Abstracts Philosophy, Religion, and Theology

Patterns of Biophilia for Urban Senior Living

by Jennifer Colley

The current practice of sustainable design often emphasizes metrics-based, quantitative means of reducing negative impacts of built form on the natural environment. For building typologies that serve potentially vulnerable populations, such as the aging, however, this practice has an added responsibility to evolve beyond the current mindset toward a human-centric design philosophy. Biophilia, defined as a love or empathy with the natural world, emerges as the overarching strategy to achieve the parallel goals of improving both human and environmental health. Using a hierarchy of theoretical and spatial patterns organized under the umbrella of biophilia, this thesis explores how an urban, university-linked retirement community can better address the environmentally-related issues surrounding the anxiety of aging. Advisors/Committee Members: Hancock, John Eliot (Committee Chair).