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Re-viewing Cityscapes: Exploring the Need for Personalised Place Making to Increase
Psychological Inclusion
Abstract
Ruth Dillon
Royal College of Art, London
Most of us have a place or type of space in which we do not feel entirely comfortable. For some,
this leads to a total avoidance of the spaces in which these feelings occur and hence exclusion from
key parts of the city.
The creation of an inclusive urban realm has become of increased importance in the field of
architecture and urban design. Whilst conceptual work has examined the psychological aspects of
exclusion, most of the built interventions into urban space have focused on the more tangible
physical issues surrounding a difficult physical occupation of urban space.
This paper examines the need to create a more personalised psycho-spatial reading of space beyond
the well-discussed realms of environmental preference and psycho-geography, to examine an
altered perception of place through a dysfunctional relationship with space. This further highlights
the need for a more individualised notion of place making in creating higher levels of psychological
inclusion.
Keywords: Psychological exclusion; place making; streetscape; interactivity
1. Introduction
Most of us have a specific place or type of space in which we do not feel entirely
comfortable; where we feel ‘out of place’. This sense of feeling ‘out of place’ is
intrinsically linked to the field of environmental psychology and notions of social exclusion
but moves beyond this when dealing with a psychologically dysfunctional relationship with
space. i The paper calls for a new psycho-spatial examination and, more importantly, a more
personalised place-making response to urban space. The body of the paper will be broken
into three main sections.
The first will provide a brief over view of the categories of exclusion and highlight the need
for work in this specific area. The second will discuss the notion of feeling ‘out of place’,
leading on to the need for a psycho-spatial analysis of public space.
The final section will examine how we can start to create a more individualised form of
place making within the urban realm illustrated through examples from a recent
consultancy project designing a lighting scheme for the Kentish Town Road with Urban
Light Landscape and the London Borough of Camden through the Royal College of Art.

2. Responding to Exclusion
It is important to contextualise the notion of psychological inclusion prior to examining
how to address the issues that are raised through it. Social exclusion is defined as the
inability of an individual to participate fully in one or more of the activities of their society,
as discussed by Burchardt et al (1999: 227-244), and hence in this context the societal
urban life.
There are three main areas of exclusion which are being addressed in relation to design of
the urban environment: firstly, physical exclusion, where the built environment physically
precludes a comfortable occupation of a space; secondly, a perceived exclusion, where a
perceived threat or social condition in the urban environment makes occupation
uncomfortable or difficult; and finally, a psychological exclusion, either through levels of
psychological discomfort caused by the urban environment or through an existing condition
which can be exacerbated through the built environment.
The physical and perceived areas of exclusion are being addressed through built responses
in the urban environment. This is possible as there are often specific problems relating to
each form of exclusion that can be addressed and solved. Psychological exclusion,
however, is dealt with less in design form. Whilst the conceptual findings of environmental
psychology and environmental preference are influential in the design of new public space
to prevent the environment from causing specific discomfort, exclusion due to an existing
psychological condition is less well addressed. ii This is in part to do with a common
response of dealing with the needs of the dominant society. The work done in the field
addresses how the environment is seen and occupied by those within that society. It
becomes more difficult to address the needs of those who see the urban environment in an
altered way through a personal psychological condition, as even within one very specific
condition, such as anxiety, there are many different, often personal, factors which cause
discomfort. Each individual has their own triggers and coping strategies, hence a permanent
and generic response is not possible.
3. In and Out of Place – Individual Readings and Responses
3.1 Feeling in Place
As mentioned in the previous section the work of environmental psychologists examines
how the urban environment can create a level of psychological comfort. Leaders in the field
of environmental preference, such as Kaplan and Kaplan, discuss the manner in which we
occupy the environments around us, highlighting key factors which make the space more
occupiable. This work, and much that has followed it, draws on the need for a tension in the
levels of complexity and coherence, or legibility and mystery, within a space, allowing for
heightened engagement within the space to increase the levels of psychological comfort.
However, the issues are often derived from an average result not aimed at dealing with the
anomalies. Whilst environmental psychology and particularly environmental preference
addresses the need to be ‘in place’ it does not necessarily address the notion of feeling ‘out
of place’.

