IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i22p15702-d1275728.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Biophilia Upscaling: A Systematic Literature Review Based on a Three-Metric Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Deborah Lefosse

    (Environmental Technology & Design, Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands
    Senseable City Lab, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, School of Architecture + Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA)

  • Arjan van Timmeren

    (Environmental Technology & Design, Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Carlo Ratti

    (Senseable City Lab, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, School of Architecture + Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA)

Abstract

In response to socio-ecological challenges, cities around the world are implementing greenification and urban forestry. While these strategies contribute to reducing the ecological footprint, they often overlook various social implications. This explains the increasing global attention to Biophilia, which emphasizes human–nature interaction to enhance the quality of urban life. Despite its historical roots spanning centuries, Biophilia is still considered an emerging research field, as shown by debate on evidence-based research and measurement of its multidimensional impacts. Although the beneficial effects of Biophilic Design (BD) are well documented thanks to the small-scale and immediate outcomes, the long-term potential of Biophilic Urbanism (BU) offers less evidence, limiting its utilization and investment. This paper provides a comprehensive theoretical-practical framework on Biophilia, BD, and BU through a 60-year systematic literature review based on a three-metric approach (quality, quantity, and application). Investigating concepts and practices, we delve into biophilic effects on humans and urban livability, analyze tools to measure them, and explore methods to translate them into the built environment. In spite of the growing body of studies and advancements in the last decade, our review findings highlight the need for further insights, especially regarding BU. The study aims to promote Biophilia Upscaling as a strategy to maximize its direct and indirect benefits across urban scales, thereby promoting BU and expediting a paradigm shift in city planning. In metropolises conceived as bioregional systems, where nature plays a key role in ensuring ecological services and citizens’ well-being, BU can assist designers, planners, and city makers in addressing the urban agenda toward higher environmental and social standards.

