PANEL BEHAVIORAL CITY© – NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR URBAN PLANNING
Benedetto Camerana was invited to engage with a gathering of architecture scholars on concept of Behavioral City©, developed by Riccardo Viale, a full professor of Behavioral Sciences and Cognitive Economics at University of Milano-Bicocca and director of Herbert Simon Society, a research and dissemination entity focusing on neuroscience, cognitive sciences, and behavior. The meeting in Venice, where Viale acted as the speaker and Camerana as the discussant alongside Debora Rossi, officer for Historical Archive of Biennale, is part of a project aiming to foster collaboration between behavioral sciences, public services, and design (urban, architectural, and interior). The goal is to generate public well-being—particularly concerning values such as energy efficiency, environmental protection, and inclusivity.
Benedetto Camerana has thus contemplated urban design from an integrated perspective that merges design with cognitive behavioral sciences. Firstly, he emphasized that practice of city-making has defined a set of policies that are indispensable for cities today: the enhancement and naturalization of urban environment, systemic energy saving, inclusivity, public space safety and participation, and finally, multiple mobility. It’s also crucial to consider how citizen behavior, and even more so, the modification or positive induction of their behavior, operate through countless micro-actions that all add up and are directed towards a positive direction. They constitute a highly effective strategy to achieve the objectives of Behavioral City©.
After establishing these premises, attention to human sensitivity and needs must become indispensable competencies in design, particularly in urban and interior design. It’s crucial, even before creating, to envision any space in dialogue with all five senses and to modulate it based on real or desired behavior of people—the so-called nudging. This means not only caring for visual perception but also giving equal importance to auditory, olfactory, and tactile perceptions.
Here, you can read more about the Behavioral City©, another fruitful moment for Benedetto Camerana to promote ever-improving forms of living within an interdisciplinary perspective.