How to Live in a City

Once you get yourself to the city, renting or buying a place, you have to spend time living there.

But humans developed into their current forms living in nature.

Over the aeons our brains have come to process the information that we pull from the world around us in ways linked to good lives when we’re living in the countryside.  Developing spaces in line with these “countryside” conditions is the essence of biophilic design, which we’ve talked about in this article.  We can pull from biophilic design and elsewhere to create in-city spaces where our lives are pleasant and our brains performance level is high.

How can you live your best modern-human life in the city?

• Find a place to live as close to as big a natural space as you can, probably a park, maybe a famously large space such as Central Park or Hyde Park, or maybe a pocket park tucked between two high rises. Spending time in nature, even if that nature is somewhat limited and even if we can only be in it for a few moments each day, refreshes our brain, guiding us to excel cognitively, emotionally, and socially (nothing makes us grumpier than being mentally exhausted from doing knowledge work, for example).  Don’t despair if spaces to any sort of on-the-ground nature are out of your budget, you can still live a wonderful life in the city, read on to see how.
• Whether you can or can’t live near to some nature, you need nature in your city (or anywhere else, for that matter) home. One way to work in some nature is with images of it (photographs, paintings, whatever you’ve got as long as it’s clear what you are looking at is a nature scene)—and sculptures (literally of trees or plants, but also of other vegetation, etc.) are also good for our mental and physical wellbeing.
• Looking at nature through your windows will keep your brain and body working well. Open your curtains whenever you can to take in whatever glimpses of Mother Nature might be available to you. If you are choosing between spaces with different views of nature (lucky, lucky you), pick one where you can see rolling terrain (like a meadow), with collections of trees scattered across it and a bit of a stream, river, lake, or ocean in view.  Don’t worry if there are some signs of human life in what you see;  as long as nature predominates you’ll be mentally enhanced by what you are looking at.  In a pinch?  A manmade water feature with gently moving water, say a burbling fountain in an otherwise bare courtyard, can be as mentally refreshing as a “full” nature scene.
• If no sort of nature is otherwise possibly possible (or even if it is), try using patterns, on upholstery, rugs, etc., that call nature to mind, either literally or conceptually, because they feature organic forms. Keeping to moderate levels of visual information (this really means keeping clutter in check) is key to wellbeing, and designing in and maintaining moderate levels of visual complexity in spaces you manage is discussed here.
• Natural light is like a magic medicine for us humans, when it flows into our lives (without glare), everything is better. Use “sheers” if you need to prevent people from seeing into your place and to eliminate glare, but harness all of the sunshine you can.  Designing in sunshine without glare, is something we’ve discussed in this article.

• If you can spring for it, get a place with a balcony, particularly if you’ll be within 5 or 6 or so stories of the ground (lower balconies will allow you to mentally link to whatever nature, etc., is available more vigorously). Balconies are great for us, even if they’re high and their views of nature are distant, however.  Being able to actually stand in natural light, in naturally moving air, is good for us and can be good for our plants, from time-to-time.
• And plants you must have if you live in the city. Green leafy ones with gently curving stems will do the most for you mentally and spikey cactuses the least.  Don’t create an in-home jungle, that’s stressful to us (being in a jungle eons ago made it hard for us to spot approaching danger, things that might think that we look delicious), and one or two plants in a room is still the best.  Plants 2 to 3 to 4 feet tall are great, but whatever vegetation you’re bringing in always remember that you create an in-space jungle at your own peril.
• While you’re adding those plants, bring in whatever natural materials you can. If you are renovating, you can make sure that the floors are hardwood or slate, for example, and wool or linen throws for the sofa are psychological winners.  Leather or metals like copper that develop patinas over time will earn you brain-wellbeing bonus points.
• What you hear and smell is as important for your mental and physical health as what you see. Add a nature soundscape to your in-city home, as discussed in this article and always manage you and your spaces scents, as reviewed here.