Suggested Citation

  • Deborah Lefosse & Arjan van Timmeren & Carlo Ratti, 2023. "Biophilia Upscaling: A Systematic Literature Review Based on a Three-Metric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-34, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15702-:d:1275728
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15702/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15702/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Timothy Beatley, 2017. "Biophilic Cities and Healthy Societies," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 2(4), pages 1-4.
    2. Alessio Russo & Giuseppe T. Cirella, 2018. "Modern Compact Cities: How Much Greenery Do We Need?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Luca Mora & Roberto Bolici & Mark Deakin, 2017. "The First Two Decades of Smart-City Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 3-27, January.
    4. Dorothy Day Huntsman & Grzegorz Bulaj, 2022. "Healthy Dwelling: Design of Biophilic Interior Environments Fostering Self-Care Practices for People Living with Migraines, Chronic Pain, and Depression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Maliha Afroz Nitu & Ozgur Gocer & Niranjika Wijesooriya & Diksha Vijapur & Christhina Candido, 2022. "A Biophilic Design Approach for Improved Energy Performance in Retrofitting Residential Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Birgit Wallmann-Sperlich & Sophie Hoffmann & Anne Salditt & Tanja Bipp & Ingo Froboese, 2019. "Moving to an “Active” Biophilic Designed Office Workplace: A Pilot Study about the Effects on Sitting Time and Sitting Habits of Office-Based Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-13, May.
    7. Eun-Ji Lee & Sung-Jun Park, 2022. "Biophilic Experience-Based Residential Hybrid Framework," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-25, July.
    8. Masashi Soga & Kevin J. Gaston & Yuichi Yamaura & Kiyo Kurisu & Keisuke Hanaki, 2016. "Both Direct and Vicarious Experiences of Nature Affect Children’s Willingness to Conserve Biodiversity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, May.
    9. Giles Thomson & Peter Newman, 2021. "Green Infrastructure and Biophilic Urbanism as Tools for Integrating Resource Efficient and Ecological Cities," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 75-88.
    10. Alessandro Liberati & Douglas G Altman & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Cynthia Mulrow & Peter C Gøtzsche & John P A Ioannidis & Mike Clarke & P J Devereaux & Jos Kleijnen & David Moher, 2009. "The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-28, July.
    11. Richard P. Taylor, 2021. "The Potential of Biophilic Fractal Designs to Promote Health and Performance: A Review of Experiments and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zakaria Abyaa & Khalid El Harrouni & Robin Degron, 2025. "Characterizing Sustainability and Assessing Biophilic Design in Vernacular Architecture: Case of Kasbahs and Ksour in South of Morocco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-25, May.
    2. Yanqing Xia & Yu Shao & Yue Zheng & Xin Yan & Hanlu Lyu, 2025. "Bridging Nature and Urbanization: A Comprehensive Study of Biophilic Design in the Knowledge Economy Era," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 3574-3613, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sylvester Ngome Chisika & Chunho Yeom, 2023. "Smart Urban Forest Management in East Africa: The Case of Nairobi and Kampala Cities," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    2. Christopher Tirri & Hunter Swanson & Mahbubur Meenar, 2021. "Finding the “Heart” in the Green: Conducting a Bibliometric Analysis to Emphasize the Need for Connecting Emotions with Biophilic Urban Planning," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Deborah C. Lefosse & Maryam Naghibi & Sitong Luo & Arjan van Timmeren, 2025. "Biophilic Urbanism Across Scales: Enhancing Urban Nature Through Experience and Design," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Huizi Deng & Muhammad Azzam Ismail & Raha Sulaiman, 2025. "Exploring the Impact of Biophilic Design Interventions on Children’s Engagement with Natural Elements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-24, March.
    5. Oleg Dashkevych & Boris A. Portnov, 2022. "Criteria for Smart City Identification: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-34, April.
    6. Dashkevych, Oleg & Portnov, Boris A., 2023. "Human-centric, sustainability-driven approach to ranking smart cities worldwide," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Milena Dalton & Benjamin Sanderson & Leanne J Robinson & Caroline S E Homer & William Pomat & Margie Danchin & Stefanie Vaccher, 2023. "Impact of COVID-19 on routine childhood immunisations in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(8), pages 1-17, August.
    8. Tripathy, Prajukta & Jena, Pabitra Kumar & Mishra, Bikash Ranjan, 2024. "Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of energy efficiency," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    9. repec:plo:pone00:0193993 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Elizabeth T Cafiero-Fonseca & Andrew Stawasz & Sydney T Johnson & Reiko Sato & David E Bloom, 2017. "The full benefits of adult pneumococcal vaccination: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    11. Ludoviko Zirimenya & Fatima Mahmud-Ajeigbe & Ruth McQuillan & You Li, 2020. "A systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between urogenital schistosomiasis and HIV/AIDS infection," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-13, June.
    12. Desalegne Amare & Fentie Ambaw Getahun & Endalkachew Worku Mengesha & Getenet Dessie & Melashu Balew Shiferaw & Tegenaw Asemamaw Dires & Kefyalew Addis Alene, 2023. "Effectiveness of healthcare workers and volunteers training on improving tuberculosis case detection: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(3), pages 1-13, March.
    13. Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz & Francisco-Javier Hinojo-Lucena & María-Pilar Cáceres-Reche & Juan-Manuel Trujillo-Torres & José-María Romero-Rodríguez, 2019. "Environmental Attitudes in Trainee Teachers in Primary Education. The Future of Biodiversity Preservation and Environmental Pollution," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-11, January.
    14. Trang Nguyen & Sara Holton & Thach Tran & Jane Fisher, 2019. "Informal mental health interventions for people with severe mental illness in low and lower middle-income countries: A systematic review of effectiveness," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 65(3), pages 194-206, May.
    15. Natalya Ivanova & Ekaterina Zolotova, 2023. "Landolt Indicator Values in Modern Research: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Zofia Chyleńska & Eliza Rybska & Sylwia Jaskulska & Maciej Błaszak & Barbara Jankowiak, 2022. "How about the Attitudes towards Nature? Analysis of the Nature and Biology Primary School Education Curricula in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-14, September.
    17. Su Keng Tan & Wai Keung Leung & Alexander Tin Hong Tang & Roger A Zwahlen, 2017. "Effects of mandibular setback with or without maxillary advancement osteotomies on pharyngeal airways: An overview of systematic reviews," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Vecchio, Riccardo & Caso, Gerarda & Cembalo, Luigi & Borrello, Massimiliano, 2020. "Is respondents’ inattention in online surveys a major issue for research?," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 22(01), March.
    19. Maria I. R. P. R. Rodrigues & Fernando A. F. Ferreira & Neuza C. M. Q. F. Ferreira, 2025. "Constructing smarter and more sustainable urban ecosystems: a dynamic analysis of challenges and initiatives," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 347(1), pages 131-171, April.
    20. Alessandro Concari & Gerjo Kok & Pim Martens, 2020. "A Systematic Literature Review of Concepts and Factors Related to Pro-Environmental Consumer Behaviour in Relation to Waste Management Through an Interdisciplinary Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-50, May.
    21. Damiano Pizzol & Mike Trott & Igor Grabovac & Mario Antunes & Anna Claudia Colangelo & Simona Ippoliti & Cristian Petre Ilie & Anne Carrie & Nicola Veronese & Lee Smith, 2021. "Laparoscopy in Low-Income Countries: 10-Year Experience and Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15702-:d:1275728. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.