Anu Besson

Luento Kuopion kaupungille ja Savon SAFA:lle esitteli onnistuineita esimerkkejä kaupungeista ja urbaaneista tiloista, jotka tutkimukseni mukaan koetaan viihtyisiksi. Viihtyisyys usein kumpuaa elämyksellisyydestä: tuottaako tai salliiko tila erilaisia positiivisia elämyksiä?

This presentation to the City of Kuopio, Finland, and the Architects' Association of Savo introduced international examples of liveable cities and urban environments. I suggest based on theoretical and empirical research that places and areas are experienced as liveable, if they support or enable obtaining positive meaningful experiences.

http://www.kaupunginpuutarhurienseura.fi/kesaluentopaivat-kuopiossa-24-26-8-2016/

Kuviin perustuva luento tutki paratiisin konseptia eli kulttuurisesti jaettua ideaa, että ihmiselle ihanteelllinen ympäristö rakentuu harmoniasta luonnon kanssa.

This photo-based presentation at the conference of the Association of Municipal Green Area Managers studied the concept of paradise, the culturally shared notion about "the ideal environment": harmony with and immersion into nature.

What aesthetic qualities do we find restorative in our environments? I explore this in the context of staycations, favourite places, nature, urban environments, and the ideal or optimal environment. The data was sourced from social media and print media; a qualitative survey (N=308); and via a literature review. This thesis contrasts and bridges theories in environmental and everyday aesthetics with empirical findings in environmental preference studies, to critically examine current knowledge about environmental preferences and restoration, and to fill gaps and identify new directions for research. The main conclusions are that environmental preferences are influenced by the research method; the term “restorative” warrants expansion; and environmental preferences significantly depend on the subject’s expectations, earlier experiences and the interactional possibilities that are available in places. We are not passive recipients of sensory input but actively seek to attain positive ...

Research indicates that nature offers many physical and mental health benefits, including restoration – or recovery from mental fatigue. However, questions remain about what exactly in one’s environment is experienced as restorative and why. Bridging environmental aesthetics, environmental psychology and cultural studies, this study establishes a connection between landscape and mindscape as seen, for instance, in the ways in which an orderly environment is interpreted as an orderly state of mind and vice versa. Using data drawn from a qualitative survey targeting expatriate Finns, the article mobilises content analysis to interpret the results and concludes that a ‘favourite place’ is aesthetically appealing, enables actions that are experienced as restorative and is as much an interpretation of a space as a physical place.

Do humans have a natural habitat? If yes, is it the original habitat of early hominids or the most optimal environment for today’s humans? Are these two the same thing and, if not, what does ‘optimal habitat’ mean? I examine the concept of the optimal habitat from four viewpoints: 1) paradise; 2) urban design based on environmental psychology; 3) favorite places; and 4) environment as an invitation for action. I conclude that an optimal habitat is not a collection of more or less fixed elements but an environment that can be experienced as a beneficial feedback loop based on and responding to cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, and other needs. Different environments can prompt or hinder this experience of optimal habitat and consequently improve or diminish subjective well-being.

This multidisciplinary study enforces a suggested link between everyday aesthetic experiences and restoration. The studied phenomenon is staycation, a short-term holiday spent at home or at one’s home region, to identify how people use a (culturally) familiar environment for everyday aesthetic enjoyment and how that influences restoration. This focus minimises the potential effect of long-distance travel, novelty and escapism to restoration. Staycation has not been studied before from the perspective of everyday aesthetics and restoration. I explore staycation through a lens of qualitative media analysis; history and empirical research of holiday-making; and theories in everyday aesthetics.

This paper critiques a common research method, image-based studies, in assessing environmental references. The method is used, in particular, in the elds of environmental psychology, landscape studies, and health studies, here called empirical environmental preference studies or EEP studies. I argue that the established view in the EEP eld that nature is inherently experienced as more aesthetically appealing and restorative than urban environments may be biased because of the imagebased method. This paper presents a literature review of EEP studies, discussing them in a framework of environmental and everyday aesthetics. The conclusion is that EEP studies may strip cities of their physical, socio-cultural, and aesthetic layers; and comparing nature and cities as places of restoration may be unfruitful as our relationship with nature and urban environments is dissimilar.

Tulokset, kyselytutkimus 13.4-20.4.2020, 300 vastaajaa.
Kyselyn tavoite oli kartoittaa suomalaisten ulkoilu-ja vapaa-ajanviettotapojen muutoksia korona-poikkeusoloissa 16.3.2020 lähtien. Kysely toteutettiin kuukausi poikkeusolojen alun jälkeen. Vastauksista käy ilmi, että vaikka luonnossa liikkuminen on lisääntynyt, vastaajat kokivat voivansa hieman huonommin kuin ennen poikkeusoloja, vapaa-ajanvieton muutosten vuoksi. Kaupunkitilaan, harrastuksiin ja ihmisten pariin kaivataan takaisin.

This paper critiques a common research method, image-based studies, in assessing environmental preferences. The method is used, in particular, in the fields of environmental psychology, landscape studies, and health studies, here called empirical environmental preference studies or EEP studies. I argue that the established view in the EEP field that nature is inherently experienced as more aesthetically appealing and restorative than urban environments may be biased because of the image-based method. This paper presents a literature review of EEP studies, discussing them in a framework of environmental and everyday aesthetics. The conclusion is that EEP studies may strip cities of their physical, socio-cultural, and aesthetic layers; and comparing nature and cities as places of restoration may be unfruitful as our relationship with nature and urban environments is dissimilar.

