"The World Health Organisation has highlighted stress as one of the major health challenges of the twenty-first century. Urban living is quickly developing as a major contributor to this." (Adli, 2011).
More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities (Lederbogen et al, 2011). Increasing accelerating urbanisation is inevitable making the creation of healthy urban environments an urgent priority (Adli, 2011).
Stress, the instinctual mechanism that prepares us for a ‘fight-or-flight’ predicament, is the unspecific physiological and psychological reaction to perceived threats to our physical, psychological or social integrity. The anticipation of unfavourable situations and the fear of not having the adequate resources to respond to them increases stress (Adli, 2011).
One recent study revealed that city dwellers were less able to cope with stress than those who lived rurally. This finding was contrary to what the researchers expected, as they presumed the people subjected to the daily trials and tribulations of living in a high-density environment to be more immune to assaults on the brain systems responsible for coordinating their emotional lives. But it is plausible that the constant bombardment of attention-demanding threats and alerts that occur everyday in the city overwhelms these systems (Ellard, 2012).
During our primary research we discovered that people found they were most often stressed in the city when they were having to get from A to B on the streets of the CBD.
As the urban population grows, so does the need for higher quality urban spaces that offer relief from the harshness that unmitigated density can bring. There is no better place to start than with city streets, arguably the most frequented shared space in the urban environment. Streets have come to be thought of as merely a means for getting from points A to B as efficiently as possible. Anything that slows down the journey is viewed as a detriment (Benfield, 2013).
Studies show that concerns about career stability and receiving promotions, high workloads, and social pressures in the workplace mean that office and business workers are highly likely to have excessive amounts of stress (Sainfort, 1991).
What can we do to help alleviate the stresses of negotiating crowded sidewalks in the central business districts of cities?
As part of our primary research we went down to Lambton Quay and observed our target audience in the area we had identified as being stressful. We noticed that when people shared a moment of humour, they were more likely to interact with strangers.
We did an experiment where we walked down the street and smiled at people when we made eye contact. People were confused and defensive about why we were trying to interact with them. We found that the only time we connected with strangers and shared a smile with them was when pigeons nearly flew into them (or something else unusual and humorous occurred) and they realised that we had seen what had happened. This facilitated a connection between us, we were sharing in the humour of the situation, and therefore it felt acceptable to interact.
We also discovered that our target audience didn’t like unpredictability. We watched how people reacted to a balloon that had been dropped by a child on the footpath and observed how it created extra stress
because it was out of the ordinary. It appeared that when people were seemingly focused on an end goal, anything that interrupted their journey was startling and was to be avoided.
Humour facilitates communication, both verbal or nonverbal, that usually promotes positive experiences that can improve emotional well-being by reducing anxiety and relieving tension (Dziegielewski, Jacinto, Laudadjo, & Legg-Rodriguez, 2003). Laughter improves overall well-being as humour influences health through regulation of stress chemicals (Bennett, Zeller, Rosenberg, & McCann, 2003). Just a few of the numerous benefits to mental health that exposure to humorous stimulus has are; stress reduction, mood elevation, improved job performance, and increased sense of connection with others (MacDonald, 2008).
As such an essential ingredient in communication, humour has often been referred to as a lubricant for social life. Unfortunately, however, it is generally not condoned in a professional setting. Outright laughter is viewed as extremely unprofessional (Dziegielewski et al, 2003).
The current business environment can easily be described as stressful. Despite the mindset that business and office districts are serious environments, humour could be employed to lighten the mood and make work life more enjoyable (Romero & Cruthirds, 2006).
"Humour is one of the most effective forms of communication that humans employ, yet it is often overlooked." (Dziegielewski et al, 2003).
Provocations:
- Make city streets fun instead of irritating
- Make getting from ‘A’ to ‘B’ entertaining and exciting
- Encourage interactions with others
- Take people’s minds off work and stress
- Make city streets more unpredictable and refreshing
- Shift the stigma that fun and laughter look unprofessional
- Provide a solution that only takes a moment
How might we facilitate humour on city streets to encourage unexpected and fun moments of connection that reduce stress?
Hi-Five Cam
- Installation at a set of traffic lights on Lambton Quay
- Like an American 'Kiss Cam', picks two people waiting at the traffic lights and projects them onto a large screen, prompting them to high-five
- Encourages and facilitates quick, spontaneous interactions
- Lightens the mood, makes people share a smile/laughter
- It can effect the two people but also the people around them/viewing the Hi-Five Cam
- People don't have to do anything beforehand to be a part of it
Supporting Ideas:
- Flyer installations on Lambton Quay before Hi-Five Cam installation to create hype and intrigue
- Poster campaign to support the message behind Hi-Five Cam
- Social Media (Facebook, Twitter) competitions to encourage participation
- Hi-Five Day Event OR Hi-Five Challenge - Something after Hi-Five Cam that encourages people to continue having these small interactions on the street
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