housing and the officially permitted ones. Each was aimed at a particular socio-economic group. It found that the government encourages the delivery of housing that were abiding by the building byelaws and regulations while curtailing all together those that fail to abide by the requirements. This includes putting in place policies and institutions that would enhance the delivery. To effectively house its vast population cities of the developing world should adopt housing delivery that addresses the housing needs of the different groups. While some of these would be recognized others will be on the fringe of acceptable housing. Keywords: Housing delivery; informal; housing needs; housing; Content Analysis of Recent Korea Apartment Brands Sunhye Lee, Minah Park, Soojin Lee, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) The 50% of Korean population is concentrated in the metropolitan area and the dominant housing type is apartments. After currency crisis in 1997, there was apartment’s surplus supply and the government’s deregulation caused the removal of pre-sell’s upper limit and that made each construction company to focus on apartments’ high-quality and their own distinction. Linking Differences / Defining Actions This affected most construction companies to build up an apartment brand which is what major construction companies have been doing since the late 1990s. Today’s consumers consider not only a construction company’s recognition, apartment’s area and geographical location, but also apartment’s brand image. In 1990s, Korean construction companies focused on the quantity of apartments rather than the quality of them and this brought housing unit standardization. With this background, it is not clear that whether the difference of each apartment’s brand image make a difference in living environment. Therefore, this paper aims to research and analyze the difference of housing environment among Korean apartment brands and this would clarify a Korean apartment brands’ current issue and help to understand Korean apartment housing culture and most of all, this would provide a base for the future Korean apartment’s development. For case studies, top 15 apartment brands, which were chosen through a survey on consumer recognition in apartment brands, are selected, and complexes that were recently out for pre-sell were chosen to investigate for an analysis on an individual complex. In terms of methodology, contents analysis is used and the process is divided into two steps. First of all, brand identity, brand concept and the link of brandpositioning among different brands were looked into through literature reviews. Based on this information, 20 people in the metropolitan area who have experience in living in apartments were surveyed on each apartment’s brand characteristics and comparisons of all apartment brands. The relationship between apartment brands and consumers point on actual housing environment was examined and analyzed through the survey. For a standard of representing brand characteristics, 20 adjectives were selected that could signify each construction company’s brand identity and its concept and with these adjectives 60 photographs of all apartment brands were provided to selected consumers to find out their actual reaction on Korean apartments’ characteristics. For higher reliance and validity of this research, apartment contents, a size of photographs, composition in the photographs were unified and the result’s analysis took place under two related professionals’ supervision. As a result of this research, apartment brands do not reflect greatly on housing environment. The differ- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 231 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales ence was recognized in apartment’s exterior appearance due to its color and several characterized factors; however there was only little difference acknowledged by people in living environment among all brands. This indicates that Korean apartment brands influence more on consumers’ cognition and an apartment brand image than on living environment, which is considered optimistic in a sense that apartment brands’ characteristics could affect on both changes in apartment’s image and development in consumers’ awareness of housing environment. Further research on consumer’s requirement, creating a brand that has reflection on changes in housing concept, and applying brands’ identity on housing environment should be done in order to set the future direction for Korean apartment brands. Designing Affordable Comfort for Affordable Housing: The Role and Implications of Social Household & Cultural Factors (Diseñando comfort alcanzable para una vivienda alcanzable: el rol e implicaciones de los dueños de casas sociales y factores culturales) Ernesto Fonseca and Sherry Ahrentzen (Arizona State University) The term “affordable comfort” is often associated with the Affordable Comfort Institute, a non-profit agency founded in 1986 to define the best way to make homes energy efficient, without harming the residents and the building. Attending to building science, testing and diagnostics, their systems approach has evolved into the field of home (building) performance, the foundation for creating sustainable, green communities. Yet today “affordable comfort” has entered the vocabulary of a broader range of affordable housing practitioners and advocates, suggesting ways to design and retrofit homes that will have minimal operational costs for energy and water resources yet still be desirable, comfortable places for residents. Organizations like ASHRAE, the Department of Energy, and university research centers and faculty have done extensive work analyzing thermal comfort and setting up broad standards that today are used by designers and builders across the U.S. as baselines for their projects. However, little has been done to continue the effort to study and expand our knowledge on adaptive and behavioral comfort. But while all 232 these researchers and practitioners advocate a system approach in their settings of design and mechanical standards, the diversity of the human system is often lacking in their calculations; in particular it lacks attention to cultural and social conditions and individual household experiences and expectations. This paper first provides a brief depiction and critique of the “human” dimension of the affordable comfort approaches to date. Using 2 examples of recently constructed and occupied sustainable homes designed for low-income households by the ASU Stardust Center, we highlight how unexpected/unexamined social and cultural behaviors of the residents challenged the energy efficiency projections of the Center. Based on architecture/cultural theories of Amos Rapoport, we propose a conceptual framework that provides for a richer identification and incorporation of occupant preference, choice and behavior when considering design directions for affordable comfort in low-income housing. Key words: Behavior, Affordable, Comfort, Framework, Culture Design Characteristics of Korea Brand Apartment Ji-in Choi, Sunhye Lee, Miseon Jang, and Yeonsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) Urban concentration of Korean population emerged with drastic economic growth resulting from the rapid industrialization during the 1960s to 1970s. As this change had intensified a deficiency in house supply in urban arrears, apartment had emerged as a solution for this deficiency. Apartment, developed in both quality and quantity since then, has been placed as the representative housing pattern in Korean society after the 1990s. However, as many apartments remained unsold right after the currency crisis of the late 1990s, these unsold apartments drove the Korean government to promote a flexible measure for the sale of apartment. Based on their own brands, construction companies also reflected various consumers’ needs to distinguish their brands from others through interior, facilities, apartment unit plans, exterior design, apartment complexes planning etc. Branded apartments, settled down as the mainstream through these processes, have suggested their own identity and May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México various brand concepts which reflect social trends. By examining how each identity of branded apartments and those concepts of apartment brands are projected onto apartments according to the spatial features of apartment units, this study aims to see the correspondence between brand concepts and design and reconsider the meanings of apartment brands to consumers. This study has its significance that it will be a basic source to establish strategy for brand and design differences which help construction companies survive in the competitive era of affluent brands. The study proceeded with two stages: First, it examined the brand identity, brand concepts and characteristics of design through literature reviews, internet website and mass media. Second, 6 branded apartments were selected from the 10 well recognized branded apartments from the top in 2008 and examined with the selected designs of representative unit in the most recent apartments reflecting the brand identity and brand concepts. In design, apartment unit plans were analyzed by friendly-environment, high-tech, and exclusiveness to identify which features are most emphasized in Korean branded apartments. The results of the study, based on those tools, revealed that all companies are emphasizing 3 trends as similar as one another. Thus most branded apartments, representing designs applied by various features, failed to show the differentiated characteristics of branded apartments. Rather, they presented similar concepts in terms of characteristics of brands. That consumers distinguish one branded apartments from another was eventually the process of inscribing the images produced by each company. This seems to be dealt with regard to apartments’ marketing. Thus, instead of subdividing respective characteristic of branded apartments to grasp, it is necessary to regard those characteristics as one of paradigm to suggest futuristic vision to Korean apartments. However, considering that brand have become a significant standard for consumers to judge values of an apartment, construction companies should unify brand concepts and designs practically applied to an apartment in conceptual ways to reinforce their own brands. Keywords : Branded Apartment, Design Characteristics, Apartment Difference Linking Differences / Defining Actions Design Characteristics of Korean Future House Pavilions Guenyung Hwang, Yegu Lee, Soojin Lee, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) House, reflecting human life and social structure as a real space, satisfies basic human desires and works as the basis of family and individual life. Social changes-the progress of the aging, women’s move in society, the diversification of family types according to single and nuclear families, the expansion of spare time, development of information and communication technology, high-tech facilities, information society, expansive recognition of environment-requires changes of residential life and house. That is, besides shelter function, future house is regarded as the space containing other activities-working from home, spending spare time, etc. The term future as “the time that is to come” and “the prospective or potential condition to come” connotes innovative meanings of “not yet advanced” or “has not existed yet.” And house, as a receptacle for human life, is a cultural phenomenon and a crystal of physical environment which reflects contemporary life style, cultural pattern of the public and social spirit. Following this notion, the future house in this study, as a space to accommodate future housing culture, is applied by futuristic concept at the point when the house was developed. Forms and designs of houses reflect the contemporary values. Moreover, needs for house and housing have varied over time. Future is the age of coexistence of such diversities. Thus, house for human life will not be exceptional from this tendency, and various houses will co-exist to meet those diverse life styles. In order to provide user with houses which accept diverse desires for housing in a rapidly changed society, it is necessary to examine the representative future house pavilions of the current Korea and explore a future direction of the house. This study aims to examine future house and design paradigm through literature reviews. For this, it selected four pavilions of future houses-Samsung Raemian, Hyundai Hillstate, Byuksan Dream House and Kolon Ubiquitous, and completed touring sites to take pictures, gathered information from pavilion guides and researched resources in internet and literature reviews to examine the pavilions. Under these examined data, it exam- Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 233 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales ined the current state of Korean future houses, the characteristics of respective design and trends. Respective characteristics of design were analyzed by the analysis frame classified by five paradigm: Universal Design (UD)/ Green Design (GD)/ Social Design (SD)/ Culture Design (CD)/ Pro-Digital Design (PDD). The result of the