The Atmosphere in Open Public Spaces

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterProfessional

    82 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Introduction:A space’s atmosphere is an important factor in how that space is experienced. In fact, festival visitors consider the atmosphere as the most important factor in how they experience a festival (Van Vliet 2012). Atmosphere is also what distinguishes physical shops from online web shops (Van Vliet, Moes & Schrandt 2015). Much research underlines the influence of atmosphere on cognitive and emotional processes. As early as 1956, research showed that an assessment of facial expressions in photographs depended on the atmosphere of the space in which the photos were viewed (Maslow & Mintz 1956). The importance of atmosphere inspired the search for ways to influence visitors and allowing them to react to, and even (co-)design, a space’s atmosphere – from museum spaces (Noordegraaf 2012) to urban spaces, from consciously-manipulated spaces to the now inevitable layer of digital information that has entered the public sphere (Mitchell 2005). Researchers have been studying the influence of atmosphere for decades, particularly through the lens of environmental psychology, which focuses on the interplay between humans and their environment (Mehrabian & Russell 1974; Steg, Van den Berg & De Groot 2012). A milestone in atmosphere research was the introduction of the concept of ‘atmospherics’ by Kotler (1973). From here, research into atmosphere mainly took place in the context of marketing research into consumer behaviour in shops and service environments such as restaurants, hotels, museums and festivals (Van Vliet 2014). The question here is whether these gathered insights contribute to understanding how atmosphere works in open public spaces.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationResponsive public spaces
    Subtitle of host publicationExploring the use of interactive technology in the design of public spaces
    EditorsFrank Suurenbroek, Ivan Nio, Martijn de Waal
    Place of PublicationAmsterdam
    PublisherUrban Technology research programme / Faculty of Technology, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
    Chapter11
    Number of pages18
    ISBN (Print)9789492644121
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2018

    Publication series

    NameAmsterdam University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Technology publication series

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The Atmosphere in Open Public Spaces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this