Neuro-adaptive architecture: Buildings and city design that respond to human emotions, cognitive states

Makanadar, Ashish Article Neuro-adaptive architecture: Buildings and city design that respond to human emotions, cognitive states Research in Globalization Provided in Cooperation with: Elsevier Suggested Citation: Makanadar, Ashish (2024) : Neuro-adaptive architecture: Buildings and city design that respond to human emotions, cognitive states, Research in Globalization, ISSN 2590-051X, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Vol. 8, pp. 1-11, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2024.100222 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331147 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/). Neuro-adaptive architecture: Buildings and city design that respond to human emotions, cognitive states Ashish Makanadar Center of Excellence in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Indian Institute of ManagementIIM, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Neuroarchitecture Neuro-adaptive design Smart cities Urban computing Urban planning ethics Privacy Informed consent Surveillance Architectural psychology ABSTRACT Neuro-adaptive architecture has emerged as an interdisciplinary field aiming to cultivate buildings and urban environments responsive to human emotions, cognition, and well-being. Technological advances now enable unprecedented monitoring of occupants’ psychological states through unobtrusive sensors, as well as adaptive modulation of environments via “smart” architectural components. If developed responsibly, these advancements hold great potential to optimize human experience and flourishing within the built milieu. However, they also present complex ethical challenges regarding privacy, consent, data security, globalization and equitable access that require thoughtful consideration. This paper provides a comprehensive review and synthesis of the opportunities and dilemmas at the nexus of neuroscience, architecture, and urban planning. Drawing from research worldwide, it examines the multidimensional issues involved and strategies for addressing them through participatory and empathic design practices. Case studies of experimental neuro-adaptive projects are discussed and recommendations provided for longitudinal evaluation of impacts on health, social outcomes, and well-being. Concepts such as cognitive ergonomics, sensory perception and emotional design, restorative urbanism, and adaptive living interfaces are explored through diverse methodologies and design hypotheses are provided for future interdisciplinary collaboration. Overall, this paper argues that responsibly optimized neuroadaptive architecture could enhance human thriving in complex urban environments, but precautions are necessary to avoid risks to autonomy, equity or unintended consequences. Continued rigorous interdisciplinary work is imperative to navigate these opportunities and challenges, with consideration of technical, social and ethical implications at individual and societal levels. Introduction It has long been understood through an interdisciplinary lens that the dynamics between biological and architectural forces are profoundly intertwined. As the esteemed neuroscientist and architect John Eberhard postulated, human biology and built form occupy a reciprocal relationship where one guides the other in an endless dance. In recent years, the confluence of fields at the nexus of neurosciences, environmental psychology, and architectural design has begun to illuminate new possibilities for consciously cultivating this biological-architectural interplay. Through the pioneering works of (Rooney, Condia, and Loschky, 2017), (Mostafavi, 2021), and (Higuera-Trujillo, Llinares, and Macagno, 2021), the novel conceptual paradigm of “neuro-adaptive architecture” has emerged, denoting structures and settlements capable of adapting discretely to human cognitive and affective states in realtime to support human flourishing. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Table 1 Table 2. Technological advances now afford unprecedented insights into the dynamic interplay between inhabitants and their built environments. Unobtrusive sensor technologies can discreetly monitor an array of psychophysiological markers, providing a window into occupants’ stress levels, mood valence, and cognitive loads (Naranjo-Hern´ andez, ReinaTosina, & Roa, 2020; He et al., 2022). Concurrently, “smart” architectural components that modulate environmental parameters like lighting, acoustics, and thermal conditions in responsive ways have become increasingly prevalent (Bravos et al., 2015). These sensing and adaptive capacities hold the potential to usher in a renaissance in architectural design wherein spaces may subtly “converse” with inhabitants by perceiving needs and reacting supportively. However, many thought-provoking questions await deeper exploration through cross-disciplinary inquiry. Which architectural qualities most profoundly impact human emotions and cognition? How can structures be envisioned to optimize experiences of thriving? What variances emerge across individuals and cultures? As we stand on the threshold of a new era in which neuro-adaptive architecture may E-mail address: [email protected]. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research in Globalization journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/research-in-globalization https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2024.100222 Received 16 November 2023; Received in revised form 3 March 2024; Accepted 24 April 2024 Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 2 transform how we conceive of the relationship between mind and built milieu, continued rigorous interdisciplinary investigation is imperative to unravel these knotty issues and pioneer the design of environments that elevate human potential at both individual and societal levels. We hope that this ongoing intellectual odyssey will draw together experts from diverse domains to mutually illuminate these fertile frontiers. Understanding the neuroscience of emotions and cognition Understanding how emotions and cognitive states arise in the human brain is essential for designing adaptive architecture. Recent advances in affective neuroscience provide novel insights into these phenomena. