Environmental psychology is presented as a discipline that critically examines the reciprocal interactions between individuals and their environments, integrating both objective spatial structures and subjective meanings assigned to places; according to the comprehensive overview in Environmental Psychology (Gifford, 2007), the field addresses how environmental settings—ranging from urban architecture to natural landscapes—influence cognition, emotion, and behaviour, while simultaneously exploring how people shape and personalise their surroundings through practices, memories, and symbols; the discipline encompasses several thematic domains, including place attachment, territoriality, wayfinding, environmental stress, and pro-environmental behaviour, each offering insights into the psychological underpinnings of spatial experience; crucially, Gifford emphasizes the growing relevance of environmental psychology in addressing global ecological crises, arguing that promoting sustainable behaviour requires understanding the motivational, perceptual, and social barriers individuals face; for instance, the research highlights how features like natural lighting, green spaces, and noise reduction in buildings can enhance well-being, while design strategies that respect cultural symbolism and user needs foster place identity and community engagement; the discipline thus positions itself as both an analytical lens and a practical toolkit, contributing to urban planning, architecture, and environmental policy by foregrounding the human dimension of sustainability; by integrating empirical research with ethical and aesthetic considerations, environmental psychology challenges technocratic approaches to development and advocates for environments that are ecologically viable, psychologically nurturing, and socially inclusive.
