Biophilia as the invariant in human thinking: A case study — the town of Tábor

• Published in: Landscape and urban planning 2001-01, Vol.53 (1), p.29-36
• Main Authors: TESITEL, Jan, KUSOVA, Drahomira, BARTOS, Michael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Applied psychology; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Biophilia needs; Buildings. Public works; Czech Rep; Environment. Ecology; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Housing estate; Landscaping; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Urban and landscape planning; Urban development
• ISSN: 0169-2046; 1872-6062
• DOI: 10.1016/S0169-2046(00)00135-3

Aesthetic and symbolical relations of humans to nature were not properly considered either in theory or in practice of urban planning as it was carried out in our country in the 1970s and 1980s. The fact, that elements of nature within urban environment play an important role as they partly satisfy the biophila needs of man, i.e. his affinity with plants and animals, was generally neglected. The contribution describes the attitudes of inhabitants in the housing estate of the town of Tábor, South Bohemia to the urban environment they live in. Based on the empirical evidence, two conclusions can be arrived at. Absence of nature, at least in its symbolical form, proved to be the factor limiting the “pleasant existence” of the people living within housing estates. Low willingness of inhabitants to actively participate in the process of making their urban environment livable seems to remain one of the most crucial problems inherited from the former totalitarian regime.