study will give us a moment to reconsider how we can move forward future house in the rapid flow of world changes by examining the current Korean future houses. It will help us to expect diverse patterns of future housing and develop houses which accommodate various users’ desire for the future houses Domestic Violence: Messages within the Architectural Space (Violencia doméstica: mensajes dentro del espacio arquitectónico) Adolfo Gomez-Amador (Universidad de Colima) This document examines part of the results of an investigation, started in 2001, with the aim of finding a correlation between patterns of violent behavior and architectural environment. This study took 12 singlefamily houses in the city of Colima as analysis units: 5 without violence and 7 with different degrees of violence. The analysis of the composition of elements placed on the most significant wall spaces are defined in relationship to a concept of order. The study considered that the perceptive response of the inhabitants becomes a complex task where composition implies the idea of orderly arrangement. The composition axes of each object placed on the walls of the studied houses were specified. The analysis took into account diverse criteria, complying with three basic categories: the composition space, the composition elements and the principles of composition order. The composition elements were analyzed abiding to perception principles and perception laws experimentally identified between 1975 and 1995 by diverse authors. The study shows the composition outlines and the results of this analysis. In the cases of houses without violence there is no correlation between the number of objects and the total composition axes, but the data is very compelling in both variables. Whereas, in the houses with domestic violence, the correlation 234 between the number of objects and the total composition axes is perfect (r = 0.99). The correlation between the Profusion Index and violence shows that the composition objects —integrated in the index, are correlated with the variables of violence following a polynomial function. The homes without violence present intermediate values, the homes with events of psychological violence and intimidation show low values and the homes that suffered physical and sexual abuse display high values. This relationship shows a high correlation (r = 0.92): the studied behaviors show a tendency to be ample when the aggression affects body and mind and rare when the abuse is emotional. The houses of peaceful families are in the middle stratum. In conclusion, the inhabitants who live with domestic violence extend their inability to organize to different areas of their lives, thus lacking the capacity of arranging decorative elements on the walls. Key Words: Domestic Violence. Inhabitant. Architectural Space. Composition. Message. Health and Housing in Urban Context Alejandra Terán-Álvarez MD Deputy Head of Medical Training, Rubén Leñero Hospital, Federal District’s Government, Mexico City, México Given the fact that housing is the setting where the activities that allow people to restore strength, rest, nourish and interact with the other members of the family, a study was carried out to know if houses fill its restoring role at Mexico City so it obviates the detrimental effects of stress. If so, it should contribute to prevent health problems, measured by number of that people go to see the doctor per year and the presence of respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, nervous or dermatological ailments. A questionnaire was applied to 150 housing inhabitants between 15 and 65 years old. Housing fitness was measured through Mercado et. all’s Inhabitability instrument which include: • Information Rate, pleasure, arousal, and control were found to have effects upon health. • Information rate gave rise to respiratory diseases, to the .05 significance level. • Pleasure and information rate produce emotional ailments to the .05 level. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México • Arousal affects arterial pressure to the .05 significance level and control to .05 High Functional Characteristics of Future Houses of Korea Miseon Jang, Kyoungyeon Kim, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) Korea will face the age of 10 million apartments over 5.5 million less than ten years. With the quantitative drastic growth of apartments, the rapid development of Information technology, which provides apartment more digital-integrated service than before, makes it possible to change our lives. Digital-integration service is mainly applied to future houses strategically structured to suggest its branded apartment vision of a leading construction company. Through this suggested vision, consumers can access to new and various cultural experiences. As digital technology has been developed, future houses can be equipped with high functions in which the existing houses have not, and life contents based on the materialization of those functions have become a phase to reveal our future. Thus, the study aims to analyze the cases of the domestic pavilions for future houses to examine the current situations of digital life contents application and their characteristics. In doing so, it grasps high functions inherent in the contents to profile future houses. The study proceeded in two ways: first, throughout literature reviews, it reorganized various characteristics of houses to design analysis tools for respective cases. Second, through touring sites of five domestic future house pavilions-Daewoo Prugio Valley, Byucksan Dream House, Samsung Raemian Gallery, Kolon Ubiquitous Home and Hyundai Hillstate Gallery, information was collected. The developed analysis tools was used to analyze the information to understand the current states of digital life contents applications according to space in a family unit to the present-day future house and their characteristics. As a result of this, the spatial compositions of future house pavilions were divided into two: pavilion forms and general housing forms. While the pavilion forms mainly provide user with entertainmentbased contents for visual interests and enjoyments, general housing forms do with the overall services to aid effectively household affairs. However, most Linking Differences / Defining Actions future house pavilions had similar forms of digital life contents. It means that the contents were massively developed in a few companies to develop those contents and sold to the construction companies. By examining high functions and various life contents inherent in future houses, this study will be useful for the basis for future house design which needs a specific ideal of the contents. Keywords : High Function, Life Contents, Digital Home, Future House Housing Research in Mexico Symposium (Simposio investigación de la vivienda en méxico) Organizers: Serafin Mercado Domenech (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico). Presenters: Ana Maritza Landazuri-Ortiz, Eric Jimenez-Rosas, and Javier Urbina-Soria (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), Alehandra Teran-Alvarez (Ruben Lenero Hospital, Mexico City), Maria Amerigo (CastillaLa Mancha University, Spain), and Gabriela Luna Lara (Guanajuato University, Mexico) To understand how people relate to their dwelling is an important problem for environmental Psychology. A great deal of research has been carried out at the international level, including studies about residential preference and satisfaction. Mexican researchers have also contributed to housing research in a significant way. There has been an endemic deficit of housing at cities, due to the growth of population and an underdeveloped economy. There have been government efforts to deal with the problem, but it has resulted in low quality, undersized and standardized social interest housing. The errors made in the design are multiplied by the number of dwellings, constructed employing the same blueprint. Research in Mexico has taken several approaches, trying to demonstrate the importance of housing design for the wellbeing of its inhabitants and it effect upon family’s life. The first participant, Ana Maritza Landázuri, presents a model of housing evaluation, the inhabitability model, that has turned out quite satisfactory, using a method of direct assessment, through a set of scales that together provide a method of appraisal that taps several phases of satisfaction, identified through a method of development that used multidimensional scaling to identify the structure of relations between Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 235 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales the components of the model. The structure of these was then verified through path analysis. She then shows how Inhabitability affects family welfare and quality of life, and how inhabitability is dependent on a set of architectural design features. The second presenter, Eric Jimenez, introduces research carried out to demonstrate the effect of space syntax variables on inhabitants’ behavior. This research shows the importance of topological connections in the house in relation to human behavior. The third paper, by Alejandra Terán, shows the relationship between inhabitability and health. She maintains that the adequacy of dwelling’s design affects its effect on health, directly, through comfort and indirectly throughout its effects upon family’s life. When there is a proper design. It helps the inhabitant’s relaxation. When this is not true, then the person stays stressed. In the forth paper Gabriela Luna presents the results of her research work about the solid wastes in housing, in the city of Leon Guanajuato México. Finally, the chair presents a way to analyze the social representation of the house and home using a semantic networks approach. He obtains from a set of participants the concepts related to house and home, and then, with another sample, he uses a paired concepts presentation to obtain semantic distances between them. Using multidimensional scaling, then he obtains the semantic network structure, which permits to understand how people conceive housing and the main values related to it. The symposium allows a view of the kind of research carried out on housing in Mexico and its main achievements. It is a representative sample of the work that is being carried out. The discussants will be Javier Urbina and María Amérigo, both outstanding scholars interested in housing research, which are most qualified to asses the work done and its implications. Presentations include: • The Meaning of House: An Approach to Measurement. Serafín Mercado-Doménech Ph. D. School of Psychology. UNAM, Mexico • Some Physical and Psychological Factors Linkied to Housing’s Internal Inhabitability. Ana Maritza Landázuri-Ortiz Ph. D., School of Higher Studies Iztacala, UNAM. México 236 • Relation Between Domestic Activity Patterns and House Spatial Configuration. Eric O. .Jiménez-Rosas Ph. D. School of Architecture, UNAM. México • Health and Housing in Urban Context. Alejandra Terán-Álvarez MD Deputy Head of Medical Training, Rubén Leñero Hospital, Federal District’s Government, Mexico City, México María Amérigo Ph. D Castilla- La Mancha University, Spain Javier Urbina Soria M SC. School of Psychology. UNAM, Mexico • Management of Trash in Housing. Gabriela Luna Lara Ph. D. School of Psychology, Guanajuato University Housing Satisfaction and Cultural Assimilation (Satisfacción de vivienda y asimilación cultural) Eunsil Lee and Nam-Kyu Park (Michigan State University) According to the US Department of Commerce (2006), the United States has experienced a significant increase in the total admission of foreign nationals (sojourners). Some studies suggest that such sojourners are influenced by experiences with and expectations generated from their home country’s housing styles. This is supported by Rapoport (1969) who developed the notion that a house is a cultural phenomenon best suited to the way of life of a people rather than just a physical structure. Others indicate that cultural differences in everyday life are no longer as strong. This is because cultures are more affected by globalizing influences, which are increasingly homogenizing the character of places (Noussia, 2003). Therefore, the main focus of this study is to determine how different cultural groups in the United States are satisfied with their current housing and how cultural norms influence housing satisfaction. South Korean sojourners represent the fifth largest national group with a reported 705,000 Korean sojourners in the US in 2005 (the US Department of Commerce, 2006). The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence housing satisfaction among South Korean sojourners in the US and to understand how they settle into their US housing. Based on the housing satisfaction model of Marans and Spreckelmeyer (1981) and the assimilation theory May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México of Park and Burgess (1967), this study investigated the relationships among sojourner characteristics, housing perceptions, and housing satisfaction. A survey was conducted to collect data from South Korean sojourners in the Lansing area of Michigan. A total of 235 data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis to investigate the relationship between exogenous and endogenous variables. Exogenous variables are demographics, sojourning condition, and housing conditions. Endogenous variables are housing perceptions and satisfaction. Housing perceptions are evaluated along physical, cultural, neighborhood, and overall dimensions. The results show that demographic variables were not significantly associated with housing satisfaction. However, a sojourner’s past experience, length of residence, and housing conditions were important indicators of housing satisfaction. Three of the housing perception variables were significant predictors of housing satisfaction. These were cultural, neighborhood, and overall dimensions. Results suggest that sojourner characteristics and sojourners’ perceptions of various aspects of housing explain 50% of the variance of sojourners’ satisfaction with their current housing. The findings suggest that cultural aspects of housing are an important factor in housing satisfaction for South Korean visitors in the US. These findings add to designers’ understanding of how different cultures perceive and are satisfied with the new residential environment of their host country. Key words: Culture, Housing, Temporary Settlement, Interior Design, Quantitative Study The Image of Middle School Students for Han-Ok, The Korean Traditional House (La imagen de estudiantes de escuela secundaria para han-ok, la casa tradicional Koreana) Byungsook Choi, Suna Jung, Sunhee Park, and Jinsuk Lee (Chonbuk National University, Korea) Korean housing educators would like to know the image of a house in contemporary Korean students’ mind and to apply it to their school work. The residential feature was one of the environmental features that affected environmental cognition, or the mental image (Lynch, 1960; Ladd, 1970). The house is a sociocultural factor (Rapoport, 1969), and the spirit of Linking Differences / Defining Actions Korean tradition is transferred to the next generation through it. According to this background, the research needs to understand modern youth’s thoughts about houses and to teach them were suggested. For this reason this study was designed to find out middle school students’ perception of Korean traditional housing through their interpretation of Han-Ok. The image of Han-Ok was operatively defined attributes of beauty, symbolism, form and functionality, based on the literature review. For the purpose of this research, a questionnaire survey method was used. The image of Han-Ok was measured by the SD (Semantic Differential) method, 5-point Likert scale between 53 bipolar adjectives. The bipolar adjectives were extracted from technical books on Han-Ok and the dictionary. Word description by 60 students and 4 experts from the housing division and a Korean language teacher recommended the measurement method. The content validity was recognized by experts and the reliability was verified by Cronbach’s α = .779. Photos of HanOk (Kim, Dongsu’s house, a representative cultural property in Chonbuk Province) assisted students in understanding that. Data samples were collected from 236 students who finished the standards curriculum in middle school in Jeonju city, Jeollabuk-Do Province, Republic of Korea. Data were analyzed by qualitative analysis and descriptive statistics using frequency, percentage, mean t-test, F-test and a graph. The results were as follows: 1) The middle school students were understanding the image of beauty of Han-Ok. In particular, the words delicate, harmony, naturalness, natural, graceful, formality, becoming, exposed a certain image of beauty. 2) The middle school students were understanding the image of symbolism of Han-Ok. In particular, the words traditional, antique and composure exposed a certain image of symbolism. 3) The middle school students were understanding image of the form for Han-Ok. In particular, the words ‘refreshing’ exposed a certain image of symbolism. 4) The middle school students were understanding the image of functionality for Han-Ok. In particular, the words agreeable and comfortable exposed a certain image of symbolism. 5) Each attribute-beauty, symbolism, form and functionality partially concerned Han-Ok. The beauty symbolism, and form attributes partially had a difference depending on sex and the educational background Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 237 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales of the student’s father. Symbolism and form partially showed a difference on the educational background of the student’s mother, his or her housing type, housing experience, the Han-Ok for learned or not. Beauty and form were partially different to the Han-Ok for experienced or inexperienced. Form and functionality partially had a difference in family types. Keywords: Image, Korean, house, student, Semantic Differential The Influence of Users on the Thermal Performance of Dwellings Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales (La influencia e usuarios sobre la ejecución térmica de casas) Moreno Pena Ricardo and Sandoval Alvarez (Instituto Tecnologico de Colima) The present work was based for one side, in measurement of temperature and humidity of two classrooms of similar size, orientation and construction and exposed to a similar solar radiation, this measurement carried out in the middle of the year 2000 in the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Colima, and the other side, on the thermal performance of two houses of low cost under similar conditions, except that one of them is already in use and the other one is not. This objective it was expected that the obtained data of both spaces were the same or very similar given its similarity. Nevertheless the results front the analysis of temperature manifest differences that should be considered. These differences were caused by other external agents apart from construction materials, orientation of the windows and the buildings in it self and it is highly probable that this result are given by the effect of the conduct of the users in the spaces of the building being studied. Does you discuss later on and is it sought to give answer to the following question: Are the habitants of a house a variable to be considered in the equation of its thermal performance? 238 Management of Trash in Housing Gabriela Luna Lara (School of Psychology, Guanajuato University) One of the greatest challenges for city management is to carry out a good handle of urban solid residuals, taking in account that a huge volume of such is generated at home, so it’s important to encourage people participation in the reduction, use and, separation of trash in the dwellings. In study carried out at Leon Guanajuato, it was found that trash management is left mainly to women and that only 27 % that people that live near a recollection center know about its existence. In general, there is a great level of emotion regarding environmental care, however, the functionality is low they fill its not practical and they not have the infrastructure to do it at home. We might think that the people that separate trash are those with a higher level of correct knowledge about organic and inorganic materials. However of findings are that the people that separate trash are making mistakes in the classification process. We suppose that it is no enough to have the knowledge to carry out the behavior. The Meaning of House: An approach to measurement Serafín Mercado-Doménech (School of Psychology. UNAM, Mexico) The Semantic Networks model is an approach to explain the manner in which humans encode conceptual information in long term memory and the links between concepts provide meaning. An approach was developed by Figueroa et all (1981) which uses free association to gather data of the way people understand concepts. They collect words that provide concepts that are related to the one we want to understand in a way that they define it. The aim of the present paper is to show a modified procedure, using Multi Dimensional Scaling, which provides such defining concepts and establishes their structure. This makes available a model of the way people conceptualize the house and evaluate it. A non-metric MDS was carried out that provided the relationship among the concepts. House and home May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México are central. Family and children are closer to home. There are groups for food processing and cleanliness, rest, and for bonding feelings. According to modern cognitive theory, people act in relation to objects, including places and buildings, in terms of the cognitive structures through which they ascertain and evaluate them. We believe that the method of “Natural Semantic Networks” provides a means to gather information about people’s schemata and value system. The Pattern of the Self-Constructed Dwelling in Merida, Yucatan (El patrón de ocupación de la vivienda autoproducida en mérida, yucatán) Carmen Garcia Gomez (Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan) This paper is a piece of a larger work on self produced dwellings and the decisions and actions the inhabitants make to create a dwelling place with multiple expressions of self. This particular dwelling is located in the poor periphery of Mérida city in Yucatan, Mexico, which is among all of the Latin American cities, average in terms of real estate speculation where access to formal urban ground by extensive sectors of the population is not possible. The subjects of this research are families that first imagined a place like these zones for living, and then began to make it through initiating the use of specific construction materials, which serve as social symbols of their daily space. This implies that the periphery is like a space of life and a lived space with different dimensions, especially the experiences related to living and “to making” the house as one practices on a long term daily basis. This sort of dwelling generates a group of established characteristics through the repetition of a set of similar actions by those who cannot guarantee a place to live. This process can be synthesized in three basic steps: the occupation of a land; the management and obtainment of a dowry for basic urban services through collective action and thirdly, the construction of a house. The three great passages of this process are related to each other and occur under specific circumstances in time and place, in addition, each case is a variant of this repeated process. This way a model or pattern of activities that constituted a constant is created. Thus, Linking Differences / Defining Actions the physical form of each establishment that results is from the expression of a pattern of general activity or of a particular activity. These repetitive characteristics denote a pattern. Within the dwelling there is a great diversity of forms and distributions, but there are also easily distinguished common characteristics in the construction, the arrangement of the spaces, and configurations of elements, formal details ornament. These regularities or repetitions imply a cause-effect relationship. The purpose of this project is to analyze this process of self produced dwellings which demonstrate qualities of habitability that are pronounced in the short and long term so that when new residents integrate themselves to the pattern of the existing establishment as they obtain an appropriate dwelling with habitable conditions. The Preferences of Residential Service for Single Person Household Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales Minhae Lee, Juhyun Lee and Hyunsoo Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) Various new concepts of residences for singles have been introduced recently such as an built-in office apartment, fully-furnished condominium and serviced residents, which combines concepts of both a hotel and an apartment. According to this trend, considering residential environment, people have been aware the importance of housing service as an aspect of Software. This study aims to research residential preference among single-person households and to propose housing services according to the household’s demand as a condition of Future Housing. The research was conducted to meet the needs of the young people from the age of 20’s to 30’s. Six cases were used in the questionnaire to collect relevant samples from well running serviced residences located in central Seoul in various aspects of residential preferences. One hundreds and fifty-four responses to the questionnaire developed by this researcher were analyzed utilizing frequencies, percentages and cross-analysis by SPSS Window 12.0 Ver. statistics program. This study researched on the 6 main categories: Convenience (55,2%), Well-Being (23.4%), Safety (15.6%), Information (3.2%), Social Activity (2.6%). It selected the research samples for the facilities; fitness center (81%), shuttle bus service (58.9%), book Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Thematic Abstracts 239 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales rental service(54.4%),tenants’ private use [lobby, room’s access card, elevator](35.3%) and two-way fax service(26.5%). It selected the research samples for the unit (inside the room); bath unit well-being system(80%), wireless internet(72.1%), emergency call(67.3%) and house keeping service(50%). Differences were based on the household’s basic data such as gender, age, composed family members, residential type, residential district etc. The result of the research, it showed that customized service can be possible and more helpful in meeting the household’s need. I propose in this study, shuttle bus service, house keeping service and administrative support to save their time, emergency call and tenants’ private use [lobby, room’s access card, elevator] to be safety and to protect their private life, fitness center, bath unit well-being system and book rental service to enjoy their spare time healthfully. The result of this research should contribute more various and advanced service quality into new residential type for a single life and finally providing more satisfactory life style for a single-person household. Keywords : Housing service, Single-person household Privacy and the Kuwaiti Woman: An Examination of Contemporary Housing Types (Privacidad y la mujer de kuwait: un examen de tipos de vivienda contemporánea) Lisa Waxman (Florida State University) and Alenazy Turkiyah (University of Florida) The purpose of this study was to examine Kuwaiti contemporary residential design and the impact on the privacy and social interaction needs of Kuwaiti women. This research project focused on the middleeastern country of Kuwait, which went through a major transformation following the discovery of oil in 1936. Kuwaitis found they had the financial resources to reconstruct their entire city and most traditional adobe dwellings were leveled to make room for new construction of more popular contemporary styles (Al Mutawa, 1994). With these changes, many of the design amenities that allowed women to freely move throughout the home were altered. 