3.2 Feeling Out of Place
Whether feeling ‘out of place’ comes as an extreme altered perception of space through an
anxiety disorder or as a milder anxious feeling of unease that most of us will experience at
some time, it is important to start to examine and respond to the environment in a manner
which does not generalise. It is not the aim to solve the problems of the psychologically
excluded but to start to provide a facilitation of ease of movement through the urban realm.
Practical work, which is currently being undertaken, examines how more extreme
psychological exclusion can be dealt with through design strategies addressing the
intangible and ultimately personal aspects of feeling out of place. However, despite the
change in focus on the cause of the dysfunctional relationship from that which is more
traditionally explored through environmental psychology (an existing mental health or
psychological condition rather than the environment itself), many of the issues that are
raised are the same.
Kaplan (1973) discusses how we occupy space through a four-stage survival strategy: we
need to know where we are; what is likely to happen next; whether that will be good or bad;
and what we will do next. This instinctive mechanism becomes more conscious when we
feel uncomfortable or out of place. Each of the elements of this process are heightened and
the process prolonged and fastidiously repeated.
The issue of feeling ‘out of place’ can be read as a literal inability to ‘place’ the self within
the occupied environment. Kaplan’s survival strategy is therefore initially interrupted as the
subject is unable to ‘know’ where they are in relation to the space. This reinforces the need
to create a sense of place within the city. Traditionally, ‘place’ and creating a ‘sense of
place’ encourages the user to have a connection to that space. Recent discussions on the
subject vary regarding the relevance and importance of the concept of place in the urban
realm due to the highly personal nature of its existence. It is in fact this personal nature
which makes it so relevant in this study. The need to create an environment or aspects
within an environment to which the individual can relate and respond assists in allowing
the occupant to literally ‘place’ themselves within it.
Through this heightened awareness the experience ahead of the user becomes more
important and the evaluation process should be further explored. Before moving through or
partaking in any activity within a space, the user takes a reading of the space to gauge the
levels of potential interaction, interruption or threat that may occur. In order to design for
the levels of psychological inclusion it is important to both analyse and design into the
‘potentiality’ of the space as well as the physical materiality. Potentiality refers to that
which might occur in a space
as well as what is there. On
arrival and at key points
within a journey through a
space, the thoughts of what
is to come are often more
important in coping with a
space than what is happening
Fig.1 Example of psycho-spatial mapping in South Kensington

at the precise moment. Through this psycho-spatial reading of the space, elements that may
not ordinarily be highlighted become more apparent for design intervention.
Importantly, it must be acknowledged that the levels of priority of potentiality and form of
the space are entirely individual. When examining the space through a dysfunctional
relationship, one person’s haven may be another’s threat.
Whilst this disorientation can be stimulated through infinite elements within space they can
usually be categorised into: that which we cannot understand; that which we do not know;
and that which we cannot control. As for each individual any one or more of these factors
can be disturbing. A high prevalence of one and therefore an imbalance of all of these
factors can create a less psychologically comfortable urban environment (tying back in with
Kaplan’s tension between mystery and legibility etc) and, more importantly, exacerbate an
existing exclusion.
4. Individualised Place Making
In this final section I will elaborate on the aspects of psychological exclusion that deal with
the inability to know, illustrating the key ideas through a live project.
The project used here to illustrate some of the key concepts, is a lighting project for the
Kentish Town Road. The Kentish Town Road is a main through route into the centre of
London, spanning the 1.5 miles from Kentish Town to Camden Town. The street fabric is
split into two halves, one a thriving high street, the other a neglected no man’s land space
which is backed on to by parallel busy roads.
Prior to my involvement in the project, two key
stages of design were highlighted: to create higher
levels of legibility, and to encourage an increased
engagement with the environment. It is important to
acknowledge that the spaces within the study are
examined in relation to their potential to exacerbate
existing psychological exclusions rather than cause
them and therefore the study often deals with spaces
which may ordinarily be seen as satisfactory.
However, the sites are quite typically excluding. In
addition all design work had to address the
perceived exclusion due to a fear of crime. Through
Fig 2. Kentish Town Road (High
Street)
user input, it was deemed necessary to provide a uniform level of lighting along the length
of the road, which could then be built on in specific instances to create more of a sense of
place.

