Changing Place
A multipurpose park designed to encourage healthy lifestyles through non-exercise physical activity by incorporating food markets and multipurpose spaces.
Project Duration:
September 2021 - June 2022
Project Role(s):
Student, M. Arch Thesis
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Project Duration:
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Project Role(s):
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Project Duration:
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Project Role(s):
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Changing Place
A multipurpose park designed to encourage healthy lifestyles through non-exercise physical activity by incorporating food markets and multipurpose spaces.
Duration:
09/2021 - 06/2022
Role(s):
Student, M. Arch Thesis
The Problem
Research
Sedentary lifestyles are on the rise and increase the risk for serious health problems. These health problems are exacerbated by the knowledge-based economy, lack of activity space, and the overall lack of desire to engage in physical activity. Our daily lives can almost entirely be accessed via the internet and require little to no effort. Using minimal activity, time, or effort to complete any task would be considered efficient and is in line with the concept that humans prefer the path of least resistance (Brunye et al, 2010).
Embracing innovative efficiencies means that we are expending as little energy as possible resulting in inactivity for 50% of all adults in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). According to the World Health Organization in 2019, engaging in more physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are two out of the three leading causes of death.
Habitutal wellness in the built environment can be encouraged by using persuasive techniques found in various disiciplines associated with psychology.
Developing places that encourage NEPA for a healthy life will first require understanding the components of a healthy life. A majority of people’s lives are spent in built environments, so an analysis of current built environments ensures whether or not these environments are sufficient in encouraging healthy lifestyles. Additionally, persuasive psychological strategies typically used to spur consumerism are explored and reclaimed to make a positive influence on people’s lives by encouraging physical activity.
Architecture has the opportunity to not only enrich people’s lives but promote longevity by incorporating interdisciplinary research such as psychology, marketing, and gamification. Building designers are often tasked with developing the most appropriate space for a projected use. These spaces can become even more thoughtful when knowledge of human behavior and response are considered. This opens the path for architecture that is driven by these disciplines to encourage healthy behavior for sustained life.
Roughly 10% of all deaths in the United States are associated with inadequate physical activity, so our environment must stimulate healthy behavior for a prolonged life (Carlson et al, 2018). Healthcare organizations have identified ways to reduce the risk of death associated with unhealthy lifestyles. This would include increasing physical activity, in addition to reducing consumption of high saturated and trans-fat foods, alcohol, and tobacco intake (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Regarding food and drugs, access to healthy alternatives can be less viable due to unaffordability and the prevalence of food deserts. Although this thesis will consider the need to enhance healthy food opportunities, its primary focus will be sustaining human health through increasing habitual non-exercise physical activity (NEPA).
Healthy Lifestyles
Non-Exercise Physical Activity is a form of behavior that is completed during a normal routine of a person’s day. This may include cooking, gardening, walking etc.
Opportunities are provided to allow one to re-center themselves. This can be done by providing access to nature or by fostering social connections.
Access to natural light and time spent in sunshine is important for maintaining circadian rhythms and can make us happier. The same can be said for visual connections to forms of nature.
Suggested behavior appears manageable due to operant conditioning; which is when a specific activity becomes familiar through consistent exposure.
Spaces remain engaging by ensuring that the user has an opportunity to discover something new with each encounter.
Allow the user an opportunity to be a part of the space by providing various choices with ranging levels of difficulty.
The Problem
Sedentary lifestyles are on the rise and increase the risk for serious health problems. These health problems are exacerbated by the knowledge-based economy, lack of activity space, and the overall lack of desire to engage in physical activity. Our daily lives can almost entirely be accessed via the internet and require little to no effort. Using minimal activity, time, or effort to complete any task would be considered efficient and is in line with the concept that humans prefer the path of least resistance (Brunye et al, 2010).
Embracing innovative efficiencies means that we are expending as little energy as possible resulting in inactivity for 50% of all adults in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). According to the World Health Organization in 2019, engaging in more physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are two out of the three leading causes of death.
Habits are more likely to form when activities are bundled. When day-to-day functions are paired with fun, fitness or leisure, it satisfies the human desire for efficiency and can lead to easier adoption.
Symbols can be found in all aspects of life. The use and understanding of various shapes which hold meaning to a society can be extremely influential.
A specific motivation is defined that encourages users to take part of the activity suggested. This can increase the likelihood that it will be incorporated into their daily lives.
Case Study Analysis
Significant overlap was discovered across all research sectors to show that the most engaging environment uses tactics of persuasion that may result in NEPA. The research resulted in nine strategies that will be used to benchmark private, semi-public, and public typologies to understand if and how the nine strategies were implemented.
Deployment
The most typical forms of incentives for NEPA found in case study analyses appear as natural environments, a variety of visuals or activities, and opportunities to gather or break. These forms of incentives will be the baseline for the design proposal.
