The Relationship between the Spatial Configuration and the Fourth Sustainable Dimension Creativity in University Campuses: The Case Study of Zernike Campus, Groningen, The Netherlands

Isabelle Soares,Gerd Weitkamp,Claudia Yamu

doi:10.3390/su12219263

Abstract

To date, little is known about the spatial aspects of the creativity of university campuses and their public spaces. This study recognises that creativity is the fourth sustainability, because the spatial configuration of campuses and city-university accessibilities are ‘creative solutions’ conceived for human needs. At the same time, creative ideas depend on interactions between individuals and the built environment. Therefore, based on the theoretical framework of the scholars who have explored the spatial aspects of creativity, this study empirically investigates Zernike Campus, Groningen, and its public spaces using a mixed-methods approach that involves (1) a space syntax analysis of the campus’s spatial configuration, (2) volunteered geographic information (VGI) of the users’ perceptions, and (3) non-participatory observations of the interactions between people and the built environment in public spaces with high and low ‘potential for creativity’. The results show that creativity cannot be explained simply by analysing spatial configurations, but that it also depends on the combination of the land-use mix, physical features, positive experiences, and perceptions of a sense of place which enable trust and interactions, and which facilitate creative encounters. Therefore, the mixed-methods approach applied here can help urban planners and designers to address public spaces more effectively, integrating conditions that support creativity.

Highlights

The role of university campuses and science parks has essentially remained the same over time: they are spatial clusters that are conceived as environments to foster contacts and informal networks based on frequent face-to-face interactions [1,2]
We empirically investigated the spatial aspects of creativity in public spaces at Zernike Campus, Groningen
The results showed that people tend to see possibilities of creative encounters close to the places that they are familiar with, and in areas that are easy to reach in terms of accessibility

Summary

Introduction

The role of university campuses and science parks has essentially remained the same over time: they are spatial clusters that are conceived as environments to foster contacts and informal networks based on frequent face-to-face interactions [1,2]. Previous research found that the spatial configuration and physical features of university campuses play a fundamental role in people’s interactions and learning activities, and their creativity [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Hillier explains that, in order to enable creativity, a (public) space must enhance contacts of the ‘right kind’. He defines such contacts as “those more likely to make links between ideas and generate new ones” [11] The complementary approach of both scholars leads to the assumption that creativity is a spatial and non-spatial phenomenon at one and the same time

Methods

Results

Conclusion