Memory, emotions and feelings: impacts on spatial and affective perception of the central urban area of Campinas

Abstract

Departing from a transdisciplinary cooperation between Architecture-Urbanism-Neuroscience, this research investigates the action of the central area of the city of Campinas (São Paulo - Brazil) on the spatial perception and affective memories of its inhabitants / user. To this purpouse, it carries out a field procedure with 266 volunteers, aimed at evoking the participants’ semantic declarative memories about this space / place, and registering them as statements and authorial drawings. The main results declare the modulation of these memories by emotions and feelings and they discuss: a) the lack of identification and the aversion of the inhabitants / users to the central area of the city; b) the feeling of insecurity triggered by the urban space in its citizens; c) as well as these factors threaten the homeostatic balance of these subjects. As the main contribution, the role and responsibility of public policies and the professionals in the fields of Architecture, Urbanism and Design stand out in the ways of citizens feeling, perceiving and occupying the urban space.