The Contribution of Space Syntax to a Comprehensive Theory of Environmental Psychology

The study of the interrelationships of human mind and behavior with the physical environment may be referred to as “environmental psychology” (or “behavioral geography,” “the psychology of space and place,” etc.). In my talk, I review elements of a comprehensive theory of environmental psychology. The theoretical framework of space syntax holds promise as an important contributor to this comprehensive theory, especially when combined with the analysis of isovists. It provides a rich and diverse set of quantitative indices for characterizing places in many ways that are potentially relevant to a variety of psychological responses, including choosing routes while locomoting, orientation and disorientation, spatial knowledge acquisition, perceived spaciousness, privacy and social interaction, stress and fear, and aesthetic judgments. Space syntax also falls short in contributing to a comprehensive theory. It flirts with causal ambiguity in some cases, underplays the significance of metric spatial properties (including distance and direction), says nothing about individual and group differences in people’s responses to layouts, overlooks the relevance of the overall shape or “gestalt” of layout, largely discounts the role of the superficial appearance of the environment, and assigns no special significance to the vertical or 3D qualities of places. I illustrate these claims with examples from research by my colleagues and me, and suggest ways to improve space syntax’s contribution to a comprehensive theory of environmental psychology. Psychology and the Environment Human psychology emerges from the interaction of a brain and nervous system in a body within a social and physical world. To explain psychological acts—behaviors, thoughts, emotions—one must look not only inward at the mind but also outward at the world. That is, psychology depends in part on characteristics of the built and natural environments in which people live. The study of the role of the environment in human psychology goes by a variety of names. For the purpose of this essay, I refer to this study of mind-behavior-world by the general term “environmental psychology”; I might just as well use terms like “behavioral geography,” “cognitive geography,” or “the psychology of space and place.” Of course, the interrelationship of