Assessment of user happiness in campus open spaces

Abstract

There is a considerable amount of interest among scholars and urban designers in assessing and fulfilling a shared desire for happiness that is expressed by users of open spaces. The scope of this paper is limited to user experience in a university campus, and considerations around the impact of the setting and design of existing open spaces on stimulating positive feelings and happiness in students, and enhancing the all-round educational experience. The study is limited to young female students at the Effat University campus, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah City. This paper aims to assess the students’ level of happiness on a university campus by examining the impact of the open spaces design and setting on the students. A cognitive map analysis is used to investigate the students’ emotional experience of the open spaces on campus. Also, a questionnaire is used to investigate the students’ preferable open spaces and the reasons for their preferences, which validate the results. The results showed that due to social and environmental conditions some decisions need to be made in response to outdoor temperatures and the spaces’ settings in order to improve their design and make a significant positive impact on students’ happiness. In addition, this could potentially result in a happier, healthier, and more efficient educational environment overall.