Dr S Payne
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Psychological restoration is important for everyone to avoid prolonged periods of fatigue, stress and ultimately burn out. Access to large restorative natural environments is not feasible for urbanites on a regular basis, thus micro-restorative environments within cities, near and within residential housing stock is important. The restorative benefits of local parks are frequently assessed, but the value of private gardens, private balconies, shared gardens or roof terraces, are often neglected in research. For some, these environments may be all they can access due to limited mobility or time, such as for the growing number of family carers. For others, the design and type of residential accommodation lived in, may restrict the availability of ‘at home’ restorative opportunities, thus local communal parks maybe increasingly important.
This PhD will explore some of the above issues, seeking to understand people’s use, evaluation, and value of ‘at home’ restorative environments. This could include exploring the level and types of restoration achieved from private, shared, or public spaces in and around residential housing; the role of sensory experiences within these spaces; and implications of residential ownership. The research will involve both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to explore these issues, resulting in recommendations for designing future residential buildings with access to suitable micro-restorative environments. Outcomes will extend psychological restoration research and contribute to the designing and planning of sustainable cities. The successful candidate will be in the research theme group Health and Wellbeing in the built environment, in The Urban Institute.
Funding Notes
Scholarships will cover tuition fees and provide an annual stipend of approximately £14,700 for the 36 month duration of the project.
To be eligible, applicants should have a first-class honours degree in a relevant subject or a 2.1 honours degree plus Masters (or equivalent). Scholarships will be awarded by competitive merit, taking into account the academic ability of the applicant.