Life Space Research Articles

Re/connecting with “home”: a mixed methods study of service provider and patient perspectives to facilitate implementing rehabilitation in the home for reconditioning

Purpose To explore the views of healthcare professionals and patients about the advantages and disadvantages of rehabilitation in the home (RITH) for reconditioning, and identify factors that should contribute to the successful implementation of a consensus-based RITH model for reconditioning. Materials and methods Interviews with 24 healthcare professionals and 21 surveys (comprising Likert scale and free text responses) of inpatients undergoing rehabilitation for reconditioning provided study data. Interpretive thematic analysis was used to analyse interview data; descriptive statistics analysed Likert scale responses; patient written responses assisted with the interpretation of themes developed from the interview data. Results Two major themes were elicited in this study: the home is a physical setting and the home is a lived space. Advantages and disadvantages of RITH for patients, carers and healthcare professionals were identified within these themes. Appropriate patient selection; effective communication with patients and carers, and within RITH teams; adequate patient and carer support; ensuring the safety of patients and staff; and education of patients, carers and healthcare professionals are essential for the satisfactory implementation of RITH. Conclusion The concept of home shapes the delivery of RITH. Recognising the advantages and disadvantages of RITH highlights important considerations needed to successfully implement RITH for reconditioning.

Assessing family relationships through drawing: the Family Life Space

The Family Life Space (FLS) is a graphic instrument that may aid the relational assessment of families. This interactive instrument involves all members of the family in a joint task, that of collectively making a drawing of their own family system and it allows the gathering of information related to the overall family organization. The FLS was originally conceived by Danuta Mostwin in the early 70s and used as an instrument for clinical intervention. After having been applied to several contexts, the present contribution aims at presenting the key indicators to use the instrument as a tool for assessing family relations. Specifically, the characteristics of the instrument that allow the gathering of relevant information at the individual, relational, and family level will be outlined. For each of these levels, the data regarding the quantity and quality of the elements in the drawing that define the family space (i.e., the number and graphic quality of the actual elements in the drawing) as well the quantity and quality of the relationships among family members and with their community at large (i.e., the number and type of lines connecting the various elements in the drawing) will be presented. The instrument can therefore provide useful insights on the following constructs: quality of life, power dynamics within the family, feelings of belonging, closeness and/or distance as well as conflict or acknowledgement between family members and the overall attitude family members have toward their context and the critical events they had to face. The application and complete potential of the instrument are further elaborated upon through the presentation of a clinical case. This case not only aids in comprehending the tool’s usage but also enables the collection of psychological information about the family and provides a clinical interpretation of family relationships.

Training and provision of mobility aids to promote autonomy and mobility of older patients in a geriatric emergency department: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Older adults have higher rates of emergency department (ED) admissions when compared to their younger counterparts. Mobility is the ability to move around, but also encompasses the environment and the ability to adapt to it. Walking aids can be used to improve mobility and prevent falls. According to international guidelines, they must be available in Geriatric EDs. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a program of training and provision of walking aids (WA), associated or not with telemonitoring, on fear of falling, mobility, quality of life and risk of falls up to 3 and 6 months in older adults cared for in an ED. A randomized controlled trial will be carried out in the ED. Participants will be randomized and allocated into three groups, as follows: A) walking aid group will be trained for the use of a walking aid and receive guidance on safe gait; B) walking aid and telemonitoring group will receive training for the use of a walking aid, guidance on safe gait, and telemonitoring (every two weeks for first three months); C) Control group will receive only guidance on safe gait. Patients will undergo a baseline evaluation encompassing sociodemographic and clinical data, mobility in life spaces, gait speed, muscle strength, functionality, quality of life, fear of falling, history of falls, cognition and mood before the intervention. Gait time and fear of falling will be assessed again after the intervention in ED. Finally, mobility in life spaces, functionality, quality of life, fear of falling, history of falls, cognition, and mood will be assessed 3 and 6 months after discharge from the geriatric ED through a telephone interview. Provision of walking aids in the geriatric ED is currently recommended. This study will be the first randomized controlled trial that will evaluate the impact of training and provision of these devices in the ED. Trial registration number: NCT05950269.

