IN-PERSON Lisbon Livable Cities. Section A

Abstract

Universities are integral to the development of cities and to their livelihood. These institutions of higher learning hold an essential position within the urban fabric, yielding professionals who keep cities thriving with their innovation and ingenuity. Unfortunately, in the past decade, a mental health crisis has been spreading across many campuses globally. More students than ever struggle to stay enrolled and graduate as they deal with stress, anxiety and depression. To this end, a study was conducted on a university campus in Philadelphia, the sixth largest city in the United States, to determine how stress impacts students and how the built environment on campuses could be modified to increase student wellness. Undergraduate interior design and psychology students used mixed methods research techniques to collect over two hundred responses from a survey of the student body, in addition to qualitative feedback collected from focus groups. This research revealed that the campus was deficient in several types of spaces: locations for quiet relaxation, napping, meditation, and sensory spaces – all of which were noted as having the ability to reduce stress. Design students created full-scale temporary installations on site for all students to utilize in their wellness restoration and gained feedback on which designs were the most beneficial. This presentation would review the specific findings and the spaces designed, with the hopes that other universities might implement the recommended modifications, making their campuses… and by their extension, their cities… healthier and more livable.