4.1 Project Overview
The scheme consists of a lighting proposal for the length of the Kentish Town Road in
North London with two phases dealing with legibility and engagement. The first
specifically aims to provide an overall identity within the streetscape, illuminating
landmarks, gateways and
transition zones along the length
of the street. The second
addresses specific sites which are
particularly lacking in a sense of
place.
The key factor already
highlighted to ease discomfort
deals with the ability to ‘know’
and hence for the subject to
‘place’ themselves in the specific
sites. This is primarily dealt with Fig 3. Highlighted landmark in legibility phase
through the creation of mental triggers and increased levels of interactivity with a focus on
reconstructing a narrative.
In central city sites it is usually not possible to reconstruct the entire streetscape and as the
urban fabric is already a complex knit of existing relationships and activities, grand scale
master planning often produces a form of static place which is designed to evoke specific
emotions, feelings etc which can lose the intricacy of the urban situation. The restrictions of
the city site therefore encourage the designer to provide a more transient intervention into
the streetscape.
The need to ‘know’ a space in these terms moves beyond traditional site information,
providing key place making aspects such as history, memories and potential activities.
Interactivity and mental triggers have been used to provide non-static information within
the spaces. I will use two specific sites within the scheme to illustrate how the study has
translated into practical design interventions.
4.2 Example 1: Farrier Street
This site is extreme in its emptiness: local residents have battled to get a new landscape
design for the estate beyond, which has resulted in a proposed fence along the threshold and
the removal of any street furniture to prevent
antisocial loitering etc. However, in removing the
street furniture, the opportunity for any positive
occupation of the space is also lost. The proposal
for this site aims to use mental triggers and
passive interaction to create a variable and
personalised space within the site.
One of the mental triggers in this situation
consists of the lighting barrier which replaces the
Fig 4. Existing photo of Farrier Street

antisocial fence; utilizing symbols from a typical crossing, the lights demark the crossing
from the street to the estate. Furthermore, typical pathways through the site are marked with
reflectors in the ground. These reflectors provide
a passive interaction as well as a mental trigger.
When crossing the boundary the direct light
source sets off the reflectors in the pathway;
different entry points and routes through will
appear to illuminate the pathway differently. The
pathways are specifically ambiguous, creating a
trigger for an individual narrative instead of a
sign pointing to the corner shop; the pathway can
lead you, but could equally instigate a memory
of a different activity.
Fig 5. Farrier Street proposal
4.3 Example 2: Canal Crossing
Mental triggers and interactivity are used in this
instance in a different way. The site here is a
pleasant place during the day, offering an
opportunity to pause and look at the activity at the
lock. However, at night, the narrow access onto the
canal provides a hiding space, and the holiday
space of the daytime lock becomes a place for
illicit activity. The two different worlds provide a
glimpse into a different activity or time.
The lighting proposal here attempts to trigger the Fig 6. Daytime canal activity
emotions from the activities of the day. Viewing points are to be constructed, which can be
used to look out on to the canal during the day, but
act as projectors on to the canal at night. The light
filtering down provides activity in replacement of
the daytime lock activity. Furthermore, light
deflectors placed within the handrail diffract light
on to the canal below, utilizing the light from the
cars to animate the space beneath. Again these act
as mental triggers to a different activity rather than
simply simulating the same or highlighting the
existing. Most importantly they start to trigger an
imaginative response to the place which produces Fig 7. Canal proposal
engagement rather than simple occupation.
5. Conclusion
This paper intends to construct an argument for the need to address the psychologically
dysfunctional relationships with space in urban design. Building on the work of
environmental psychology and research into specific mental health issues, the need to
engage with the environment becomes increasingly influential. In practical terms, designing
to encourage an individual engagement allows an individualised form of place making.

The work illustrated within this paper only begins to address the issues raised in the
concurrent doctoral study, highlighting the tone of the key issues, the need to ‘know’ about
the individuals’ environment. The potential for both passive and active interaction with the
space as a means of addressing these issues has started to be explored through creating
mental triggers, building an imaginative relationship with the space.
Key Concluding Points
• It is important to address the individual nuances of psychological dysfunction in
urban space, not only to deal with the individual relationship with the space but to
create diversity and interest in the urban realm.
• The urban environment should be explored in relation to its potentiality in addition
to the built form.
• Levels of ambiguity and mental triggers should be included in street and public
space design to create the opportunity for more individualised place making.
References
Burchardt, T. et al. (1999) ‘Social Exclusion in Britain 1991-1995’, in Social Policy and
Administration, 33(3), 227-224.
Kaplan, S. (1973) Cognitive Mapping and Spatial Behaviour, in Downs, R.M. & Stea, D. (eds.)
Image and Environment. London: Edward Arnold.
Menin, S. (2003) in Menin, S (ed) Constructing Place, Mind and Matter London: Routledge, pp 1-39
i This paper is based on a current doctoral study exploring how physical and digital
interventions into urban space can assist a psychologically dysfunctional relationship with
urban space, with a main focus on anxiety and neurotic disorders.
ii It is important to note that this is the least responded to notion of social exclusion with a
few notable exceptions including the work done at the Joint Centre for Urban Design at
Oxford Brookes.