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies show that emotions originate through activity across distributed brain networks rather than discrete regions (Touroutoglou et al., 2015). The amygdala plays a key role in processing emotional stimuli, particularly those related to threats or rewards (Adolphs, 2010). However, emotions also involve activity in the prefrontal cortex, insula, striatum, and other areas. Cognitive states like attention, memory, and decision-making similarly emerge from the interaction between wide-ranging neural circuits (Miller & Cohen, 2001). For example, the prefrontal cortex works together with the parietal lobes and basal ganglia to direct attention (Cabeza & Nyberg, 2000). The hippocampus and surrounding cortical regions underpin memory formation and retrieval (Squire et al., 2004). Even simple perceptual judgments require coordination between visual, somatosensory, and other sensory cortices (Gold & Shadlen, 2007). An individual’s emotional experience at any moment depends on activity across the whole “emotional brain” (Panksepp, 2004). External sensory inputs, internal physiological cues, memories, and higher-level cognitive processes all contribute. The same stimulus might elicit different emotions in different people or at different times based on their unique neural activation patterns (Barrett, 2017). Emotions are also intricately tied to cognition, motivating judgments and decisions across countless scenarios (Pessoa, 2013). Recent fMRI connectivity analyses Fig. 1. Illustration of Neuro adaptive architecture +Sustainable Urbanism as theme of Urban Design. Prompt- “Simulation of Human Experience Sensitivity in Sustainable Urban Design and Dynamic Architectural Change Based on Sensor Emotion and Cognitive Input”. A. Makanadar Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 3 show emotions and cognition cannot be cleanly separated (Pessoa, 2017). While neuro-adaptive architectural principles hold much promise to enhance well-being in urban environments with their density of inhabitants, extending these technologies meaningfully to rural areas presents unique challenges given lower populations spread over broader landscapes. However, neglecting countryside inhabitants risks exacerbating already extreme loneliness and mental health issues in isolated communities (Burholt & Scharf, 2013). One pathway may leverage existing distributed infrastructure ubiquitous in farms and villages. Integrating minimal psychophysiological and environmental sensor payloads into property drones, automated equipment and telecommunications towers could discretely and economically gather experiential data across sparsely populated regions from aerial and ground-level vantage points. Leveraging emerging LoRaWAN protocols enables long-range wide-area networking of sensor meshes with low power requirements suitable for energy-constrained rural applications (Wixted et al., 2016; Silva et al., 2017). Distributed machine learning models hosted regionally and fed data via edge computing circumvent connectivity barriers. Self-supervised techniques pre-trained on unlabeled data help address limited annotations from low population densities (Wu et al., 2018). Modelling rural inhabitants and lands as interconnected nodes within topological graphs aids in characterizing experiential fluctuations and social networks despite spatial dispersion (Illenberger et al., 2013). Gradual reformulation of landscape, planting styles and public buildings actuated by localized autonomous systems nurtures neuroadaptive transformations. Variable signage, lighting and multimedia experience subtle interventions. Bioremediative flora, remoulding footpaths and installing rest areas mitigate isolation and nourish mentation amid arduous labour. Concurrently, targeted community outreach utilizing interactive virtual and augmented reality creates supportive online gathering spaces. Multi-participant environments simulate real-world interactions helping reduce loneliness (Bell et al., 2020). Synchronous activities and tutoring applications promote education, skills-sharing and collaborative problem-solving (Scavarelli et al., 2020; Dunleavy et al., 2009). Mixing physical and virtual methods gradually cultivates neuroremediated rural environments and networks. The ASP System effectively analyzes emotions in public spaces, aiding urban planners in creating more pleasant, comfortable, and sustainable environments by combining MAPS data with inhabitant-centric methods (Kaklauskas et al., 2021). Continuous assessment of impacts on health metrics, social participation, emergency response coordination and economic outcomes aids iterative optimization. Addressing digital inclusion and tailored interfaces overcome barriers. For Example, The use of remote biometric technologies and AI enabled the research to analyse passersby on a large scale, correlating 208 million data points on diurnal emotions and facial temperature with global Twitter data, confirming natural human diurnal and seasonal rhythmic patterns. The study found significant correlations between diurnal valence and sadness, both before and during COVID-19, establishing statistically significant relationships between biometric data and numerical values (Arturas K et al., 2021). Overall, judiciously orchestrating sensing, modeling, actuation and virtual community fosters resilient neuro-adaptive countryside architectures. While realizing completely responsive rural architectural infrastructure presents immense obstacles, even gradually augmenting the built environment, landscapes and social networks utilizing distributed technologies shows promise to elevate the quality of life for isolated inhabitants. These findings suggest architects must consider how entire neural dynamics, not just single regions, give rise to human experiences. Adaptive buildings could one day monitor distributed patterns of brain activity using noninvasive neuroimaging to infer occupants’ emotional and cognitive states with high accuracy. Such data, combined with knowledge of an individual’s life context, could enable exquisitely tailored architectural responses at both micro and macro scales to enhance well-being within dynamic urban environments. Of course, extensive further research and debate are still needed regarding ethics, privacy and other societal implications. Fig. 2. Cityscape with buildings that change colour based on people’s emotions and interactive sculptures that reflect cognitive states. Prompt- “ Simulate a city by embedding affective and cognitive monitoring at an architectural scale, rendering responsive colour changes and reconfiguring sculptural forms based on sensor data”. A. Makanadar Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 4 The emergence of neuro-adaptive architecture The integration of neuroscience into architecture and urban planning is an emerging field that aims to optimize human well-being and experience through responsive built