Kellert, S. R. C., Elizabeth F. (2015). The Practice of Biophilic Design. Retrieved from www.biophilicdesign.com

Kellert, S. R. (1997). Kinship to mastery: Biophilia in human evolution and development. Island Press Biophilia as a concept promoted the idea that connection with nature plays an essential role in physical and mental health, and this has been proven in many studies [ 16, 29] In modern society, it also plays a significant role in social and family relationships [ 30]. It is also useful in highly dense urban areas office workers [ 31] and helps in stress reduction for university students and staff [ 32]. Furthermore, a study proved the inherent psychological and physiological link between humans and nature and evaluated the research supporting the social, environmental, and economic benefits of biophilia [ 33]. Tsunetsugu, Y. & Y. Miyazaki (2005). Measurement of Absolute Hemoglobin Concentrations of Prefrontal Region by Near-Infrared Time-ResolvedSpectroscopy: Examples of Experiments and Prospects. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci 24(4) Browning, W. D., Ryan, C., Kallianpurkar, N., Laburto, L., Watson, S., Knop, T. (2012). The Economics of Biophilia, Why Designing with Nature in Mind Makes Financial Sense. New York: Terrapin Bright Green World Commission on Environment and Development Our Common Future (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1987).Stern, N. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2007). Fernando Castrillon, Psy.D., earned a masters in sociology from the University of California where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and is a licensed clinical psychologist. He is Associate Professor in the Community Mental Health Department at CIIS and is the founding Director of CIIS’ The Clinic Without Walls, an innovative psychotherapy clinic serving mostly working poor and immigrant communities who would otherwise not have access to mental health services.

Latour, B. Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences into Democracy (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2004). Those generous behaviors weren’t attributed to students’ moods, Zelenski and his colleagues found, so it wasn’t simply that spending time in nature made them happier and therefore more giving. Another plausible (though unproven) explanation is the emotion of awe. “There are some hints that awe is associated with generosity, and nature can be a way to induce awe,” he says. “One of the things that may come from awe is the feeling that the individual is part of a much bigger whole.” Experience vs. connection Awe blurs the line between the self and the world around us, diminishes the ego, and links us to the greater forces that surround us in the world and the larger universe,” he writes. In that way, awe can serve a dual purpose, improving our well-being while bringing us together. The Benefits of Experiencing Awe Swyngedoux, E. in The Sustainable Development Paradox: Urban Political Economy in the US and Europe (eds Krueger, R. & Gibbs, D.) 13–40 (Guilford Press, New York, 2007).In the case of hearing, it would be interesting to partition different kinds of natural sounds to determine whether the benefits vary with the acoustic properties of the sounds (e.g., biophysical versus animal sounds or different kinds of bird song). Also, running experiments with visually-impaired individuals, such as exposing them to nature sounds, could provide insight into the nature benefits of sound. Research shows that experiencing awe can make people happier and also to report greater life satisfaction. Feeling a sense of awe can also take our minds off our personal problems.

Krueger, R. & Gibbs, D. in The Sustainable Development Paradox: Urban Political Economy in the US and Europe (eds Krueger, R. & Gibbs, D.) 1–11 (Guilford Press, New York, 2007). Writing for such diverse audiences is a challenge. On the one hand, the topic of the book is widely appealing, and our readers will have great intuitive familiarity with the contents. On the other hand, our intention is to present results of a large number of empirical studies and considerable theoretical material. We have tried to accommodate to these issues and to the differing expectations about supporting information that diverse professional groups hold. Both the chapter notes and the summaries in the Appendixes are intended to provide some of the information that is essential to some more professionally oriented readers but may be distracting to others. There are also references that provide fuller documentation. At the same time, though our intention was to write a readable and interesting volume, we have not attempted a popularized treatment. Our effort is to integrate a substantial quantity of both empirical and theoretical material into a framework and perspective on the role nature plays. Challenge LB (2018) Biophilic design guidebook, International Living Future Institute, pp 1–26 https://living-future.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/18-0605_Biophilic-Design-Guidebook.pdf Yet policymakers, city planners, environmental organizations and government agencies are coming around to the importance of natural spaces, and psychologists are offering them their expertise, says White, who has presented his research to groups such as the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Organizations and cities are expressing interest in this research, Zelenski says, though many policymakers are waiting to see the results of intervention studies before investing in green infrastructure. One of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals includes the target of providing universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces by 2030.As in the case of rotten meat and the disgust response to the smell, smells can provide us with useful information about the environment, or specific resources or organisms within it. In a study on humans, it was found that men and women could identify whether individuals were happy or fearful based on odor pads used to collect their sweat [ 101]. Natural odors from plants and animals such as floral fragrance and musk, are indicative of metabolism and physiological function [ 102], so smells can tell us about the state of possible food. Beatley T (2017b) Biophilic cities and healthy societies. Urban Plann 2(4):1–4. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v2i4.1054 Kohn, E. How Forests Think: Toward and Anthropology Beyond the Human (Univ. California Press, Berkeley, 2013). Sterman, J. D. Risk communication on climate: mental models and mass balance. Science 322, 532–533 (2008). There is mounting evidence, from dozens and dozens of researchers, that nature has benefits for both physical and psychological human well­being,” says Lisa Nisbet, PhD, a psychologist at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, who studies connectedness to nature. “You can boost your mood just by walking in nature, even in urban nature. And the sense of connection you have with the natural world seems to contribute to happiness even when you’re not physically immersed in nature.” Cognitive benefits

Beatley T (2017a) Handbook of biophilic city planning and design. Handbook of biophilic city planning and design, pp 1–289. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-621-9 Kates, R. W. & National Research Council Board on Sustainable Development Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability (National Academy Press, Washington DC, 1999).

Topics in Psychology

The beginning of the term “Biophilia” was in 1964 by the social psychologist Eric Fromm who defined it as “Biophilia is the passionate love of life and of all that is alive” [ 22]. Later, in 1984, the biologist Edward Wilson contributed in making the term Biophilia more common [ 28]. How does it work? What lies behind the power of environments that not only attract and are appreciated by people but are apparently able to restore hassled individuals to healthy and effective functioning? Plant essential oils have long been thought to have physiological and psychological effects according to folk belief [ 112], and fragrances have been used for their effects on health and mood [ 122]. Essential oils are typically obtained by distillation from plant material and have the characteristic odor of the original tissue. There is much anecdotal evidence that aroma molecules affect human behavior and physiology, as well as memory activation and mood [ 123, 124], yet experimental evidence is sparse and often equivocal. Essential oils have been shown to decrease depression, anxiety, stress, and blood pressure [ 125, 126, 127], and different oils have been found to have different effects [ 128, 129]. It remains unknown whether the effects of documented and/or claimed for essential oils also occur in situ in places where the sources of the essential oils occur in natural environments.