The Nature of Cities

This week we saw a movie called the nature of cities.Cities by their very character are very active ,dynamic and full of energy. According to a study by US census The average urban dweller will spend an hour traveling to work each day ,about 9 hours of work,7 hours of sleep, and rest in miscellaneous activities and recreation which is mostly indoors.Ironically,'Urban life' has become highly introverted, in terms of physical environment.

As shared in the movie by the Yale University professor Stephen Kellert , relation between efficiency of a person and physical environment is very deep. Studies prove that a person feels less motivated, less energetic, has less attention span when made to work in a windowless, air conditioned environment over a long period of time. Our cities have been designed to compete with nature, in a effort to prove the might and control of man over nature. This mindset helped man , achieve great innovations. But now, we find ourselves at a deadend where our cities, and the structures have being designed to be so independent, that they have no relation to natural environment whatsoever.The movie introduced a very intriguing concept of Biophilia. I searched online and found the term literally means "love of life or living systems." Introduced by Edward O Wilsonm,The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Wilson describes it as "the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.” He speculates that this affection is part of our biology. It is in our microcosm. It follows that to achieve harmony, it should be present in our macrocosm as well,Where our physical environments are designed to reflect this.

I know how sometimes, i just want to get away from all crowd and find my solace, to refresh myself and get a break from the daily routine. That's a tendency of  life i guess, that we seek a pleasant change, where we are just being.When we see on a collective level,majority of people who live in Cities live very busy lives.A connection with nature will make them to be efficient, get refreshed and rejuvenated. This can be established by the presence of nature in our physical environment. It will be a source of energy for the people and ultimately not only help build a fine quality of life for an individual but also a healthy and progressive society and further ripple into the world at large.