🚀 go-pugleaf

To ENV-BEH forum recipients... The following is a copy of a letter sent to
J. Finlay. I hope it will clarify what EDRA is and what the sessions I am
sponsoring will deal with... Comments are most welcome...
************
J. Finlay (sorry, I don't know your first name!)
   Sorry for the delay in responding at greater length to your message, but I
have been inundated with the beginning of semester preps and paper work for
my classes. You asked what EDRA was, and I think I mentioned that the
acronym stands for Environmental Design Research Association - The
organization's statement reads as follows: EDRA "is an international,
interdisciplinary association of design professionals, social and behavioral
scientists, educators and facility managers dedicated to improving the
quality of human environments through research-based design." People study a
broad variety of environments from housing, hospitals, schools, offices to
homes, landscapes, public space, neighborhoods and recreational or "natural"
environments. There are also those who focus on conceptual issues such as
privacy, citizen participation, proxemics, homelessness etc. The 1993 EDRA
conference was concerned with "Equitable and sustainable habitats," 1992 was
entitled "Healthy environments" and 1994's conference in San Antonio
(March 16-20) is entitled "Banking on design?"
NOW... as for Environmental autobiographies... this is a method of exploring
the origins of our values for, and use of "place" - from homes to landscape. I
assume (as do others) that our memories of important places from our past
influence the way we feel about environments _now_, as well as our goals
for the future. I have used the technique to examine the impact of such
memories in influencing the design choices of design professionals and
the role of such memories in influencing environmental behavior and values of
Psychology students. Many people reminisce about childhood bedrooms or tree
forts or the smells of a grandparent's kitchen on weekends or during special
ritualoccasions such as holidays. This suggests that we carry particular
smells, tastes, views etc. with us into adulthood, as part of what makes us
feel comforted or at home. BUT my own research has begun to focus on the
_negative_ aspects of memories of home, school, landscape etc. that we
carry with us as traumatic images. Some of my students have identified the
"sacred" space of the bedroom as a place of victimization. Others who are
children of declared wars in places like Ireland or Lebanon may share fear of
pu@C{ic spaces with children of the undeclared wars on American streets and
may never feel that they can "identify" with landscape as a safe place for
finding refuge as many of our sacred American images suggest. The note posted
on this forum about the Secret Garden movie for example suggests that landscape
is a refuge for children. _That is NOT always the case._ The sessions that I
am developing for EDRA are concerned with these issues. I believe strongly that
we have neglected the painful aspects of sense of place and that it is time to
explore the questions I suggested in my conference session announcement. I
expect some of the participants to discuss\explore cross-cultural issues, the
Holocaust, war, sexual abuse and incest, the manner in which the body
"expresses" remembered trauma, homeless women, etc. Eventually I would like to
see this research develop into guidelines for designing "safe" environments
and places of refuge for children and adults of trauma.
I hope this answers your questions. I will be happy to "chat" with you further
about it if you are interested, and would be interested in your feedback.
Best,
Nora