Fair space for life: A dynamic care monitor working up to growth and flourishing for all.

Mental health disparities persistently cause inequity and social exclusion. Extensive research underpins the need to embrace the social determinants of health and facilitate network learning at various ecosystem levels. Despite valuable quality frameworks and ratified conventions, local practices which counter health inequity are scarce. The Dutch HOP-TR study collected health and needs of Homeless Service Users (HSU) in a rights-based, transdiagnostic, recovery framework. We assessed the survival modes and conducted a socio-ecological analysis, exploring what happened in care pathways at three ecosystem levels: individual HSU, caregiver networks, society. While documenting vital conditions for growth and citizenship, we explore major opportunities to develop 'fair space for life'. Under low distress levels, prosocial behavior is prominent (32.9%). High distress levels are found with an avoidant (42.0%) or aggressive mode (24.9%). Rising distress levels give more frictions in relations, psychiatric admissions, and police-justice contacts. The distress-induced descent in the social hierarchy causes social withdrawal, alienation, and marginalization. At society level, fair conditions for growth and citizenship are challenged by the cumulative impact of distress over the HSU' lives. This care monitor uncovers the impact of distress on caregiver interactions. The care pathways reveal that the survival strategies reflect a systematic, pervasive neglect. Unfair representations hold HSU personally responsible of their situation, disregarding the cumulative impact of environmental conditions over their lives. The diverse sources of unfairness are intrinsic to the health care system and culture. Therefore, the survival modes ask for profound culture transformations in a whole-system-whole-society approach. Given the need for action on health equity and the social determinants of health, this paper provides an example of a dynamic care monitor. The actionable data elicit dialogs and stimulate to enrich opportunities for inclusion and growth in communities and societies.

The Ecological Environmental Effects and Topographic Gradient Analysis of Transformation in the Production–Living–Ecological Spaces in the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains

Taking the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains (NSTM) in Xinjiang as the research area, this study analyzes the changes in the Production–Living–Ecological (P-L-E) Spaces and their Ecological Environmental Effects, providing a basis for optimizing the spatial pattern of the P-L-E Spaces and regional ecological environment protection in this area. Based on land use data and DEM data, various methods were used for analysis. These methods include the land use transfer matrix, ecological environment quality index, hot spot analysis, ecological contribution rate, and Terrain Position Index. The analysis focused on changes in the spatial pattern of the P-L-E Spaces from 1980 to 2020. It also examined the spatiotemporal distribution of ecological environment quality (EEQ). Furthermore, it explored the differentiation characteristics of EEQ in terrain gradients. The conclusions are as follows: (1) On the NSTM, Ecological Space decreased while Production and Living Space expanded. From 1980 to 2020, Agricultural Production Space increased rapidly. Industrial Production Space also saw rapid growth during this period. Urban Living Space expanded significantly from 1980 to 2020. Rural Living Space experienced steady growth over the same period. Forest Ecological Space initially increased but later decreased. Water Ecological Space showed an initial increase followed by a decrease from 1980 to 2020. (2) The EEQ first remained stable, declined slightly from 2000 to 2010, improved significantly, and then deteriorated from 2010 to 2020. The distribution of EEQ exhibits a “high in the northwest, low in the southeast” pattern. EEQ hot spots on the NSTM are concentrated in the Tianshan Mountains, with clustering increasing in both northern and southern areas. Cold spots are found in the southern, eastern, and northern NSTMs, with aggregation strengthening in the south and north and slightly weakening in the east. Hot spots of EEQ changes on the NSTM show stable distribution, with stronger aggregation from 2000 to 2020. However, aggregation of cold spots has gradually weakened, yet noticeable aggregation persists throughout the study period. (3) There is a significant gradient difference in EEQ distribution. Higher terrain gradients have a higher EEQ. From 1980 to 2020, lower terrain gradients saw improvement, while higher gradients experienced deterioration. The EEQ on the NSTM has declined, showing significant spatial differences, with better quality on the northern side than the southern side. Future efforts should focus on restoring the environment at lower gradients, mitigating deterioration at higher gradients, and enhancing water conservation in the Tianshan Mountains.

