Interesting article on city life and the brain

[malkin]

Our little city just isn't big enough to overwhelm.

Having "City" as part of the name is rather like the "Green" in Greenland (which is to say, it isn't).

[PamNY]

There are a couple of things I would question about the article. I understand the benefits of green space; it's downright comical how passionate New Yorkers (including me) become over the tiniest bit of green space.

However, I don't think walking in NYC is anymore stressful than the driving that would be necessary in a rural or suburban setting. NYC is very, very entertaining and keeps me in a better mood than driving past miles of bleak strip malls. Also, I feel so much guilt in using a car -- cranking up this huge machine to purchase a spool of thread makes me feel as if I am personally destroying the planet.

I worry much more about crime when I'm outside the city -- I'm used to people, lights and police being everywhere I go. Parking lots in shopping malls terrify me, the more so if guns are sold in the store I'm going to.

Of course, that's just a matter of what one is accustomed to. It would be interesting to know if subjects in the studies cited were familiar with the urban areas where the research was conducted.

It's not entirely true that there's a "stark lack of nature" in cities. Pigeons, for example, are fascinating. Sparrows, the ultimate opportunistic nesters, are another example -- arguably more interesting to observe in an urban setting than in the woods. There probably is a stark lack of people who pay attention to such things.

I also question whether exposure to stores selling food leads to more eating. You get used to something you see ten times a day. I would think temptation would be greater for people who visit a shopping mall once a week.

[Jolt]

There are a couple of things I would question about the article. I understand the benefits of green space; it's downright comical how passionate New Yorkers (including me) become over the tiniest bit of green space.

However, I don't think walking in NYC is anymore stressful than the driving that would be necessary in a rural or suburban setting. NYC very, very entertaining and keeps me in a better mood than driving past miles of bleak strip malls. Also, I feel so much guilt in using a car -- cranking up this huge machine to purchase a spool of thread makes me feel as if I am personally destroying the planet.

I worry much more about crime when I'm outside the city -- I'm accustomed to people, lights and police being everywhere I go. Parking lots in shopping malls terrify me, the more so if guns are sold in the store I'm going to.

Of course, that's just a matter of what one is accustomed to. It would be interesting to know if subjects in the studies cited were familiar with the urban areas where the research was conducted.

It's not entirely true that there's a "stark lack of nature" in cities. Pigeons, for example, are fascinating. Sparrows, the ultimate opportunistic nesters, are another example -- arguably more interesting to observe in an urban setting than in the woods. There probably is a stark lack of people who pay attention to such things.

I also question whether exposure to stores selling food leads to more eating. You get used to something you see ten times a day. I would think temptation would be greater for people who visit a shopping mall once a week.

I appreciate your perspective as someone who lives in a large city, and I think you're probably right that it partly depends on what one is used to (that is probably why I do OK in Boston, which is a familiar place, but go a little crazy in NYC). I also agree that doing a lot of driving is stressful and comes with some guilt--I will soon be moving for a new job and am really happy about how much less driving I will be having to do (the job is in a smaller town that has pretty much everything one needs and appears far more bike-friendly than where I am now, and I will find a place to live that is within biking distance to work). However, based on my experiences on trips to NYC I personally find it really stressful walking/taking the subway around the city--just too many (unpredictable) people too close, and too much noise, and the feeling that if something bad happened it would be hard to get away from the situation because things are so crowded. Maybe part of it has to do with personality differences; it would be interesting to give a personality test to a bunch of people and then study their responses to city vs. more natural environments and see what the differences are. Some people thrive on "chaos" and being around a lot of people all the time; others (like me) need our space and like things a little quieter.

Here's an interesting website about different types of attention that ties in with this discussion: http://www.troutfoot.com/attn/index.html
The parts about "directed attention fatigue" relate to this topic.

[PamNY]

Jolt, the concept of "directed attention fatigue" is fascinating. Very relevant to the original discussion; it would be interesting to see research that controlled for more variables.

I think DAF explains something I experience a lot -- which is absolute exhaustion after 2 hours at most parties. A small group of close friends is a different thing, but a roomful of strangers exhausts me. I think that concept explains it.

[Jolt]

I think DAF explains something I experience a lot -- which is absolute exhaustion after 2 hours at most parties. A small group of close friends is a different thing, but a roomful of strangers exhausts me. I think that concept explains it.

I agree...the same thing happens to me at events where I have to interact with a bunch of strangers. It also definitely explains how I feel in big cities...my best friend and I were in NYC for a couple of days once, and on the second day she finally had to drop me off in Central Park and tell me to go for a run while she went into a museum--I was so stressed out and on edge from the overload that I was driving her crazy! That day was a perfect example of some of the symptoms of DAF including being irritable, moody, unable to concentrate, more impatient, and unable to handle noise and commotion...you can imagine I wasn't a very pleasant person to be around at that time. I've also realized this happens to me at work sometimes...right now I am doing agency nursing which is basically being a substitute nurse for nursing homes etc. In other words, always going to unfamiliar places where I am expected to multitask in the midst of a bunch of chaos and interruptions, doing a job that requires a lot of vigilance to avoid making errors but really isn't very interesting (mainly passing a whole lot of meds)--great recipe for DAF if there ever was one. Maybe that's why after a shift I always have a major urge to go for a hike or trail run once I get some sleep to recover. I am very glad that I will soon be working in one place, doing something a whole lot more interesting (where "learned fascination" rather than directed attention will be the primary type of attention used, to use the terms presented in that theory). Now if I could just get that paperwork to go through faster...