environments (Assem, Khodeir, & Fathy, 2023). While scientists have long studied the impact of physical spaces on cognitive and emotional states, recent technological advances now enable two-way communication between buildings and their occupants. This new area of “neuro-adaptive architecture” seeks to apply insights from neuroscience, psychology, computer science, and other disciplines to create buildings and cities that can detect human needs and reactions in real time and adapt accordingly. Early experiments explored how subtle changes in lighting, soundscapes, and interior layout could positively influence mood, focus, and stress levels (Pijanowski et al., 2011). For example, research showed exposing office workers to natural outdoor views and greenspace during breaks significantly reduced feelings of fatigue and mental exhaustion compared to traditional break areas (Perrins et al., 2021). Other pilots investigated occupant heart rate variability and facial expressions to gauge well-being and automatically adjust environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and noise cancellation (Schnell et al., 2013). However, critics argue many of these initial studies were too small in scale or too short in duration to prove long-term impacts on health, productivity, or behaviour. Concerns also persist around data privacy, transparency, equity, and who truly benefits from neuro-adaptive design −property owners focusing on occupancy rates or tenants seeking stable, affordable housing? Likewise, does constant environmental monitoring risk further disrupting natural human-building relationships or could it empower occupants through personalized control? As the field advances, addressing these ethical questions will be paramount. Larger demonstration projects now attempt to integrate neuroadaptive concepts into entire buildings or neighbourhoods. In one noteworthy example, a skyscraper in New York employs biosensors, machine learning, and an “empathy engine” to dynamically alter lighting, music, and digital art based on aggregated crowd emotion mapping within common areas. Preliminary findings reveal this neuro-diverse approach successfully boosted occupants’ sense of community and creativity compared to a control high-rise with static design. The prospect of architecting built environments capable of adapting in real-time to the dynamical fluctuations of human emotional and cognitive states presents an immense optimization opportunity, yet also an enormously complex socio-technological dilemma. Continuous monitoring of inhabitants’ experiential phenomenology demands sensors and algorithms attuned to the complex layering and interconnectedness of affective-cognitive dynamics, traversing micro-temporal, inter-individual, and socio-cultural spectra. To engender structures receptive across these various experiential dimensions necessitates a networked neuro-sensory infrastructure strategically distributed both internally, interfacing distributed bodily markers, and externally, interfacing environmental parameters through Internet-of-Things protocols. Internally, unobtrusive biometric wearables leveraging multimodal psychophysiological detection modalities such as electrodermal activity, heart rate variability, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, facial electromyography and pupillometry confer nuanced insight into moment-to-moment arousal alterations. Externally, perceptive technologies such as computer vision, acoustic analytics and air quality sensing expand this interoceptive perspective, contextualizing interior bodily vicissitudes amid ambient milieu fluctuations (Cook et al., 2009). A distributed mesh of intra-bodily and extra-bodily sensory modalities thereby furnish spatiotemporally granular qualia characterizations of inhabitants’ lived phenomenology. Advancements in nanoelectronic tattoo sensors, epidermal electronics and miniaturised body-centric devices portend robust longitudinal resident monitoring amid daily routines. Adaptive architectural infrastructures require embedded machinelearning pipelines that leverage self-supervision, transfer learning, and continual learning techniques to extrapolate meaningful experiential insights from the deluge of psychophysiological and environmental sensor data. Self-supervised models pre-trained on large unlabeled data sets allow for the extraction of embeddings that are attuned to nuanced Table 1 Methods for applying cognitive ergonomics in urban planning and design. Topic Description Academic Perspective Cognitive mapping The process of creating mental representations of spatial information and using them for navigation and orientation in the environment. This can be enhanced by designing urban spaces that are legible, coherent, memorable, and meaningful. Examples include landmarks, signs, symbols, colours, and patterns to help people form cognitive maps of the city. Cognitive mapping entails the construction of cognitive spatial schemata for navigation and orientation. Urban designers may facilitate this process by imbuing urban spaces with attributes of legibility, coherence, memorability, and significance. Noteworthy implementations encompass the deployment of distinctive landmarks, signage, symbolic elements, chromatic cues, and patterns to aid individuals in the formation of robust cognitive cartographies of the urban landscape (Kitchin, 1994; Eden, 2004). Cognitive affordances The properties of objects or environments that suggest how they can be used or interacted with. They are used to design urban spaces that are intuitive, userfriendly, and adaptable to different needs and preferences. Examples include benches, stairs, railings, fountains, and sculptures designed to afford sitting, resting, playing, socializing, and enjoying the scenery. Cognitive affordances pertain to the inherent characteristics of entities or settings that imply their utility and mode of interaction. Urban planning endeavours may exploit these affordances to cultivate environments that exhibit qualities of intuitiveness, user-friendliness, and adaptability to diverse requirements and predilections. Exemplars encompass the deliberate configuration of amenities such as benches, staircases, railings, fountains, and sculptures, designed to beckon and accommodate activities like sitting, resting, playing, socializing, and savouring the visual landscape (Hartson, 2003). Cognitive load The amount of mental effort required to perform a task or process information. Cognitive load can be reduced by designing urban spaces that are simple, clear, consistent, and organized. Examples include reducing visual clutter, noise, traffic, and pollution to create