Research indicates that nature offers many physical and mental health benefits, including restoration - or recovery from mental fatigue. However, questions remain what exactly in one's environment is experienced as restorative and why. Bridging environmental aesthetics, environmental psychology and cultural studies, this study establishes a connection between landscape and mindscape as seen, for instance, in the ways in which and orderly environment is interpreted as an orderly state of mind and vice versa. Using data drawn from a qualitative survey targeting expatriate Finns, the article mobilises content analysis to interpret the results and concludes that a 'favourite place' is aesthetically appealing, enables actions that are experienced as restorative and is as much an interpretation of a space as a physical place.

Do humans have a natural habitat? If yes, is it the original habitat of early hominids or the most optimal environment for today's humans? Are these two the same thing and, if not, what does 'optimal habitat' mean? I examine the concept of the optimal habitat from four viewpoints: 1) paradise; 2) urban design based on environmental psychology; 3) favorite places; and 4) environment as an invitation for action.

I conclude that an optimal habitat is not a collection of more or less fixed elements but an environment that can be experienced as a beneficial feedback loop based on and responding to cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, and other needs. Different environments can prompt or hinder this experience of optimal habitat and consequently improve or diminish subjective well-being.

Matkailu on maailman nopeimmin kasvavia aloja. Suosituimpiin käyntikohteisiin maailmanlaajuisesti lukeutuvat luonnonpuistot, kaupunkipuistot ja kasvitieteelliset puutarhat; näin myös Suomessa. Keräsin vastauksia 308 ulkosuomalaiselta eli ulkomailla asuvalta tai asuneelta henkilöltä aiheesta: millaiseen ympäristöön hakeudut, kun haluat palautua stressistä tai matalasta mielialasta? Asettuvatko kaupunki ja luonto aina vastakkain – miten matkailu, kaupunkiolot ja luontoelämykset yhdistyvät?

This multidisciplinary study enforces a suggested link between everyday aesthetic experiences and restoration. The studied phenomenon is staycation, a short-term holiday spent at home or at one's home region, to identify how people use a (culturally) familiar environment for everyday aesthetic enjoyment and how that influences restoration. This focus minimises the potential effect of long-distance travel, novelty and escapism to restoration. Staycation has not been studied before from the perspective of everyday aesthetics and restoration. I explore staycation through a lens of qualitative media analysis; history and empirical research of holiday-making; and theories in everyday aesthetics.

Miksi kaupunkisuunnittelu- tai viherammattilaisen tulisi olla perillä elämyksellisyydestä? Tutkimusten mukaan elämykset ovat olennainen osa onnellista, merkityksellisen ja sisällökkään tuntuista elämää. Psykologien mukaan ihmisillä on sisäsyntyinen tarve löytää elämästä mielekkyyttä, ja jos se puuttuu, puuttuu myös arjen hyvinvointi, pahimmillaan koko elämänhalu. Elämyksellisyys myös ylläpitää yhteisöllisyyttä, parantaen elämänlaatua. Kaupunkiympäristö vaikuttaa joka päivä niin positiivisten kuin negatiivistenkin elämysten syntyyn.

Millainen on ihanteellinen elinympäristö? Kysymystä ovat pohtineet monet ekspertit, ml. arkkitehdit, taiteilijat, filosofit ja biologit. Vastausta on haettu mm. savannilta kahden miljoonan vuoden takaa, ihmisten taidemausta ja ympäristömieltymyksistä, sekä eri heimoja ja kulttuureja tutkimalla. Kasvuympäristö vaikuttaa mieltymyksiin eikä "yksi koko sopii kaikille"-ympäristö vaikuta mahdolliselta, evoluutiopsykologien ehdotuksista huolimatta.

Julkaistu Viherympäristö-lehdessä 03/2017
(Viherrakentajien ammattilehti)

Miten Suomen ilmastossa voisi runsaammin ja vetovoimaisemmin käyttää kaupunki- ja puutarhasuunnittelun keinoja, jotta asukkaat ja matkailijat pystyisivät nauttimaan kaupunkiluonnosta ja sen moninaisista hyödyistä myös talvisin?

Julkaistu Viherympäristö-lehdessä 01/2017 (s.68-69): http://epaper.fi/read/3426/mQXVdXpe

How to use tools and strategies of urban greenery planning to ensure that residents and visitors are able to enjoy the urban greenery also in winter in the Arctic climate of Finland?

Published in Viherympäristö - magazine ("Urban Greenery") vol. 01/2017 pp. 68-69, a professional journal for urban greenery planners.

Valo elämysten lähteenä - ulkovalaistuksen merkitys julkisissa ja yksityisissä tiloissa.  Miten valaistus ja elämykset vaikuttavat elämänlaatuun? Miten myös talvella voitaisiin rohkaista ulkoilemaan ja liikkumaan, valoa ja elämyksellisyyttä hyödyntäen? Mikä ylipäätään on valon ja elämysten yhteys?

Julkaistu Viherympäristö-lehdessä; marraskuu 2016.

Light as the source of meaningful experiences - this article examines the significance of outdoor lighting in public and private places. What is the connection between lighting and meaningful experiences and in what ways light affects subjective quality of life? How to encourage people to obtain outdoor experiences also in winter by utilising light design and new lighting ideas?

Published in November 2016 in Viherympäristö - magazine ("Urban Greenery"), a professional journal for urban greenery planners.