This book discusses how people experience and inhabit high-density and high-rise urban environments, drawing on current literature about the psychological, physical, and environmental health impacts. It brings a novel exploration of the evolving definitions of space and new ways of socializing within vertical urban settings, coupled with a cutting-edge approach focused on applying neuroscience principles to urban design. International case studies from Singapore, Seoul, and Hong Kong convey useful lessons for the urban design and morphology of high-density cities.

Hee Sun Choi is an Assistant Professor at the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. Her research centres around public space, urban morphology, hyper-morphology and AI in vertical urbanism as design tools and research methods. She is also a founding partner of Choi-Comer Asia Ltd., an interior & architecture and urban design practice and research lab in Hong Kong, the Chair person for Media and Publications for the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design and the Chief-Editor and Creator of its online Journal Urbanie & Urbanus.

“This book provides more scientific evidence on how buildings shape the way we think and feel. Championing emotion as a key function of architecture, it shows how we can design buildings that can better connect us and provide joy to the everyday citizen. At a time when we are in desperate need to rehumanise our cities, we need to start acting on what the science is telling us.” (Thomas Heatherwick, Heatherwick Studio, UK)

“An exceptionally useful study of how we truly experience high-rise living. Architects and urbanists design buildings and urban environments that change the way that we conduct our lives: how we live, work and rest. This cutting-edge research, originating in the bustling dynamics of Hong Kong, but applying its principles to high-rise buildings from regions as far afield as the Middle East and New York, demonstrates a range of emotional responses dependent on, inter alia, building height and spatial configurations. Using experiential responses (including physiological and psychological data) as well as AI modelling, the resultant coding system will undoubtedly become a worthy addition to the armoury of criteria to be incorporated into scholarly and practical design considerations.” (Austin Williams, Kingston School of Art, London, UK; and Visting Scholar, XJTLU, Suzhou, China)

“Human-Centred Design: Spatial Cognition and Hyper-morphology offers a timely and research-driven exploration of how vertical urban environments shape human cognition and emotional experience. As someone working at the intersection of spatial user experience and immersive environments, I appreciate the book’s effort to bridge neuroscience with design practice in a meaningful way. The concept of emotionally-led hyper-morphology introduces a valuable perspective for understanding the lived experience of high-density urban space. This work will be especially relevant for those seeking to design urban systems that are both data-informed and human-aware.” (So-Yeon Yoon, PhD. Professor, Human Centered Design, CORNELL UNIVERSITY)

“As indicated in the saying, “we shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us”, the main purpose of human-centred design is to, through the design of the built environment, shape (and reshape) ourselves in order to better cope with the new challenges arising in the VUCA world (a.k.a. volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity). This book provides a critical insight into this phenomenon and cherishes everyone’s emotions and perceptions in the process of shaping urban spaces. Using ‘urban hyper-morphology’ as the research scenario, it explores the complex but reciprocal relationships between urban design, human behavior, and psychological well-being based on advanced neuroscientific methods. The findings encourage us to rethink about the concept of everyday urbanism and alike, and offer valuable suggestions to enhance urban planning and design in the time of Artificial Intelligence. This book is an important, timely and rich source of information for students interested in urban planning and design, urban design professionals, and everyone who cares about our everyday life in cities.” (Dr. Bing Chen, Head, Department of Urban Planning & Design. Design School, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University)