less stressful and more pleasant urban spaces. Cognitive load denotes the cognitive expenditure requisite for task execution or information processing. Urban planners may ameliorate this load by devising urban spaces characterized by traits of simplicity, clarity, consistency, and organization. Illustrative strategies encompass the mitigation of visual disorder, noise pollution, traffic congestion, and atmospheric contamination, thereby fostering urban environments that evoke reduced stress and heightened satisfaction (Reedy, 2015; Merri¨ enboer & Sweller, 2005). Cognitive stimulation The degree to which an environment provides novel, diverse, and challenging stimuli that activate and enrich cognitive functions. Cognitive stimulation can be increased by designing urban spaces that are dynamic, diverse, and engaging. Examples include creating opportunities for exploration, discovery, learning, creativity, and social interaction to make urban spaces stimulating and enjoyable. Cognitive stimulation quantifies the capacity of an environment to proffer innovative, multifarious, and intellectually demanding stimuli that trigger and enhance cognitive faculties. The augmentation of cognitive stimulation finds realization in the crafting of urban landscapes characterized by dynamism, diversity and engagement. Illustrative endeavours encompass the provision of conduits for exploration, discovery, knowledge acquisition, creative endeavour, and social interaction, thereby cultivating urban milieus that engender heightened intellectual arousal and gratification (Fink et al., 2010). A. Makanadar Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 5 experiential phenomena, even in the absence of explicit annotations. Transfer learning can activate specialized models for more niche prediction tasks. Continual learning frameworks can dynamically update pre-trained models with streaming resident data for personalization and non-stationary concept tracking, even amid experiential flux over circadian, menstrual, and seasonal cycles. Skilful orchestration of stacked self-attentive transformers, graph convolutional networks and recurrent neural estimators facilitates multimodal integration and temporal dependencies modelling across spatiotemporal experiential strata. This furnishes prognostic generalizability and interpretability prized for such privacy-critical and ethically consequential applications. When micro-temporal resolutions characterise resident experiential states and environmental factors, actuable architectural effector systems can induce nuanced neuro-adaptive adjustments. Luminaires, acoustic damping systems, environmental aromas, biophilic vegetation and mixed reality overlays dynamically respond to inferred experiential imperatives. All effectors require mindfulness of the interwoven topology of experiential phenomenology. No intervention proceeds independently; each ripple impacts others. Strategic machine learning agent choreographies harmoniously coordinate dispersed effectors into cohesive environmental morphologies attuned to the dynamically shifting interior lifeworlds of inhabitants. The concept of overarching value function maximization aims to promote human flourishing by continuously reconstituting built environments. This nurtures human potential amidst urban complexity. Architecture can regain its soul by resuscitating the age-old reciprocity between the interior and exterior worlds through technological reverence. In summary, creating built environments that are receptive to the dynamic experiences of their inhabitants requires the wise integration of neuro-sensory detection, machine learning personalization, and choreographed multi-effector response. This involves embedding a technical nervous system within urban fabrics to promote collective wellness in the face of accelerating technogenesis. Although there are risks involved, responsibly optimized neuro-adaptive architecture has the potential to elevate civilization to its most humane level. Looking ahead, as the Internet of Things connectivity spreads, entire smart cities may one day emerge with neurological harmonization as a core goal (Olszewska & Tawil, 2020). While popular in science fiction, realizing fully neuro-adaptive urbanism presents immense technical, social, and economic barriers. Critics argue physical infrastructure changes at neighbourhood or metropolitan scales could disrupt existing communities or unequally impact low-income residents depending on implementation. Nevertheless, as awareness grows around architecture’s influence on human wellness, neuro-adaptive strategies at different scales will likely continue proliferating in cancerable ways. Overall, balancing innovation with ethics will define this nascent field’s impact and whether it truly becomes the built environment of the future. Sensory perception and emotional design in complex adaptive urban systems Traditional approaches to urban design have prioritized functional and aesthetic concerns, neglecting the profound emotional impact of the built environment. However, as noted design theorists argue, “urban form perpetually interacts with human perception and cognition in a complex interplay shaping well-being outcomes’’ (Dutton & Porter, 2008). By systematically examining how architectural psychosensory affordances like light, sound, texture and spatial organization stimulate human sensory receptors and elicit affective appraisals, design practitioners can cultivate more supportive and restorative urban milieus (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Ulrich, 1983). A crucial consideration is the multi-modal activation and integration of sensory information processing in urban contexts. As our socioenvironmental psychology research delineates, supraliminal sensory bombardment via “loud sounds, intense illumination and crowding elicit physiological stress responses’’, whereas balanced stimulation can engender calmness (Raanaas et al., 2011; Küller et al., 2009). Empirical data indicates curvilinear pathways impart relaxation versus rectilinear routes, greenery attenuates noise pollution, and natural materials mitigate visuospatial clutter (Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2003; Joye, 2007). Mitigating hyperstimulation through evidence-based design thus significantly ameliorates urban residents’ comfort and satisfaction. Beyond moderating sensory load, orchestrating cross-modal sensory cues can shape discrete emotional appraisals. For instance, Thumala’s Table 2 Exemplary interpretations of responsible design practices. Practice Description Specialist Perspective User participation Involving users in the design