Stress in the City : How to Allow for Restoration(<Feature 1>Restorative environments)

Abstract

This paper describes the psychological effects of city life. Despite the obvious charms and advantages of living in a city, it also has its drawbacks. Major disadvantages are that living in a city poses more demands on information processing capacity and on dealing with social stressors. To prevent or alleviate these taxing consequences of city life restorative environment research offers some insights that may be beneficial for city residents. Restorative options are of two main kinds: one is the preservation of nature in the city, the other is about architectural and interior design solutions that regulate human interaction.