The prevalence of, and factors associated with, a risk of depression in residential aged care services residents: Findings from the FIRST study.

Depression is common amongst Australian residential aged care services (RACS) residents. This study aimed to estimate the risk of depression amongst residents and identify factors associated with this risk. In care settings such as RACS, time-efficient screening tools to identify depression risk may be a preferred tool. The two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), derived from the nine-item PHQ-9 used commonly in the United States (US), was employed in this study. A resident was identified as being at risk of depression where the score was ≥3. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent factors associated with being at risk of depression. Residents' mean age was 87.7 (standard deviation: 7.3) years and 73% were female. One-fifth of residents (n = 108 or 20%) were at risk of depression. Age (odds ratio [OR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.93-0.99); Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) score (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.11-2.16); Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13); and 38-item Frailty Index (FI) score (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03-1.10) were significantly associated with being at risk of depression, whilst sex, urinary incontinence, polypharmacy,Dementia Severity Rating Scale (DSRS) and Nursing Home Life Space Diameter (NHLSD) score were not. One in five residents were at risk of depression. Younger age, higher pain, higher daytime sleepiness and higher frailty status were associated with depressive risk. Future studies focusing on interventions targeting these factors may contribute to improved health outcomes.

Becoming augmented: The latent possibilities of ethnography in a pandemic

For all its wretched ways, COVID:19 has installed new possibilities to the way we do ethnographic research. Due to pandemic restrictions, my research on how digital activists in Sri Lanka acquire influence on social media fell into three distinct phases: (i) digital ethnography from London, (ii) datafied approaches in Helsinki and (iii) traditional fieldwork in Colombo. The article’s objective is not to provincialise the three cases, but to demonstrate how each phase is tightly bound together and serve to imagine new possibilities in research design. Vlad Glăveanu contents that ‘human beings live “amphibious” lives – at once in the realm of the actual and the possible’ to emphasis the misty line between what is real and what can be manifested by innovation and action. Not dissimilar to this amphibiousness, I argue that human beings also live ‘augmented’ lives, at once in the realm of in real life (IRL) and online spaces and experiences mediated by digital technologies. My fingers, ears and eyes, while in London, Helsinki or Colombo, were always partly submerged in digital worlds, and it was this augmentation that enabled the long-term engagement that good ethnography demands.

A multidimensional framework for assessing cultural heritage vulnerability to flood hazards

ABSTRACT This study proposes a multidimensional framework for the assessment of cultural heritage vulnerability to flood hazards. In this framework, cultural heritage is framed within a landscape approach drawing on the concept of the historic urban landscape as a physical entity, a lived space and a layered socio-economic environment. In such manner, this study emphasises that climate change disturbs both tangible and intangible aspects of cultural heritage – such as social systems and daily life practices – by modifying the material conditions that sustain them. Thus, the proposed framework integrates built and natural heritage with area-based vulnerability and socio-economic deprivation, considering households’ exposure to flood risk. The analysis follows a spatial and quantitative approach using open geospatial data available at the statistical unit level. The data are processed and analysed employing QGIS software and statistical analysis. Results confirm that cultural heritage vulnerability is highly associated with socio-economic deprivation and area-based vulnerability. The understanding of this interrelation is key to the identification of historic urban landscape qualities and priority areas for reconstruction and social support.