A design intervention in National City, CA was selected due to the discovery of high rates of coronary heart disease and stroke. The site selected provides an opportunity to connect various forms of social infrastructure along Paradise Creek towards the trolley line which can further encourage NEPA throughout the city. Additionally, the site can engage with residential neighborhoods from the east and west corners.
Many of the case studies were able to satisfy aspects of a healthy life through NEPA. They often provided opportunities for stress relief through fun or nature. When an incentive for NEPA was offered, it was found that the incentives were made extremely visible to encourage its use. Providing the extra persuasive nudge became the most neglected in all of the case studies. In particular, most case studies failed to create a sense of convenience or offered program that served multiple purposes.
A majority of the case studies analyzed did not provide moments for creative engagement. This discovery suggests that when designing for an engaging environment, paying close attention to convenience and creative engagement will allow for a space that is more habitually activated
Three case studies (1) (2) (7) stood out above the rest in terms of their ability to be a catalyst for healthy lifestyles and were analyzed further.
Architecture has the opportunity to not only enrich people’s lives but promote longevity by incorporating interdisciplinary research such as psychology, marketing, and gamification. Building designers are often tasked with developing the most appropriate space for a projected use. These spaces can become even more thoughtful when knowledge of human behavior and response are considered. This opens the path for architecture that is driven by these disciplines to encourage healthy behavior for sustained life.
Roughly 10% of all deaths in the United States are associated with inadequate physical activity, so our environment must stimulate healthy behavior for a prolonged life (Carlson et al, 2018). Healthcare organizations have identified ways to reduce the risk of death associated with unhealthy lifestyles. This would include increasing physical activity, in addition to reducing consumption of high saturated and trans-fat foods, alcohol, and tobacco intake (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Regarding food and drugs, access to healthy alternatives can be less viable due to unaffordability and the prevalence of food deserts. Although this thesis will consider the need to enhance healthy food opportunities, its primary focus will be sustaining human health through increasing habitual non-exercise physical activity (NEPA).
Research
Habitutal wellness in the built environment can be encouraged by using persuasive techniques found in various disiciplines associated with psychology.
Developing places that encourage NEPA for a healthy life will first require understanding the components of a healthy life. A majority of people’s lives are spent in built environments, so an analysis of current built environments ensures whether or not these environments are sufficient in encouraging healthy lifestyles. Additionally, persuasive psychological strategies typically used to spur consumerism are explored and reclaimed to make a positive influence on people’s lives by encouraging physical activity.
Healthy Lifestyles
Persuasive Techniques
Architecture for Activity
Access to natural light and time spent in sunshine is important for maintaining circadian rhythms and can make us happier. The same can be said for visual connections to forms of nature.
Opportunities are provided to allow one to re-center themselves. This can be done by providing access to nature or by fostering social connections.
Non-Exercise Physical Activity is a form of behavior that is completed during a normal routine of a person’s day. This may include cooking, gardening, walking etc.
Allow the user an opportunity to be a part of the space by providing various choices with ranging levels of difficulty.
Spaces remain engaging by ensuring that the user has an opportunity to discover something new with each encounter.
Suggested behavior appears manageable due to operant conditioning; which is when a specific activity becomes familiar through consistent exposure.
A specific motivation is defined that encourages users to take part of the activity suggested. This can increase the likelihood that it will be incorporated into their daily lives.
Symbols can be found in all aspects of life. The use and understanding of various shapes which hold meaning to a society can be extremely influential.
Habits are more likely to form when activities are bundled. When day-to-day functions are paired with fun, fitness or leisure, it satisfies the human desire for efficiency and can lead to easier adoption.
Case Study Analysis
Significant overlap was discovered across all research sectors to show that the most engaging environment uses tactics of persuasion that may result in NEPA. The research resulted in nine strategies that will be used to benchmark private, semi-public, and public typologies to understand if and how the nine strategies were implemented.
Many of the case studies were able to satisfy aspects of a healthy life through NEPA. They often provided opportunities for stress relief through fun or nature. When an incentive for NEPA was offered, it was found that the incentives were made extremely visible to encourage its use. Providing the extra persuasive nudge became the most neglected in all of the case studies. In particular, most case studies failed to create a sense of convenience or offered program that served multiple purposes.
A majority of the case studies analyzed did not provide moments for creative engagement. This discovery suggests that when designing for an engaging environment, paying close attention to convenience and creative engagement will allow for a space that is more habitually activated.
Three case studies (1) (2) (7) stood out above the rest in terms of their ability to be a catalyst for healthy lifestyles and were analyzed further.
Deployment
The most typical forms of incentives for NEPA found in case study analyses appear as natural environments, a variety of visuals or activities, and opportunities to gather or break. These forms of incentives will be the baseline for the design proposal.
A design intervention in National City, CA was selected due to the discovery of high rates of coronary heart disease and stroke. The site selected provides an opportunity to connect various forms of social infrastructure along Paradise Creek towards the trolley line which can further encourage NEPA throughout the city. Additionally, the site can engage with residential neighborhoods from the east and west corners.