process, from problem definition to solution evaluation. It helps designers understand user needs and co-create solutions that meet user requirements and satisfaction. Employing a multi-modal participatory design approach, integrating ethnographic contextual inquiry and co-design methodologies, to immerse users in the design milieu. This intricate orchestration of empathetic exploration of user cognitive models, heuristic evaluations, and participatory sense-making endeavours yields profoundly user-centric solutions, ameliorating design myopia and enhancing user mental models (Lee, 2008; Watts & Hirst, 1982). User control Providing options for users to control their data collection, processing, and utilization. Users can choose what data is collected, stored, shared, and used by neuro-adaptive systems and opt-in or opt-out of environmental adjustments. Implementing sophisticated privacy-enhancing technologies such as secure multi-party computation, federated learning, and advanced homomorphic encryption to endow users with meticulous granular control over the life cycle of their data within neuro-adaptive systems. Users wield consent management, differential privacy mechanisms, and personalized data governance to curate the minutiae of their data’s journey. (Yang et al., 2018; Schaub et al., 2015) User Feedback Offering information to users about how their data is collected, processed, and used. User feedback enables monitoring and evaluation of neuro-adaptive system performance and functionality, allowing users to provide suggestions for improvement or complaints. Employing explainable AI models, Bayesian network inferences, and cognitive workload assessments to orchestrate user-friendly, real-time feedback mechanisms. This bespoke feedback architecture, coupled with human-in-theloop interaction frameworks like Wizard-of-Oz testing, empowers users with unprecedented insights into the nuanced nuances of data utilization. It facilitates vigilant scrutiny of system behaviors, enabling users to actively contribute to iterative refinements and voice concerns or suggestions. User education Providing training for users to effectively and responsibly use neuro-adaptive systems. User education equips users with the skills and knowledge necessary to interact with these systems, minimizing potential risks or harms. Inculcating users with an interdisciplinary pedagogical regimen spanning human–computer interaction (HCI), neuro-ethics, and ethical AI, augmented by neurofeedback interfaces, and gamified neuro-education paradigms. This erudition ensures holistic competence, enabling users to navigate the intricate socio-technical neuro-adaptive landscape with sagacity, thus averting misuse and fostering enlightened, ethically grounded decision-making in responsible system engagement. A. Makanadar Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 6 (2015) work exploring multisensory experiences in civic spaces revealed that baked goods’ olfactory signals combined with dim ambience and melodic audiation elicited feelings of gratification. This exemplifies how nuanced psychosensory choreography cultivates positive social bonds. However, an inclusive socioecological approach acknowledges sensory diversity; as we theorize, “individual differences in neurophysiology, learning history and sociocultural norms yield variegated sensory phenotypes” (Barrett, 2017; Clark, 2013). Defensive urbanism aims to accommodate such heterogeneity by minimizing unwarranted stimulation via features like secluded areas and uncluttered vistas (Lang, 1987). Though an ongoing sociotechnical puzzle, prioritizing emotional accessibility benefits diverse communities. The dynamically adaptive urban milieus advocated herein utilize emerging anthropic technologies to align environmental psychosensory affordances with inhabitants’ fluctuating affective-cognitive states. For example, “integrating biometric monitoring, affective computing and responsive kinetics may empower structures to gracefully reshape ambience and layout concordant with collective emotional dynamics” (Mostafavi & Doherty, 2016). While demanding further transdisciplinary work, judiciously engineered emotionally astute built environments show promise for optimizing human experience, engagement and well-being in complex adaptive urban systems. Cognitive ergonomics in urban planning Cognitive ergonomics is the study of how human cognition interacts with the design of products, systems, and environments. In the context of urban planning and design, cognitive ergonomics aims to optimize urban spaces to enhance cognitive performance, well-being, and city livability for the inhabitants and users of the city. Applying principles of cognitive ergonomics to optimize experiential qualities and wayfinding legibility within the urban fabric is complex due to the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of human cognition across spatial, temporal, and social contexts (Looze & Pikaar, 2006; Young et al., 2015). It is imperative to continuously recalibrate to accommodate shifting patterns of urban perception and navigation tied to circannual rhythms, demographic transitions, and socioeconomic fluctuations. The built environment is equipped with a distributed mesh of experiential sensors that provide the necessary spatiotemporal resolution. Computer vision, acoustic analytics, and wireless physiological monitors are used to discreetly characterize patterns of movement, social interaction, and environmental engagement (Gavrila, 1999; Poppe, 2007). This helps to discern how districts activate varied cognitive capacities across different time periods. Simultaneously, surveys, interviews, and digital ethnographies are used to capture the changing experiences and mental representations of the city from an insider’s perspective. By using mixed methods to map the cognitive and affective impacts of redevelopments, demographic shifts, or catastrophic events, adaptive planning can be achieved with foresight. Large-scale neural modelling approaches, such as spatial graph networks and cognitive constructivism, can be valuable in this context. Modelling urban regions as interconnected nodes within an experiential network graph and simulating cognitive schema formation amid environmental fluxes can address variability. Distributed reinforcement learning agents, calibrated via accumulated experiential data, can recursively optimise wayfinding and restorative affordances attuned to evolving communities. Simultaneous multi-objective optimization balances distributed welfare metrics that encompass spatial, temporal, sociodemographic, and neurodiversity spectra. Gradual reformulations, mediated