240 This study addressed the privacy and social needs of women in contemporary Kuwaiti homes, with specific attention to the changes in the design of homes in the last 70 years. In a country where over 85% of the population is of Muslim faith, religious doctrine provides the general ethical framework for human behavior (Mahfouz and Ismail, 1990). This doctrine carries over into the design of the built environment, specifically in the design of separate spaces for men and women (Al Mutawa, 1994). During frequent social visits, common in Kuwaiti culture, men socialize in the male diwania, or male salon, while women interact in the female salon (figure 1) (Lewcock & Freeth, 1978). Islamic principles require that women wear a veil, or al hejab, when out in public and in the company of unrelated men (figure 2). This veil not only separates “the female from the male, but also the private from the public, the interior from the exterior, and the invisible from the visible” (Clevenot & Degeorge, 2000, p. 208). Historically, the home has been a refuge for women, a place to remove the veil, and move freely about the home while revealing their own sense of style and identity to others. A field study visit to Kuwait was conducted to explore the contemporary Kuwaiti architecture and social dynamics of the home using methods of visual documentation, behavioral mapping, and interviews. This study revealed that the design of the contemporary Kuwaiti homes examined often overlooked the needs of the Kuwaiti women in terms of privacy, contact with nature, the ability to move freely within the home while unveiled, and ease of social interaction with family members. There were a number of areas of concern uncovered including loss of the courtyard, limited access to nature, and relegation of the salons to the front of the house, which forced the residents toward the back creating isolated family spaces. The loss of the courtyard led to male visitors passing through the front yard to enter the male guest salon. This restricted the movement of the female members of the family who do not feel free to enjoy the outdoors because they feel exposed to male visitors and the public passing by in the street. The courtyard, the central location interconnecting the surrounding rooms gave women great flexibility and facilitated free movement between their spaces. Solutions include May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México incorporating some of the traditional architectural elements into contemporary Kuwaiti architecture. Keywords: Privacy, women/gender issues, housing/ residential, interior design, qualitative research References: Al Hussayen, M. (1995).Significant characteristics and design considerations of the courtyard house. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research. 12, 91-103. Al Mutawa, S. (1994). History of architecture in old Kuwait city: and its influence of its elements on the architect (Master thesis, University of Miami, 1982) Clevenot, D. & Degeorge, G. (2000). Splendors of Islam: Architecture, decoration and design. New York: The Vendome Press. Lewcock, R., & Freeth, Z (1978). Traditional architecture in Kuwait and the Northern gulf. London: Art and Archaeology Research papers. Mahfouz, A. and Ismail S. (1990). Women and Space in Muslim Societies: In Expressions of Islam in Buildings. Proceedings of 1990 of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Redefining Equality in Housing in the South: Design the Arkansas Proto-House (Redefiniendo la igualdad en el alojamiento en el sur: diseñando la casa prototipo de Arkansas) Korydon Smith, Jennifer Webb, and Brent Williams (University of Arkansas) ‘Diversity’ and ‘equality’ are apparent antonyms, yet both are apparently valued in today’s political and social climate, and in contemporary design discourses. Fostering equality has been championed for decades, most notably exemplified by the Civil and Disability Rights Movements. Achieving equality, however, is made more complex the society becomes more diverse. In housing, the question remains: how can designers both (a) meet the variety of physical and psychosocial needs and preferences of a society, and (b) ensure equity among the various groups that comprise that society? Nowhere is this question more pertinent, timely, and challenging than in the South (U.S.), a region characterized by strong contrasts in economic, racial, geographic, educational, and health status. For decades, regional sociologists have explored the demographic makeup and cultural stereotypes of the South, revealing an amazing complex set of Linking Differences / Defining Actions subcultures which occupy this region; yet the role that housing plays relative to these subcultures has largely gone unstudied. Moreover, housing designers in the South have failed to tackle the question as to how to provide higher quality, cost-effective, culturally- and place-specific housing. The inertia of an aging population (and their impending physical needs), coupled with increased perceptions about environmental concerns (e.g. “global warming”), will have astounding effects on housing. The South will experience these effects sooner and more deeply than other parts of the country, and thus, will need to respond more rapidly. From a broad view, the South (and states like Arkansas) is (are) often stereotyped as rural, poor, and unrefined. Yet a finer view reveals a great deal of diversity. Differences between urban and rural, flat and mountainous, temperate and extreme exist within any given political or legal boundary. So, although Arkansas maintains the highest poverty rate and third highest rate of disability in the country— exemplary of the South—poverty and disability are not evenly distributed throughout the state; neither is employment, access to health services, public education, cultural norms, nor access to suitable housing. This presentation, therefore, provides a cross-sectional view of the diverse underlying economic, sociological, environmental, and technological mores of the South through a case-study of Arkansas. This presentation also explores the major challenge—paradox—of designing housing prototypes that are both replicable (read: standardized) and culturally-/site-specific (read: customized) for under served populations, to reconcile diversity and equality in housing design. Keywords: universal design, culture, social justice, low income Relation Between Domestic Activity Patterns and House Spatial Configuration Eric .Jiménez-Rosas (School of Architecture, UNAM. México) In this study, activity patterns in house and configurational properties where these occur were investigated. Along two days, 60 participants recorded in a diary all activities they accomplished in their houses as well as their duration and the number of people involved. Three spatial properties were associated Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 241 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales to such activities: depth (the number of intervening spaces that are necessary to pass through, form the exterior of the house, in order to reach the indoor spaces), integration (connection degree between the spaces in a complex and one other) and connectivity (the number of directly adjacent spaces). Results showed that domestic activity patterns are represented by two dimensions where the activities they contain are mutually excluding: 1) Private activities vs. Social interaction activities; 2) Self realization activities vs. Needs satisfaction. These dimensions show different spatial properties as well as different duration and involved people number. Results are discussed in terms of spatial configuration significance over residential behavior and housing design. Socially Integrative Approach to Korean Public Rental Housing Plan Euisun Lim, Sunyue Hwang, Kabsoo So, and Yeunsook Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) Korean government have announced a business plan for a million public rental housing from 2003 to 2012 to promote the lower-class’s residential stability. The ministry of construction and transportation has promoted the development of residential apartment complex as a key measure for the lower income class. However, since 1989, it has been severely rebuked by the existing apartment owners for its ghettonization of public rental housing. On the other hand, sociologists and private groups have suggested that the ministry should develop the sites combined with diverse income classes on the basis of a new paradigm of social integration, for the mass productions of rental housing apartments with the existing measure produce similar error repeated by the government. Moreover, since the government’s measure on a housing complex has been promoted without a specific process of a communal agreement of “how to combine,” it is arguable that it still contains a potential to cause class conflicts among residents. Under this social circumstance, the purpose of the study is to grasp current developments and phases of social mix between public rental apartments and non-public apartments to investigate how far present Koreans’ attempt at social integration has been progressing in Korea. For this, the study first examined the position of social mix in the public rental housing since 2000. Second, it investi- 242 gated types and patterns of mix method between two different types of apartments. Finally, it attempted to look for the differences of the mixes between the same square-foot and the multiple square-foot. Moreover, it attempted to understand how the issue of social integrations had been formed in respective residential sites through diverse sources Study methods has been taken in two ways: literature reviews of the existing statistic data and precedent studies relevant to the study subject to see the implication of social integration and the collection and analysis of relevant information through newspapers and internet to see the meaning of social integration in residential sites. As a result, currently taking into consideration of social integration as a key challenging work, Korea in 2008 should lead not only mix among incoming class but also mix among different social groups in a way to extend diversely the ranges of social integration. In particular, this study has its significance that it will be a basic source for future relevant study since Korean society has less been conscious of social integration and lacked relevant essays on this subject. Some Physical and Psychological Factors Linked to Housing’s Internal Inhabitability Ana Maritza Landázuri-Ortiz (School of Higher Studies Iztacala, UNAM. México) The purpose of this research was to analyze how some of the characteristics of the architectural design influence housing’s internal inhabitability, as well as the transactional processes that take place in-between. A no probabilistic intentional sample was used in Mexico City’s Metropolitan Zone. Some variables were explored through a scale and the others were taken directly from architectonic plans of the house. The study was exploratory, expostfacto. For the statistical treatment, a multiple linear regression analysis was employed. The results confirm how some of the aspects of the architectural design of housing satisfy the needs and expectations of its inhabitants. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Take a Look at the Inhabitant of the Space in the Social Interest House (Una mirada del habitante en el espacio de la vivienda de interés social) Ana Rosa Velasco-Avalos and Adolfo Amador (Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo) The present work is an advance of one larger investigation, be attention at the conditions of “experience for inhabiting the space” for a particular human group. For this subject we will talk about to the construction process of schemes or perception models to inhabitant makes around his nearby space, supported in some theoretical models to sustain the investigation. The space notion is explained like a subjective and individual construction process (Piaget, Montessori) like to conception to the basic direction scheme formation (understood like the personal identification of referential points in the inhabited space), the construct to the “vital space” concept, that the inhabitant does, allows create a real dimension of relation and dialogue with the “places” they live. We assumed the practice to inhabit the space, like a unique and individual experience, related to the social customs, the familiar traditions and the individual necessities; this multiplicity of aspects affects the explanation of the phenomenon. For that reason, this particular case does, like departure point, have the characteristics from the modular space in the social interest house; it identifies the relations constructed between both, understood like a “great place” of meaning, and the inhabitant. Some levels of the vital space are recognized and characterized, allowing to explain the interaction between the man and its environment; then, we can affirm, we cannot identify a simple architectonic spaces (Schultz); therefore, the work is centered in the relations between the constructions use, like a reading and the poetic design condition in the architectonic work (Muntañola), interrelation of the spaces with the inhabitant who settles in a dynamic balance, changing and personal. In this exposition, the theories of J. Muntañola, are an important support , affirming the architecture is a place, to live and from life; against the idea a “machine to live” (le Corbusier), nor a form of independent symbol (Heidegger); defending a Baeza idea of field to count with an architecture with vocation of being constructed in its Essential Space. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Teaching Residential Environments: Challenges and Opportunities Workshop (La enseñanza de ambientes residenciales: retos y oportunidades. Taller) Organizer: Tasoulla Hadjiyanni (University of Minnesota). Presenters: Sherry Ahrentzen (Arizona State University), Marilyn Bruin (University of Minnesota), Tasoulla Hadjiyanni (University of Minnesota), Kyriakos Pontikis (California State University at Northridge), James Potter (University of Nebraska) At last year’s EDRA, members of the Residential Environments Network (REN) expressed an interest for a workshop on teaching. The network involves members from varying backgrounds, interests, and concerns ranging from students, academics, and practitioners, educated in fields like design, anthropology, housing studies, and health care. Areas of expertise vary from urban planning to housing theory and design as well as construction, culture, policy, and universal design at national and international scales. Although this diversity is exciting, it makes it difficult for members to coordinate efforts and share knowledge. As EDRA39’s theme is ‘Linking Differences—Defining Actions,’ this is a perfect opportunity for the network’s members to gather and critically think about REN’s role in fostering connections and support. We thereby envision this to be the first of a series of workshops that tackle a different issue each year. The teaching of residential environments is an area that is both under-researched and under-published. Courses vary from studios to lecture courses that in some cases are solely about housing while in others housing is a sub-theme. With limited teaching resources, educators often find themselves entering unknown waters that require interdisciplinary collaborations. As a result, they can end up struggling to define what should be taught; which theories to use; and how to encourage in-depth explorations, analysis, synthesis, and re-thinking of problems, solutions, and ideas around the complex topics of residential environments. The workshop will begin with five brief presentations: Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 243 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales • Sherry Ahrentzen’s (Stardust Center for Affordable Homes, Arizona State University) on the development of the program and award winners from the newly-initiated ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award program that aims to recognize the importance of excellence in housing design education and the need to develop exemplary housing-related courses and curricula. • Marilyn Bruin’s (Housing Studies, University of Minnesota) on using service-learning in a seminar course to better understand the housing needs of older individuals and individuals with a disability. Universal design and aging-in-place knowledge guide students’ development of recommendations that enhance the independence of the people they were working with. • Tasoulla Hadjiyanni’s (Interior Design, University of Minnesota) on how meaning of home and identity theories can be used to enrich students’ approaches to the problem of residential design, particularly as it relates to housing minority groups. • Kyriakos Pontikis’s (Interior Design, California State University Northridge) on how Christopher Alexander’s environmental design theory, presented in his books “A Pattern Language” and “The Nature of Order” can be applied in a senior interior design studio about residential environments with human and sustainable qualities. And, • James Potter’s (Architecture, University of Nebraska) on his seminar course “Housing Issues in Contemporary Society,” a survey of social, psychological, political and economic research regarding housing in today’s global economy and how research can inform housing design for scales ranging from the interior of an individual residence to regional planning. The discussion with participants will concentrate on putting together coherent and organized efforts by which REN can provide teaching support for those teaching residential environments. Keywords: Housing, interdisciplinary, curriculum development. 244 Toward Culturally Sensitive Housing: The Experience of Minnesota’s Mexican Community (Hacia una vivienda culturalmente más sensible: la experiencia de la comunidad Mexicana en Minnesota) Tasoulla Hadjiyanni and Kristin Helle (University of Minnesota) Cultural identities are defined by both what makes us similar and different from each other. Given the diversity of the American cultural landscape, cultural differences pose a challenge to housing providers who must cater to the needs of people they know little about. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the impact that the built environment might have in the adjustment of displaced groups or in their struggle for a new identity definition. This paper, part of a larger cross-cultural study of differences in housing needs, posits that culturally sensitive housing, i.e. housing that supports various ways of living, can also support mental, emotional, and physical well-being as well as the preservation of the diversity that enriches American communities and lives. Drawing from twenty-five interviews of members of Minnesota’s Mexican community in their homes, this paper explores the role of the house in sustaining the Mexican identity and culture. Being the fifth of six cultural groups in the study, the findings confirm that homes on the one hand, help bridge the diverse and often opposing cultural values and practices of the Mexican and American cultures, while on the other hand, pose difficulties that cause undue stress to those living there. Caught in the middle of the current political debates on immigration, Mexicans are Minnesota’s largest immigrant group, which apart from differences in legal status, includes people with varying backgrounds, years in the US, educational levels, professional affiliation, and family situations. As a result of this inherent diversity, varying degrees of Mexicanness were observed among the interviewees. Cultural expressions like food, language, music, dance, and decorative aesthetic were integral aspects of some interviewees’ identities. Maintaining close family relations was also important even as many families have been pulled apart as a result of policies, economic pressures, or job opportunities. At the same time though, many of our interviewees used May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México similar expressions, like eating fast food and learning English, to construct an American identity and sense of belonging. Their homes helped them navigate this on-going negotiation between Mexican and American cultural prescriptions. Our sample reflected the varying housing conditions in which Mexican immigrants live: from rural farm housing for male workers to urban single-family homes and condos. Revealing their occupants’ cultural background were kitchens with tortillas and dried peppers on the counters; objects and artwork of a Mexican flair decorating the rooms; bright colors adorning the walls; and altars of the Virgin of Guadalupe occupying the main living areas. In spite of their attempts to adjust and adapt to their living situations, many experienced difficulties with practices such as cooking traditional Mexican foods in small, poorly ventilated kitchens and hosting family and friends for extended time periods. Culturally sensitive solutions illustrated through student projects from the author’s interior design studio class demonstrate how the needs of the Mexican community can be integrated in mainstream residential designs. In recognition that all cultural groups have specific needs that must be accommodated, further studies should focus on identifying the particular cultural housing needs of other minority groups. Keywords: culture, social issues, low income, housing, interdisciplinary Urban Renters and their Perception of Safety in Gated Residential Communities (Arrendatarios urbanos y su percepción de la seguridad en comunidades residenciales cerradas) Suk-Kyung Kim (Michigan State University) From the 1800s when the first gated community in the United State, Tuxedo Park and the private streets of St. Louis, appeared, gated communities have been paid attention to by many housing researchers, planners, and developers. Since then, the number of gated communities has constantly increased and their forms became diverse from luxurious communities to inexpensive apartment communities. Initially popular for expensive neighborhood development, gated communities are now available even for apartment Linking Differences / Defining Actions communities. Especially for the residents who are interested in safety in their residential environment, a gated community must be an attractive housing option. This study explored the architectural characteristics of gated apartment communities, demographic characteristics of the residents who selected gated communities, and their perception of safety in their gated residential environments. Research questions associated with this study were as follows: 1) how gated communities have been developed for urban renters, 2) what kinds of amenities they provide for the residents, 3) how much the residents feel safe in their near home environments in gated communities, and 4) what kinds of architectural or demographic characteristics are correlated with their perceptions of safety. The primary research methods were site visitation and a survey of residents in gated communities. Subject communities are located in Houston, Texas. The 12 gated apartment communities were selected for this study from a thorough review of 72 apartment communities in Houston. To compare residents’ perceptions of safety in gated communities with those in non-gated communities, six non-gated communities in the same area were also selected. The subject sites were selected based on the community size and monthly rental prices. The responses from 156 gated community residents and 93 non-gated community residents were analyzed for this study. The results showed that gated apartment communities have been developed by various reasons. Some of them were developed adding more site amenities for giving high-end residential environments to young professional renters while some communities were developed to protect the residents from near-home environment crimes. Site amenities designed in gated apartment communities varied. Those were from the original gated community design, but transformed appropriately for their current residents. Gated community residents felt safer in their residential environment than non-gated community residents. However, the actual property crime rates showed different results. Some demographic characteristics of the residents such as gender and number of children in the family were correlated with their perception of safety. In conclusion, this study suggested architectural Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 245 Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales interventions to increase residents’ perceived safety in apartment communities in urban areas. Keywords: Gated communities, Perception of safety, Territoriality Warmness, from a Basic Necessity to a Luxury: The Technological Evolution and Social Life of Korean Heated Floor Thematic Abstracts Housing & Residential Environments La vivienda y ambientes residenciales (Calor, desde una necesidad básica a un lujo. La evolución tecnológica y la vida social del piso calentado de Korea) Jung-Hye Shin (University of Wisconsin – Madison) The study focuses on the process of social change and place hybridization, as seen through the evolution of Korean housing, specifically 20th century adaptations of the Korean heated floor called ondol. Ondol, as a material structure, is explored in relation to changing family relations and larger societal transitions in Korea using the concept of place—a conjuncture of material space, social relations, and the process of social construction. Theories of place and place hybridization have provided a framework for tracing how and why Korean ondol has persisted throughout modernization in the 20th century. Physical adaptations of ondol, changing family relations, social constructions embedded in the changing forms of buildings, and their dynamic interplay are explored. This study addresses four interrelated research questions: (1) how have the physical pharacteristics of Korean ondol changed; (2) how have family relations interrelated with the use of ondol changed over time; (3) what are the meanings and symbols of ondol shared by Koreans; and finally (4) how has people’s experience changed as a result of physical and social transformation of ondol in Korea? Three data collection methods were employed in the study: (1) collection of scholarly articles on physical dimensions of ondol including its thermal performance; (2) popular media including internet articles, magazines, newspapers, and TV dramas; and (3) in-depth interviews with elderly immigrants in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. (1) was analyzed through the descriptive meta-analysis method while (2) & (3) were analyzed with interpretive content analysis. The study revealed that Korean ondol went through three stages over the last 100 years: (1) traditional ondol; (2) 246 modified ondol; and (3) hydronic ondol. Each ondol stage evolved with its own unique physical characteristics, actively interacting with: (1) patterns of everyday life of Koreans; (2) large societal transition including social order and infrastructure; and finally (3) place experience that arose from the combination of physical characteristics, patterns of everyday life, and societal change. Throughout different stages of ondol, encompassing themes are also identified: (1) issues of gender, economic class, and generational effect; (2) culturally unique features of thermal comfort; (3) commercialization of thermal experiences; and finally, (4) the formation of Korean identity in the era of globalization. Keywords: culture, social issues, technology, residential, architecture, case study May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Interior Design / Interior Architecture Application of Chinese Elements in Interior Decoration Practice at Baton Rouge, Louisiana Jun Zou (Louisiana State University) Interior design is a sprung up career in the past 70 years. As a major in higher education, interior design program started around 1940s in U.S.A., and around 1950s in China. While the programs in different universities vary by time, administrative settings, educational philosophy and approaches, and even by their names, both commonalities and differences are evident. With educational background and teaching experience in design programs across China, Canada and the U.S.A., the author recognizes that the differences run deeper than variability between individual programs. In fact, the systematic differences between the two education systems (the American and the Chinese systems) dominate those within the two. This research is set forth to study the differences between the two systems. The objective is to encourage more communications between them, which would consequently benefit both systems by facilitating better mutual understanding, by learning from each other, and by incorporating a globalized perspective in interior design education. By examining two typical interior design programs from respectively the American and Chinese systems through an analysis of their history, current curricula, and implementation of the curricula, some observations are made. In the U.S.A., interior design education has been evolving from having lots of arts education characteristics to incorporating many engineering components. In particular, the interior design program has the following characteristics: • Establishment of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary learning community • Focusing on system/process – oriented training. One distinct feature is the emphasis on the whole design process and its associated documentation, presentation, review and critics Linking Differences / Defining Actions • Promoting self-study ability, fostering students study initiative • Inclusion of new technology and notions, such as computer technology, green design, sustainability • Using internship as a mean that helps students to gain practice experience from professional design company In China, early interior design programs mostly reside in arts schools or departments, and have just started to spin off from architecture design or industrial design since late 80’s. Decoration remains a very influential perspective in interior design programs, which reflects its artistic origination. In particular, the following characteristics are observed: • Emphasizing foundation trainings: freehand drawing and spatial imagination skills have been given tremendous emphasis • Emphasizing on study of regional, national and cultural styles • Focusing on result, in the form of the final design and its representations. • Most of studio projects are real and practical Overall, the American and Chinese interior design programs maintain some unique characteristics. While these two systems are not at the same maturity level, some of their characteristics can complement and have the potential to benefit each other. Considering interior design education is currently undergoing a major expansion and enhancement in both countries, a larger scope of surveys and comparative studies of these two systems could potentially offers more insights on the future development of interior design education in both systems. Keywords: aesthetics / meaning / assessment, curriculum development, design education, interior design, case study Case Study: Comparing American and Chinese Interior Design (Caso de estudio: comparando los programas de diseño de interiores de américa y china) Jun Zou and T. L. Ritchie (Louisiana State University) Interior design is a sprung up career in the past 70 years. As a major in higher education, interior design program started around 1940s in U.S.A., and around 1950s in China. While the programs in different Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 247 Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior universities vary by time, administrative settings, educational philosophy and approaches, and even by their names, both commonalities and differences are evident. With educational background and teaching experience in design programs across China, Canada and the U.S.A., the author recognizes that the differences run deeper than variability between individual programs. In fact, the systematic differences between the two education systems (the American and the Chinese systems) dominate those within the two. This research is set forth to study the differences between the two systems. The objective is to encourage more communications between them, which would consequently benefit both systems by facilitating better mutual understanding, by learning from each other, and by incorporating a globalized perspective in interior design education. By examining two typical interior design programs from respectively the American and Chinese systems through an analysis of their history, current curricula, and implementation of the curricula, some observations are made. 2 In the U.S.A., interior design education has been evolving from having lots of arts education characteristics to incorporating many engineering components. In particular, the interior design program has the following characteristics: • Establishment of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary learning community • Focusing on system/process – oriented training. One distinct feature is the emphasis on the whole design process and its associated documentation, presentation, review and critics • Promoting self-study ability, fostering students study initiative • Inclusion of new technology and notions, such as computer technology, green design, sustainability • Using internship as a mean that helps students to gain practice experience from professional design company In China, early interior design programs mostly reside in arts schools or departments, and have just started to spin off from architecture design or industrial design since late 80’s. Decoration remains a very influential perspective in interior design programs, which reflects its artistic origination. In particular, the following characteristics are observed: 248 • Emphasizing foundation trainings: freehand drawing and spatial imagination skills have been given tremendous emphasis • Emphasizing on study of regional, national and cultural styles • Focusing on result, in the form of the final design and its representations. • Most of studio projects are real and practical Overall, the American and Chinese interior design programs maintain some unique characteristics. While these two systems are not at the same maturity level, some of their characteristics can complement and have the potential to benefit each other. Considering interior design education is currently undergoing a major expansion and enhancement in both countries, a larger scope of surveys and comparative studies of these two systems could potentially offers more insights on the future development of interior design education in both systems. Keywords: aesthetics / meaning / assessment, curriculum development, design education, interior design, case study Connecting Lighting Design Concepts to Lighting Software through Interactive Learning Modules (Uniendo el diseño de conceptos luminosos con software luminoso a través de un módulo interactivo) Tina Sarawgi (University of North Carolina, Greensboro) Today, lighting design software tools have improved considerably in their accuracy and graphical user interface. They allow designers to iteratively explore different scenarios related to lighting, producing graphics and reports that help examine and communicate the benefits of a certain design scenario. The probability of efficient use of electric light and daylight, and energy conservation could be higher when lighting solutions are rigorously investigated through such tools in the design of interior environments. However, it is unfortunate to find that the use of lighting design software is notably limited in the design academic community (Sarawgi, 2006). Only 42.9% of interior design and 43.3% of architecture educators use them in their lighting design related courses. This paper discusses a lighting design soft- May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México ware learning modules project designed to address this shortcoming. The learning modules are designed as a self-paced discovery environment. The purpose of the interactive modules is three-fold: to demonstrate the capabilities of lighting design software, encourage designers to design using photometrically sound lighting software tools, and to integrate lighting in the overall design process. They are built on the premise that all lighting design software programs are based on radiosity or raytracing or a combination of both (Rea, 2000). If these software concepts are suitably linked to lighting design concepts, designers would feel less intimidated in using the programs. With this background information, users of lighting simulation tools can better use them in their design and analysis processes. The learning modules are thus divided into three main components with topics hyperlinked to one another: lighting concepts (fundamental knowledge on lighting), software concepts (related lighting design software concepts), and lighting application modules (application of knowledge from the other modules for specific lighting tasks). The interior lighting design process serves as a thread that ties the three modules together. Hence, when faced with a lighting design task in hand, the user has the flexibility of looking up a topic in the lighting design process. The lighting concepts module can help one gain a basic understanding of the lighting design issue. The chosen topic is hyperlinked to the relevant sections in the software concepts module to understand lighting design software’s approach. Finally, the lighting application module can be referenced to view specific examples of lighting applications on the topic. For specific software program issues, the users are encouraged to refer to their respective help files. The course modules are envisioned as being used either in parts as a reference material, or used for the lighting design process as a whole. Increasing accuracy, interactivity, and iterative interface of lighting design software tools today make them desirable to designers (Benya, 2004). The learning modules are designed to bring lighting concepts to life with lighting design software tools, thus providing designers valuable information and skills to arrive at effective lighting design solutions. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Keywords: Technology/ computer applications, interior lighting design, simulation, learning modules Feng Shui Analysis of Ralph Rapson Hall and Weisman Museum at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus (Análisis de feng shui de ralph parson hall y el museo weisman en el campus de la universidad de las Ciudades Gemelas en Minnesota) Ritu Bhatt (University of Minnesota) Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice which in recent years has been revived and popularized by a broad range of teachers and practitioners who follow different schools of Feng shui thought. The different schools -- the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist School of Feng shui, The Compass school, as well as many others re-contextualize ancient knowledge and techniques for contemporary uses. Practitioners present Feng shui as emerging alternative science that has parallels to environmental philosophy, psychology, magnetism and environmental behavior research. Despite its proliferation as a popular practice and the distortions that are inevitable given the manner in which it is currently being amalgamated as a modern science, there are some potential insights that can be derived from the techniques that Feng shui practitioners use to analyze buildings. This poster session will present a dialogue that occurred between students of architecture from University of Minnesota and the New York based Feng shui practitioner Alex Stark. The dialogue will be presented in the form of diagrammatic analyses of Ralph Rapson Hall (the existing structure designed by Cerny and Associates as well as the extension that has been designed by architect Steven Hall) and the Weisman Museum designed by architect Frank Gehry .The dialogue and the detailed drawings bring to the surface a range of insights for architects and environment behavior researchers on specific ways by which different parts of the human body respond to spatial cues -- some of which are often missed out in the current models of design pedagogy. Detailed drawings will present as well as critically evaluate key concepts currently employed by Feng Shui practitioners, such as flow of energy at the mouth of chi, area of highest land energy, positive and negative street influences, use of crystals in Feng shui, implications of building upon Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 249 Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior parking lots, use of bagua and compass directions to analyze existing building plans as well as the implications of creating a Flying Star Horoscope for building analysis. This poster presentation hopes to highlight both the overlaps and the disconnects of Feng shui understanding with environmental behavior research and also delve into how and why Feng shui practice continues to evolve and thrive as an alternative science drawing co-relations between space perception, mind-body cognition and human well-being. Keywords: Space Perception, Feng shui, Building Analysis, Human well-being Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior Furniture in Oklahoma’s Indian Territory (El mobiliario en el Territorio Indio de Oklahoma) Mihyun Kang, Kyu-Ho Ahn, and Lynne Richards (Oklahoma State University) Following passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the U.S. government mandated the migration of American Indians reserved land located in Indian Territory, which eventually became the state of Oklahoma. Native Americans relocated to the Territory represented significant cultural and historical diversity. Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole) settled the eastern Territory and brought substantially acculturated European American lifestyles. Native Americans removed to the western Territory reflected more traditional hunting and nomadic cultures. The years 1850-1885 were associated with the American Civil War and slow postwar recovery; during which time Native American ethnicity was dominant. The period 1885-1900 was characterized by a major influx of non-Indian homesteaders and the demise of Indian control of the Territory. In 1889, the U.S. government began opening the Territory to non-Indian settlement and the population expanded rapidly with European and African American farmers, tradesmen, and merchants. The years 1900-1910 reflected the development of statehood and subsequent political, social, and economic adjustments. This study investigated the furniture history of Oklahoma’s early settlers, as experienced and described by actual residents of the nineteenth century Indian Territory. The investigation sought to determine if the uses of furniture by territorial residents differed based on 1) ethnicity (Acculturated Native 250 Americans, Traditional Native Americans, European Americans, African Americans) and 2) historical period (1850 -1885, 1885-1900, 1900-1910). During the 1930s, as part of a project funded by the federal Works Progress Administration, 6,300 early residents of the Indian Territory were interviewed concerning their memories of territorial life. These were subsequently published as the Oklahoma-Indian Papers. Interview statements pertaining to furniture items were extracted, along with demographic information about the interviewees. Content analysis was conducted and descriptive statistics were employed to summarize the data. Of the 6,300 interviewed individuals, 557 included comments regarding furniture. The self-reported ages of the informants ranged from 34 to 103. Ethnic identity was specified by only 24.6% of the informants, of whom 55% were acculturated Native American, 28% traditional Native American, 13% European American, and 4% African American. An analysis of housing types inhabited by these informants indicated that most lived in log houses. Furniture items mentioned in the interviews included beds, cabinets, chairs, and other small items. Most furniture was either brought with settlers when they moved to the Territory, or was made at home upon arrival. The memories suggested furniture in Oklahoma’s Indian Territory was as diverse as the informants, with the use of local materials for homemade furniture observed across all ethnicities. However, furniture was less diverse in terms of historical periods, implying that furniture may have been passed on to the next generation once it was made or brought to the Territory. Also, newcomers continued to arrive in the Territory throughout the territorial period, and therefore furniture deprivation associated with relocation was mentioned in regards to each period. During 1900-1910, the furniture associated with traditional Native Americans showed growing acculturation influence. Overall, furniture in Oklahoma’s Indian Territory reflected the historical background and environment of each of the user/producer groups. Keywords: Culture, history, furniture, residential. May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Incorporating Green Design in Interior Design Education (Incorporando el diseño verde en la educación del diseño de interiores) Christiana Lafazani and Jennifer Hamilton (Virginia Commonwealth University) Green Design, LEED, and Sustainability all terms we hear and read about daily. As architects and designers we have been working on integrating green methods in our practices while renovating or building new spaces. We are constantly reminded and are compelled to remind our clients of our responsibility to the environment and the fragile equilibrium the human race needs to sustain for the survival of all species. Richard Hyde in his book called The Environmental Brief: Pathways for Green Design states: “The concept of sustainability is seen as the key to responding to the pressures that humans are placing on the planet’s ecosystem. Yet definitions of sustainability can still be perplexing. Is sustainability a goal for designers, a process, an outcome or all of the above?” As an educator in the field of Interior Design I have been faced with the challenge of successfully incorporating sustainability issues into my classrooms. How do we effectively drive our students to the idea that Green Design methods should be the standard approach to every design solution and not the exception? How do we instill in them that our actions can affect air pollution, deforestation, health of other humans, energy consumption and waste production. During the past five years of teaching I have incorporated a number of methods for my lecture and studio courses to coerce the use of green materials and ecological methods in student projects. Through the study of William McDonough’s and Michael Braungardt’s Cradle to Cradle book (2002), a number of Eco-methods and materials lectures from local industry design professionals and the viewing of documentaries such as “Blue Vinyl”, “The Next Industrial Revolution” and “An Inconvenient Truth” I ask my students to produce a paper and a poster that promotes Ecological thinking and awareness. For a closer physical approach to materials and construction they are asked to produce a series of two cubes and a container using all sustainable means. I present them with some examples from David Guthrie’s Cube book (2004) and ask them to further explore. In Linking Differences / Defining Actions studio courses I have introduced an office/ showroom of eco friendly materials project and invited students to design a space where all materials are sustainable. In all projects students have to consider minimizing new resources and considering recycling, conserving energy, have respect for their impact on the environment and for the health and well being of the end users. This paper will focus on the educational methods used to introduce green issues to Interior Design students. A number of digital examples of student work will be incorporated in the presentation to clearly demonstrate the outcome. Keywords: sustainability, academic, Interior Design, theory /conceptualization Integrating Creativity in the Volumetric Design Process: Creative Concept Integrated Wall Designs (Integrando la creatividad en el proceso de diseño volumétrico: un concepto creativo integrado en el diseño de paredes) Elizabeth Pober and Janet Biddick (University of Oklahoma) A concept is the main idea influencing the steps taken and the decisions made during a design project’s design phase (Malnar & Vodvarka, 1992). “Concepts influence the creative process in design by consciously guiding the decisions made while inviting creativity” (Leigh, 2000). Thus, they affect the selection and manipulation of basic design elements and organizational principles to be used in solving specific design problems (Malnar & Vodvarka, 1992). When a concept is developed and used early in the design process, the elements selected to shape the space are reinforced with the concept’s idea, in turn creating a stronger design. This project was developed to introduce creative concept integration into the design process, to result in a complex volumetric design solution of a component that is often quite simple. The objective was to design three focal wall partitions to communicate and express an associated creative design solution volumetrically for three different clients. Methodology The students were given three client categories to design unique focal wall partitions for use in a main Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones 251 Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior space within the client’s facility: one each for an office, a retail store and a spiritual gathering center. Each category had size limitations that restricted the outcome of the design solutions. The first step in the process was for each student to choose a specific client for each category and to research that particular client. The students then developed a list of words that would assist them in exploring diverse dimensions of the concept to be conveyed for each space. These concept words would ultimately guide and shape the design of the walls. The overall atmosphere that was appropriate for the client was to be the driving factor in the list of words. The second step was to use the list of concept words to develop abstract sketches to define and communicate the concept graphically. The students had to group certain words together, and creatively generate two-dimensional abstract graphic representations of the concepts. The third step in the process involved combining elements from the abstract sketches and translating them into three-dimensional abstract models. Each student constructed models for each client category, choosing materials to communicate their creative concepts three-dimensionally. To assist them in translating the abstract models into the final design solution, the size of the models was limited to each client’s size restriction for the final design. The models were built at ¼”=1’ scale. The final step was to use the concept words, abstract sketches, and abstract models to translate into a creative wall design for each client’s space. The students had to consider the materials that would be used, the construction method, and the way shape, size and design would affect the surrounding spaces. Summary: This project illustrates a method for pairing a creative design development process with volumetric thinking, resulting in a design solution that communicates a conceptual idea directly to the users of the space. The outcome generated numerous creative volumetric design ideas for a component that is often lacking in three-dimensional creativity. Keywords: Creativity, Volumetric Design, Design Concepts, Design Process, Design Development References: Aspelund, Karl. (2006). The Design Process. New York: Fairchild Publications. 