IN-PERSON Barcelona Livable Cities. Section A

Abstract

An increasing number of studies in cognitive science highlight the dynamic interplay between brain-body rhythms and the surrounding environment, revealing that cognition, perception, and emotion are not confined to internal processes but emerge from continuous interactions with external environmental features. Brain-body rhythms are shown to couple with external rhythms, contributing to ongoing sense-making processes that shape how we feel, perceive, and act within spaces. Architectural and urban environments are therefore not passive backdrops but active participants in these processes. Adopting an ecological-enactive perspective, this paper examines how affectivity and sense-making are shaped through coupling processes between humans and their (built) environments. It further explores how architectural settings scaffold emotional regulation and shared experiences through social coordination. Concepts such as affordances, atmospheres, and behavioral settings are used to describe the relational phenomena that support these dynamic interactions between individuals and their built and social environments. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from enactive cognition, ecological psychology, and affective science, the paper proposes that affective and cognitive experiences are co-constituted by the built environment. Ultimately, it argues that the affective experience of architecture and urban space is shaped by the continuous coordination of brain, body, environemnt and socio-cultural practices. This perspective not only deepens our understanding of how people inhabit space but also opens new pathways for architectural design—ones that intentionally support well-being, emotional resonance, and meaningful interaction by aligning with the diverse embodied and affective capacities of its inhabitants.