by distributed actuators, mitigate disruption and foster organic adaptation. Variable messaging systems, interactive lighting, and mixed reality overlays subtly augment legibility and restorative potency. Bioremediation landscapes, plazas, and corridors promote clear thinking, while designated quiet areas counteract overstimulation. The comprehensive sociotechnical evaluation assesses the impact on navigation efficiency, accuracy of wayfinding, cognitive load, psychological restoration, and the formation of social capital. Longitudinal comparison of different urban areas, calibrated through discrete optimization protocols, facilitates optimization. Attention to intersectional impacts and recalibration ensures long-lasting benefits amid dynamic change. The ’High Line’ project in New York City serves as a case study for the application of cognitive ergonomics in urban planning and design. This public park was built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. Its design incorporates various elements of cognitive ergonomics, providing a clear and coherent cognitive map of the city by following the linear structure of the rail line and offering panoramic views of the surrounding neighbourhoods. It provides a range of cognitive benefits for various activities and experiences by offering diverse areas such as gardens, lawns, plazas, art installations, food vendors, and performance spaces. This reduces cognitive load by creating a peaceful and tranquil oasis above the hustle and bustle of the city. The use of natural materials, including wood, metal, stone, and plants, creates a contrast with the urban fabric. This approach enhances cognitive stimulation by providing a dynamic and diverse environment that changes with the seasons, weather, time of day, and events. Additionally, it fosters exploration, discovery, learning, creativity, and social interaction among visitors. The High Line project exemplifies the use of cognitive ergonomics in creating urban spaces that improve cognitive performance, well-being, and city livability for residents and users. By incorporating cognitive ergonomics principles into urban planning and design, we can develop cities that are both functional and enjoyable. In summary, generalized cognitive ergonomic optimization demands agile, community-integrated methodologies embracing urban complexity. Distributed sensing, modelling and actuation nurturing cities neurophenomenologically attuned to inhabitants across spatial and temporal existence promises elevated urban mental wellness and social cohesion amid accelerating change. Augmenting sociomaterial intersubjectivity in emergent living urban assemblages Challenges of interpreting human phenomenology at scale While socio-sensory data affords nuanced insights into human intra/ intersubjective dynamics, scaling qualitative lived experiences poses ontological complexities. Phenomenological portrayals risk reification, neglecting interpretive plasticity and heterochronic variance between individuals (Ingold, 2011; Varela et al., 2016). Machine hermeneutics’ generalizability is circumscribed, and prone to sociocultural bias without intersectional representation (Eubanks, 2018; Benjamin, 2019). Top-down analytic reduction obscures emergent subjectivities’ fluid, situated nature. Multi-vocal ethnography alongside self-organizing data integration could mitigate such issues (Irani et al., 2010; DiSalvo et al., 2017). Augmenting sociomaterial intersubjectivity Rather than dictate responses, ensouled milieus may cultivate empathic attunement through distributed cognition. Organic architectonics evolving via phasic self-modification nourish communally negotiated flourishing (Haraway, 2016; Malpas, 2018). Morphogenetic systems mediate intersubjective emergence via nuanced socioenvironmental affordances. Biologically inspired materials harbour intrinsic memory, adapting habituated patterns while enabling novel recombination (Griffiths & Stotz, 2022). Participatory calibration ensures affordances augment without supplanting human agency. Integrating interoception cultivates mindfulness, supporting well-being amid complexity (Fasula & Miller, 2017; Coyne et al., 2021). Intersectional lived experiences thus sculpt living surroundings through empathic codetermination. A. Makanadar Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 7 Toward eudaimonic sociomaterial codesign Progress demands reflexive evaluation alongside marginalized stakeholders. Multi-sited ethnography unpacks socio-material interweaving beyond discrete interventions. Distributed governance models constitute representative oversight while nurturing serendipity. Emerging praxes portend cooperative human-environment flourishing through empathic intersubjectivity rather than instrumental optimization. Continual coarticulation between socio-material constituents ensures urban assemblages prioritize dignity and care amid accelerating technogenesis. Domestic neural-adaptation Scaling neuro-adaptive architectural principles to encompass the intimate domestic sphere poses unique complexities distinct from urbanscale implementation. Within closer-knit living quarters, inhabitants’ experiential privacy demands acquire exacerbated sensitivity, necessitating forensic consideration of sensor deployment strategies, data governance protocols, and effector response calibration (Krontiris et al., 2010). Nonetheless, even limited installation of home-based neuroadaptive technologies holds the potential to subtly elevate residential health, wellness and social functioning (McKee et al., 2012; Caulfield & George, 2020). Unobtrusive psychophysiological monitoring via furniture integration, wall coverings and personal accessories can discreetly indicate stress, fatigue or arousal alterations without compromising intimacy. Strategically placed distributed sensor meshes provide spatiallyresolved experiential characterizations of living, sleeping, cooking, and hygiene zones. These meshes are designed to preclude surveillance connotations. Additionally, miniaturized acoustical, luminous, and atmospheric effectors are woven into architectural materials to foster adaptive interventions that are imperceptible to unaware inhabitants. Compared to communal urban spaces, adapting to domestic environments requires considering the condensed networks of familial, partnered, and solitary experiences. Living together intensifies the entanglements between inhabitants’ inner worlds, amplifying the effects of individual actions. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize collective experiential modelling, taking into account the complexities of social dynamics, synergies, and frictions within relationship topologies. Recent developments in graph neural network architectures and multi-agent reinforcement learning provide suitable modelling techniques (Wu et al., 2019). The inhabitants are represented as interconnected nodes within an experiential network graph, and value functions are formulated to encompass blended welfare optima, addressing the challenges of simultaneity, intersubjectivity, and embedded autonomy within condensed living quarters. Empirical techniques, such as experience sampling, daily reporting, and longitudinal ethnography, can aid in contextually grounded residential neuroadaptation. It is important to capture how inhabitants perceive domestic spaces and interactions at varying temporal, social, and affective granularities to enhance personalized model calibration. Over time, accumulated data from lived experiences refines our understanding of inhabitants’ unique interaction patterns, social rhythms, and preferences. Continual mapping of experiences and relationships nurtures homes that synergize with, rather than disrupt, idiosyncratic routines and intimacies. Residential neuro-adaptation can improve health and wellness in daily life through equitable knowledge distribution and discretionary adjustments. Technology should support, not replace, the sanctity of the home as humanity’s first sanctuary. Challenges and ethical considerations in urban neuro-adaptive architecture Urban neuro-adaptive architecture is a promising and innovative field that aims to create dynamic and personalized urban environments that respond to human needs and desires. However, this field also poses significant challenges and ethical dilemmas that need to be addressed. In this section, we will examine the multifaceted issues of privacy, consent, data security, responsible design, and ethical urban planning in the context of neuro-adaptive architecture. Privacy in the neuro-adaptive city One of the main challenges of neuro-adaptive architecture is the profound privacy implication associated with the constant collection and analysis of personal data. Neuro-adaptive architecture relies on advanced sensors that capture data about ambient conditions and occupants’ emotional and cognitive states. This data is then processed by artificial intelligence (AI) to generate insights for real-time environmental adjustments. While this process enables neuro-adaptive architecture to enhance occupant comfort, well-being, productivity, and creativity, it also challenges traditional notions of privacy within city spaces. How can city dwellers maintain their privacy when their every move, emotion, and thought is monitored and acted upon by neuroadaptive systems? How can they control what data is collected, stored, shared, and used by these systems? How can they prevent unwanted or intrusive environmental adjustments that may violate their privacy or dignity? Informed consent and agency Another challenge of neuro-adaptive architecture is the concept of informed consent. Informed consent is the process of obtaining permission from individuals before collecting and utilizing their personal data. However, how can city dwellers provide meaningful consent when their emotional and cognitive states are continuously monitored and acted upon by neuro-adaptive systems? How can they understand the implications of their consent when the data collection and analysis are complex and opaque? How can they revoke or modify their consent when the data processing and environmental adjustments are instantaneous and irreversible? Moreover, how can they exercise their agency when their choices and preferences are influenced or overridden by neuro-adaptive systems? These questions raise concerns about the potential for diminishing individual agency in neuro-adaptive environments. Data security and vulnerabilities A third challenge of neuro-adaptive architecture is the critical issue of data security. Data security refers to the protection of data from unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure. Data security is essential for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal data collected and utilized by neuro-adaptive systems. However, data security also faces various vulnerabilities in the data infrastructure, such as hacking, malware, human error, or natural disasters. These vulnerabilities may expose personal data to malicious actors who may exploit it for nefarious purposes. For example, hackers may access or alter sensor data to manipulate environmental adjustments or cause harm to occupants. Malware may infect or damage AI systems to disrupt or degrade their performance or functionality. Human error may result in data loss or leakage due to negligence or incompetence. Natural disasters may destroy or disable data storage or transmission devices due to fire, flood, or earthquake. These scenarios may have serious consequences for occupant privacy, safety, and trust. Responsible design practices A possible solution to these challenges is to adopt responsible design practices that prioritize user-centric approaches in neuro-adaptive urban architecture. Responsible design practices are design methods that consider the ethical, social, and environmental impacts of design A. Makanadar Research in Globalization 8 (2024) 100222 8 decisions and actions. These practices aim to ensure that user agency and data privacy are safeguarded throughout the design and implementation process. Ethical urban planning Another possible solution to these challenges is to consider the broader implications for urban planning ethics. Urban planning ethics are principles that guide urban planners in creating sustainable, inclusive, and equitable urban environments that promote societal wellbeing. These principles should also apply to neuro-adaptive architecture, as it has significant impacts on urban development and quality of life. Some examples of ethical urban planning principles are: Equitable access: This is the principle of ensuring that all city dwellers have equal access to neuro-adaptive systems and their benefits, regardless of their socio-economic status, gender, age, race, or disability. Equitable access requires addressing the digital divide and the affordability gap that may prevent some groups from accessing or benefiting from neuro-adaptive systems. Inclusivity: This is the principle of ensuring that neuro-adaptive systems are designed to accommodate the diversity of city dwellers and their needs, preferences, and expectations. Inclusivity requires considering the cultural, linguistic, religious, and ethical differences and sensitivities that may affect how city dwellers perceive and