From the Back Cover
This Handbook presents a broad overview of the current research carried out in environmental psychology which puts into perspective quality of life and relationships with living spaces, and shows how this original analytical framework can be used to understand different environmental and societal issues. Adopting an original approach, this Handbook focuses on the links with other specialties in psychology, especially social and health psychology, together with other disciplines such as geography, architecture, sociology, anthropology, urbanism and engineering.
Faced with the problems of society which involve the quality of life of individuals and communities, it is fundamental to consider the relationships an individual has with his different living spaces. This issue of the links between quality of life and environment is becoming increasingly significant with, at a local level, problems resulting from different types of annoyances, such as pollution and noise, while, at a global level, there is the central question of climate change with its harmful consequences for humans and the planet. How can the impact on well-being of environmental nuisances and threats (for example, natural risks, pollution, and noise) be reduced? How can the quality of life within daily living spaces (home, cities, work environments) be improved? Why is it important to understand the psychological issues of our relationship with the global environment (climatic warming, ecological behaviours)?
This Handbook is intended not only for students of various disciplines (geography, architecture, psychology, town planning, etc.) but also for social decision-makers and players who will find in it both theoretical and methodological perspectives, so that psychological and environmental dimensions can be better taken into account in their working practices.
Ghozlane Fleury-BahiAfter gaining a PhD in Psychology at the University Paris Descartes, Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi became a Lecturer at the University of Nantes in 2000. Since 2010, she is Full Professor of Social and Environmental Psychology at the University of Nantes. Her research is based on the study of the psychosocial processes involved in the relationship to the environment, and more precisely on the evaluation of environmental risks, environmental health and the environmental determinants of quality of life.
Enric Pol
Enric Pol, received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Barcelona in 1986.In 1987, he was promoted to "Profesor Titular" position and since 2003, he is Full Professor on Social and Environmental Psychology at the University of Barcelona in 2003. Since 1987 he has been teaching Applied Social Psychology, with special emphasis on Quality of Life and wellbeing. Since 1988 he is running a professional oriented Master Program on "Environmental Intervention and Management: People and Society". As Director of the Department of Social Psychology (2008-2012) and director of Research Group on Environmental Psychology first (since 1987), and on Social, Environmental and Organizational Psychology (since 2005), he has conducted research on Quality of Life in Barcelona and in Catalonia, and he published a large number of papers on peer-reviewed journals, and books and chapters.
Oscar NAVARRO, Ph. D.
Oscar Navarro is Associate Professor in Social Psychology at University of Nantes in France. He is member of Psychology Laboratory of Pays de la Loire (LPPL) and is currently working on analysis of psychosocial and environmental factors, which can influence the evaluation and management of risks. He is Principal Investigator for the project CLIMATRisk (sense of vulnerability and adaptation to face effects of climate change strategies: the case of perception of coastal risks), which is funded by the ANR (the French national agency for research).
