Understanding environmental impacts on people’s quality of life via environmental psychology: three basic principles

Urban environmental factors impact on people and their quality of life (QOL). Environmental psychology investigates the interplay between individuals and their surroundings, examining how different built and natural environments can shape individuals’ lives. Empirical studies- including those by the authors- show the positive or negative effects that natural and built urban environments exert on people, with research at various levels of scale collecting data via questionnaire surveys and using multivariate analyses as well as field or laboratory experiments to test cause–effect relations. The social-psychological level of analysis is shown to be key, along with other levels of analysis, such as for genetic association studies. The results demonstrate the specific effects of urban planning and urbanisation features on people’s well-being, the effects being both central and direct, while at other times they can be mediated or moderated by other variables. A process and outcome framework for examining the impact of environmental features and individual attributes on QOL is proposed. Examples are offered to illustrate each case across a range of different methods.