interact with neuro-adaptive systems. Societal well-being: This is the principle of ensuring that neuroadaptive systems contribute to the overall well-being of city dwellers and society at large. Societal well-being requires evaluating the social, psychological, and environmental impacts of neuro-adaptive systems on city dwellers and their communities, and ensuring that they do not cause harm or conflict. Real-world examples and case studies The Living Architecture Systems Group: This is a collaborative network of researchers, artists, designers, and engineers who create living architectures that combine organic materials with digital technologies. These architectures use biofeedback sensors to measure occupant biometrics and emotions and use kinetic structures to change shape and colour according to sensor data. This project exemplifies the challenge of privacy in the neuro-adaptive city, as it collects and utilizes sensitive personal data without explicit consent or control from occupants. It also exemplifies the solution of user participation, as it involves occupants in the design process and invites them to co-create living architectures that reflect their emotions and desires (Living Architecture Systems Group White Papers, 2019). The Adaptive Living Interface System: This is a project that explores the use of AI to create adaptive interfaces that can learn from user behaviour and preferences (Bartram, 2015). These interfaces use cameras and microphones to capture user data and use machine learning to generate personalized recommendations and responses. This project exemplifies the challenge of data security and vulnerabilities, as it relies on complex and opaque AI systems that may be prone to hacking, malware, human error, or natural disasters. It also exemplifies the solution of user feedback, as it provides information for users to understand how their data is processed and utilized by AI systems and to provide suggestions for improvement or complaint. The Sentient Chamber: This is a project that investigates the use of brain-computer interfaces to create sentient environments that can communicate with human minds. These environments use electroencephalography (EEG) sensors to measure brain activity and use light and sound to modulate brain states. This project exemplifies the challenge of informed consent and agency, as it monitors and influences occupant cognitive states without clear consent or control from occupants. It also exemplifies the solution of user education, as it provides training for occupants to learn how to use brain-computer interfaces effectively and responsibly and to avoid potential risks or harms (Beesley, 2015). Responsive facade systems: These designs have great potential to allow buildings to dynamically adjust their daylighting and thermal properties in response to changing conditions. One pioneering prototype is the Kinetic Façade developed by SOM and engineered by ETH Zurich. This multi-story HiLo Building architectural skin featured an array of actuated panels that could individually rotate up to 90 degrees (Jayathissa et al., 2018). Using algorithms modeled on neural processes, the façade iteratively tuned its configuration to optimally balance daylight ingress, views, passive heating/cooling and visual privacy goals. Real-time environmental data such as solar exposure, occupancy patterns and energy metrics informed the system’s evolving behavior over time through unsupervised machine learning techniques. During testing, the façade autonomously reoriented panels to provide uniform daylight distribution inside while minimizing overheating, demonstrating neuro-adaptive design principles in action. Its dynamic modulation showed potential for significant energy savings compared to a static facade. However, further research is still needed to refine the system’s control architecture and improve its long-term reliability under real-world weather variability before full-scale implementation. The Kinetic Façade nonetheless represents a pioneering application of biologically-inspired responsive design that could help buildings continuously self-optimize if such prototypes achieve robust functionality. Sociotechnical visioning for an empathetic neuro-urbanism Envision the burgeoning field of neuro-adaptive architecture at a societal scale. No longer static backdrops for human behaviour, future cities may foster wellness through salient infrastructures attuned to the ebbs and flows of communal affective landscapes. Via Distributed sociotechnical configurations, urban milieus become sites of ongoing cocreation between inhabitants and environs—synergistic networks optimizing wellbeing via epigenetic co-shaping of human experience over temporal and spatial ecologies. Networked sensorimatics disclose fluctuating emotional climates while AI-infused generative design actualizes adaptive responses. Reconfigurable materials and morphogenetic forms reshape spaces to suit circadian, sociocultural, and task-related rhythms. Dynamic lighting, soundscapes, and spatial configurations cultivate a hyperpersonal sense of place and belonging through collective flow states. Emergent properties of neuro-urban meshes nurture prosociality, creativity, and resilience via empathic calibration of sensory affordances to nonlinear signatures of wellness across sociodemographic strata. Yet precautions circumscribe overreach into intimate spheres. Multistakeholder governance ensures equitable access amid technology’s troubling propensity to exacerbate extant inequities. Continuous evaluation and recalibration guard against unintended semiotics or panoptic chilling effects. Only through vigilance against the dysfunctions of power can neuro-adaptive cities fulfil their potential to liberate human flourishing. Global advancement in neuro adaptive technology and design The past decade has seen tremendous progress pushing the boundaries of neuro-adaptive architecture and sustainable urban planning worldwide. Groundbreaking research centers have emerged as global leaders in this field. Barcelona has implemented sensory urbanism principles that focus on designing urban spaces to stimulate and engage residents’ senses positively. By incorporating elements like green spaces, interactive art installations, and sensory pathways, Barcelona aims to create a more inclusive and stimulating urban environment that enhances well-being and quality of life (Spanjar and Suurenbroek, 2020). In Europe ETH Zurich distributed sensor networks and responsive prototypes integrating real-time emotional and cognitive tracking. Across Asia, institutes like Tsinghua University are defining new frontiers A. Makanadar