Sensing.Berlin
Ever wondered how Berlin's streets influence your mood and well-being?
Our well-being is profoundly influenced by our living environment. Cities can be quite stressful for us humans, negatively impacting our mental health. This influence is mostly on a subconscious level as we are experts at adapting to our surroundings, filtering out many external stimuli while navigating through cities. Through sensory research, we aim to identify which aspects of cities impact us the most. Our focus is on the nervous system, which helps bring our emotional responses to a conscious level of understanding.
Projects
Biosensing Research
A research project - biosensing devices to track participants' heart rate and other biometric data, uncovering how they feel in different parts of Berlin.
Embodied Walk
A mindful city walk - engaging our body and senses to explore how the city influences our emotions.
Biosensing Research
We employ biosensing devices to track participants‘ heart rate and other biometric data as they walk through Berlin. This data aids in identifying nervous system reactions (= stress) in various urban public spaces, enhancing our understanding of the specific urban environments that influence perceived stress. The PhD project is conducted at TU Berlin, at the departments of architecture and biopsychology.
Embodied Walk
Do you want to experience the city in a new light? Taking a moment to reflect on how the city truly makes you feel? Actively paying attention to what you see and hear; transforming the city into your playground and seeking interactive ways to engage? Join me on one of my sensory city walks, where we’ll dedicate time to fully experience what we see, hear and feel; using our bodies to consciously move around.
About us
Hello, I’m Kerstin. I am interested in cities, people and how they interact together. I studied urban planning and ever since I wonder why there is no space for emotions in urban projects. In my PhD I started out to explore how cities make us feel. I combine my knowledge in urban planning with neuroscience and bodywork.
Welcome, my name is Anton. As a Human Factors master’s student with a background in psychology, I am writing my thesis to investigate the influence of the built environment on perception. Integrating physiological data from the real world allows us to add a new layer of information about the needs of people in our environment.