Conclusion
One of the main drivers for non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) is to provide an incentive. This can exist in the form of a stress relief environment or paired with program that satisfies human necessities. When spatial design makes these places visible, it can more likely be used and integrated into people’s routines. Changing Place has found that simply having these spaces may not be enough, so an additional persuasive layer is required. These layers include offering variety to maintain engagement, serving multiple functions for people, and offering familiar activities, so that people can more easily participate.
Cultivating convenience becomes paramount in a society where time is of the essence. It becomes increasingly difficult to make time for healthy decisions, so designers of the built environment need to make engagement even easier. This can include creating stress relief environments that are within 15 minutes walking, offering an interesting array of activities within a public realm, or even providing a necessity that makes life more convenient for residents. When we can achieve places like this in every neighborhood, we can potentially achieve NEPA for everyone for a lifetime. Changing Place is more than just encouraging movement for health, it was an exploration as to how designers can make better places that people love going to again and again.
G
F
A
H
I
J
L
M
N
K
Striking visual landmarks can mentally reduce the distance between points of interest
An upper level multipurpose room to host events or become an after school recreation space
A familiar track bisecting the site. People of all abilities can engage with this well-known symbol of movement
Fruiting trees scattered throughout offer free sustenance
A variety of seating elements and climbable features may lead to gamification for a user
After successfully climbing up the wall a user will be greeted with expansive views of the site
Food trucks may enter to enhance the food environment
Visual depth of the creek and overhead elements encourages exploration
Larger grass areas invite alternative forms of play
B
A flexible food environment offering a variety of stimulants and encourages NEPA
C
Multiple opportunities for healthy movement adjacent to each other
O
Upper-level multipurpose room offering views of the creek. The ability to see from this vantage may encourage exploration throughout the site
A
Access to nature and fun conveniently provide stress relief while the creek encourages further exploration
B
A flexible food environment offering a variety of stimulants and encourages NEPA
D
A creek facing amphitheater invites performances of all kinds and activates the site
Multiple opportunities for healthy movement adjacent to each other
E
Places to play, enjoy the landscape, or work remotely are acknolwedged as reasons to return
D
C
D
E
A creek facing amphitheater invites performances of all kinds and activates the site
Places to play, enjoy the landscape, or work remotely are acknolwedged as reasons to return
F
G
Striking visual landmarks can mentally reduce the distance between points of interest
An upper level multipurpose room to host events or become an after school recreation space
H
A familiar track bisecting the site. People of all abilities can engage with this well-known symbol of movement
I
J
Fruiting trees scattered throughout offer free sustenance
A variety of seating elements and climbable features may lead to gamification for a user
K
L
Food trucks may enter to enhance the food environment
After successfully climbing up the wall a user will be greeted with expansive views of the site
M
N
Larger grass areas invite alternative forms of play
Visual depth of the creek and overhead elements encourages exploration
O
Upper-level multipurpose room offering views of the creek. The ability to see from this vantage may encourage exploration throughout the site
References
Brunye, T.T., Mahoney, C.R., & Gardony, A.L. (2010). North is up(hill): Route planning heuristics in real-world environments. Memory & Cognition 38(6), 700-712. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.38.6.700
Carlson SA, Adams EK, Yang Z, Fulton JE. (2018). Percentage of Deaths Associated With Inadequate Physical Activity in the United States. Preventing Chronic Disease.15:170354. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd18.170354
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Know Your Risk for Heart Disease.
Conclusion
One of the main drivers for non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) is to provide an incentive. This can exist in the form of a stress relief environment or paired with program that satisfies human necessities. When spatial design makes these places visible, it can more likely be used and integrated into people’s routines. Changing Place has found that simply having these spaces may not be enough, so an additional persuasive layer is required. These layers include offering variety to maintain engagement, serving multiple functions for people, and offering familiar activities, so that people can more easily participate.
Cultivating convenience becomes paramount in a society where time is of the essence. It becomes increasingly difficult to make time for healthy decisions, so designers of the built environment need to make engagement even easier. This can include creating stress relief environments that are within 15 minutes walking, offering an interesting array of activities within a public realm, or even providing a necessity that makes life more convenient for residents. When we can achieve places like this in every neighborhood, we can potentially achieve NEPA for everyone for a lifetime. Changing Place is more than just encouraging movement for health, it was an exploration as to how designers can make better places that people love going to again and again.
References
Brunye, T.T., Mahoney, C.R., & Gardony, A.L. (2010). North is up(hill): Route planning heuristics in real-world environments. Memory & Cognition 38(6), 700-712. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.38.6.700
Carlson SA, Adams EK, Yang Z, Fulton JE. (2018). Percentage of Deaths Associated With Inadequate Physical Activity in the United States. Preventing Chronic Disease.15:170354. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd18.170354
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Know Your Risk for Heart Disease. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/risk_factors.htm
Architecture for Activity
Persuasive Techniques