252 Council for Interior Design Accreditation. (2006). Council for Interior Design Accreditation: Professional Standards. Grand Rapids, MI: Author. Karlen, Mark. (2003). Space Planning Basics, 2nd Edition. New York: Wiley. Leigh, Katharine. (2000). Creativity and ConceptBased Design: A System for Learning. In IDEC Celebgrate! Interior Design Education: Proceedings of the Interior Design Educators Council Annual International Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Malnar, J.M. & Vodvarka, F. (1992). The Interior Dimension: A theoretical approach to enclosed space. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Rengel, Roberto. (2003). Shaping Interior Space. New York: Fairchild Publications. Van Dommelen, David. (1965). Walls: enrichment and ornamentation. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. Author’s Note:: The authors would like to credit Associate Professor David Boeck as one of the additional instructors of this course. Mr. Boeck taught the graphic’s portion of this studio; however, was still involved with the development and execution of this project. A Time-Space-Physics Design Model in Architecture: The Study of Patterns in the Compass School of Feng Shui Theory (Un modelo de diseño tiempo-espacio-física en la arquitectura: el estudio de patrones en la escuela de la teoría del Feng Shui) An-Chi Tai (Virginia Tech) The science of ancient civilizations usually had viewpoints differ from today’s science to explain their natural and social environments. Some of their understanding of this world could be categorized as “quasi-science” or “pseudo-science”; however, sometimes their thoughts may contain the possibility to provide valuable perspectives for the development of modern sciences. This interpretative study of Chinese Feng-shui Theory links the differences between ancient Eastern architecture and modern Western architecture design methods. Feng-shui Theory serves as one of the major foundations in traditional Chinese May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México architecture. There are two schools that specialize in the Feng-shui Theory, the Form School, and the Compass School. The form school emphasizes greatly on analyzing landforms, and selecting suitable sites for residency. The methods produced by the Form School have attained creditability from modern research in the field of Chinese architecture. On the contrary, the theologies behind the Compass School are unclear and being misunderstood. The aspects of the Compass School in this research will be based on the architectural development in the Chinese historic classics and ancient Chinese’s knowledge system. In advance, by comparing with the analysis of the contemporary residential design process, this research also focuses on the conversion of the feng-shui principles into present architecture design method. It helps to establish a research framework, which can become a communicable platform for feng-shui researchers in the future. The Knowledge System greatly defined the Chinese ancestors’ thoughts and behaviors. It was developed to connect the relationships between the natural laws and the social orders. The system was built with the conceptual thoughts, including Chinese cosmology and philosophy in the beginning. Eventually, it was developed into the practical scientific subjects, such as Chinese astronomy, earth science, geography, climatology, environmental analysis, material science, physics, and mathematics, etc. These subjects described Chinese ancestors’ understanding of the natural laws with a basic and scientific knowledge system. This knowledge system contains three sections: time, space, and physics. It could be compared with today’s metrology and basic sciences, such as mathematics and physics. With the interaction of time-spacephysics factors as the language and the logic, feng-shui provides a series of design patterns. These design patterns describe the principles of constructing process, housing planning, and interior design. In addition, the patterns offer a living model for human beings to achieve harmony with the Mother Nature. As for the result, two transformations will be defined and interpreted: First, the transformation from the primitive feng-shui language and spatial patterns into the modern architectural language. Second, the transition from feng-shui’s conceptual and practical design patterns to a decision-making framework of the contemporary housing design process. Linking Differences / Defining Actions Keywords: Culture, Architecture, Residential Housing, Qualitative Research Asumiendo Diferencias / Definiendo Acciones Thematic Abstracts Interior Design Interior Architecture Diseño interior Arquitectura del interior 253 Nature & Ecology / Landscape Architecture Design Clean Water: New Forms for Site Specific Landscape Integration of Wastewater Biofiltration Thematic Abstracts Nature & Ecology , Landscape Architecture Naturaleza y ecología, arquitectura del paisaje (Diseño de agua limpia. Nuevas formas para integración del paisaje en un sitio específico y biofiltración de agua de desagüe) Nicole Stern (Penn State University) Water quality and availability will increasingly become a top global environmental issue. Through emulating natural wetland biogeochemical processes, wastewater biofiltration technologies convert what is typically treated as a waste product back into a resource. Further benefits of these systems in comparison to typical treatment solutions, or lack of treatment infrastructure, include lower environmental impact, reduced cost, increased ecological habitat, public education and creation of aesthetically enjoyable spaces. This study compiles a typology of existing biological wastewater treatment systems, including constructed treatment wetlands, reedbeds and Living Machines, and their feasibility in various project scenarios. Through precedent study and design testing, the method looks to distill a design process which could be utilized by landscape architects to re-design engineered forms of sustainable technologies for specific ecological, socio-cultural, and economic design contexts. The review of overlapping design requirements in literature and case studies reveals a variety of forms, configurations and materials that achieve the basic requirements of any wastewater treatment system. Key case studies used in this research include reedbeds and willowbeds at the ZEGG Ecovillage in Germany, willowbeds at Dysselkilde Ecovillage in Denmark, the Kolding Bioworks Pyramid in Denmark, vertical and horizontal flow sub-surface wetlands at the Center for Alternative Technology in Wales, the Living Machine at Oberlin College in Ohio and the Living Machine at Julian Woods in Pennsylvania. The results of this distillation outline retention, circulation, distribution, aeration and surface area for microorganism habitat as the main necessary com- 254 ponents to treat wastewater. Realizing these criteria frees the form that a system may take to satisfy the science and engineering aspects of biofiltration. These design goals are applied to a secondary treatment system in a rural residential cluster scenario with a lack of existing infrastructure and a low budget. This experimental project is based in Harlan, KY – an area which currently straight-pipes their residential wastewater into a local waterway without treatment. The resulting design incorporates a vertical flow trickling filter combined with a living wall and sub-surface constructed wetland. The basic new options in form freed in this study are generalizable for wastewater treatment options in developing nations where lack of infrastructure to deal with sewage has adverse environmental and social health impacts. With the challenges faced by the future population in dealing with global water issues, innovative ideas that employ the wisdom of biological systems offer hope for simple, affordable solutions. There are no waste products in nature – everything is food for something else. We need to re-integrate our own waste streams into the surrounding environment using efficient technology to buffer the impact of increasing populations and using beauty to heal the blight of current infrastructure on the landscape. Keywords: wastewater biofiltration, biological wastewater treatment, constructed wetlands, reedbeds, Living Machine, waste = food. Ethnobotanic Gardens for Georgia Schools (Jardines etnobotánicos para las escuelas de Georgia) Ashley Calabria (University of Georgia) The Ethnobotanic World Garden for Georgia Schools project is a collaborative effort of those working together to bring about a state wide initiative for developing formal and informal educational training to address the emerging needs of Hispanic students and families via environmental design and curriculum requirements in public schools. This project was initiated by an interdisciplinary group of professionals including members of the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia, The University of Georgia Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, The University of Georgia School of Environmental May 28- June 1, 2008 Boca del Rio, Veracruz México Design, and the Georgia State Coordinator of the Children, Youth and Families at Risk organization. Working together through a grant received from the Sustainable Community Forestry Grant Program administered by the Georgia Forestry Commission, we set out to collaboratively develop strategies to link different subcultures through an educational workshop for public school teachers for designing, creating and installing ethnobotanic gardens that could address a variety of common issues impacting Georgia’s third largest demographic population, those of Hispanic origin. Georgia’s classrooms are rapidly changing, mirroring national globalization. More than ever teachers are seeking resources to equitably engage students from different backgrounds and abilities in high quality science activities. The project goals of Ethnobotanic Gardens for Georgia Schools is to develop an awareness of ethnobotanical gardens as a way to celebrate trees, plants and ethnicities and to serve as tools for growing cultural understanding as well as meeting and expanding many educational objectives in schools. Each member of the collaborative brought extensive knowledge including; specific plant selection, design criteria, installation and maintenance issues, and an in depth look at linking Georgia Curriculum Standards to the ethnobotanic garden. Multi cultural literature resources were also brought for introducing community and festival interactions with gardens, food and medicinal uses of Hispanic nature and cultural legends and myths related to gardens. The workshop was presented to a full class of public school teachers over a two day period in the fall of 2006. It consisted of presentations, educational activities, landscape design and individual counseling for assisting and instructing teachers on the rigor involved in developing and incorporating garden activities based on cultural sensitivities. Final evaluations were sent out to the participating teachers and are being used to construct a longer, more intensive session which will be conducted in the winter of 2008, this time funded by the Georgia Improving Teacher Quality Grant. The EDRA presentation of this material will track the schema and development of the program based on the challenges encountered, the evolution of criteria, and the anticipated future of the workshop based on Linking Differences / Defining Actions teacher evaluations. The presenter would also like to include time for presentation and discussion on ideas and follow up methods for further development and success of the program. Keywords: children, culture, (elementary/middle school) curriculum development, outdoor environments, landscape architecture Implications of Time Art Processes for the Design Arts Workshop (Inplicaciones de los procesos del arte y tiempo para diseñar artes - taller) Organizers: Duncan Case (University of Nebraska) and Thomas Mitchell (Indiana State University) This workshop explores the question: : What can the “design arts” learn from the way the “time arts” accommodate time in their design processes that will better enable the design arts to design for digital environments? The time arts include theatre, dance, music, film and video. The design arts include architecture, inte