Rethinking post-Ottoman space through the ordinary: garages, hotels and cafés between Syria and Iraq, 1920s–1930s

ABSTRACT This article examines the reconfiguration of post-Ottoman space in the Mashriq during the interwar period. It does so by delving into ordinary places, actors and practices, particularly garages, hotels, petrol stations and cafés along the trans-desert routes connecting Syria and Iraq. By investigating the interactions between stationary workers and mobile individuals in these settings, it presents a decentred and bottom-up perspective on how space was experienced, contested and reshaped in the region. Drawing from a diverse range of sources, the article explores how ordinary actors sought to reclaim and shape space for their own purposes, highlighting their potential and actual roles in the reconfiguration of post-Ottoman space. On the one hand, it reveals that their economic activities were marginalised by the dominant agenda to restructure space for capitalist and imperialist interests through automotive technology. On the other, it demonstrates that ordinary actors played a substantial role in the formation of lived spaces spanning Syria and Iraq, as well as in reshaping the fabric, economy and meaning of places within these regions.

Redefining active mobility from spatial to social in Singapore

IntroductionWalking is an active mobility option with health and social benefits. Many cities including Singapore are expanding pedestrian infrastructure and creating walkable neighbourhoods. But the connection of neighbourhood walkability and walking behaviour among residents, especially older adults remains less examined. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between everyday walking behaviours and neighbourhood design characteristics. MethodsUtilising generative focus group discussions with 12 participants, including older adults, this exploratory research collected personal and collective stories on residents' walks around Singapore's high-rise, high-density public housing neighbourhoods of Tampines Town, including their attitudes, aversions, and aspects of environmental barriers and enablers for walking. ResultsAll 12 participants had walked in their neighbourhoods during the 7 days preceding the focus group discussion. A key motivation for walking in the neighbourhood was everyday life activities and needs, such as to get out of the house, walking for food, groceries, work, exercise, and health, reinforcing the pivotal role of these opportunities in residents’ active mobility life space and the availability and accessibility to these local facilities. Drawing on their everyday lived experiences, participants shared their conception of walkable neighbourhood, the adequacy of neighbourhood places for walking, the environmental barriers and enablers. Older participants spoke about walkable environments helping them to reach essential destinations safely every day and contributing to not only their physical health but also social and mental health (through contact with nature and interaction with neighbours and others within the neighbourhood). Where they would walk is often influenced by their perception of the place, sense of safety, and the presence/absence of services. ConclusionsThe findings lend local priorities for walkable neighbourhoods based on what residents think and blending social consensus. The policy implication is a need to consider both place enhancement and people's experience, including experiential micro-social and psychological aspects and their interlinkages when designing inclusive walkable neighbourhood.

The lived experiences of transgender and gender-diverse people in accessing publicly funded penile-inversion vaginoplasty in Canada.

Canada's health care systems underserve people who are transgender and gender diverse (TGD), leading to unique disparities not experienced by other patient groups, such as in accessing gender-affirmation surgery. We sought to explore the experiences of TGD people seeking and accessing gender-affirmation surgery at a publicly funded hospital in Canada to identify opportunities to improve the current system. We used hermeneutic phenomenology according to Max van Manen to conduct this qualitative study. Between January and August 2022, we conducted interviews with TGD people who had undergone penile-inversion vaginoplasty at Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, since June 2019. We conducted interviews via Microsoft Teams and transcribed them verbatim. We coded the transcripts using NVivo version 12. Using inductive analysis, we constructed themes, which we mapped onto van Manen's framework of lived body, lived time, lived space, and lived human relations. We interviewed 15 participants who had undergone penile-inversion vaginoplasty; they predominantly self-identified as transgender women (n = 13) and White (n = 14). Participants lived in rural (n = 4), suburban (n = 5), or urban (n = 6) locations. Their median age was 32 (range 27-67) years. We identified 11 themes that demonstrated the interconnected nature of TGD peoples' lived experiences over many years leading up to accessing gender-affirmation surgery. These themes emphasized the role of the body in experiencing the world and shaping identity, the lived experience of the body in shaping human connectedness, and participants' intersecting identities and emotional pain (lived body); participants' experiences of the passage of time and progression of events (lived time); environments inducing existential anxiety or fostering affirmation, the role of technology in shaping participants' understanding of the body, and the effect of liminal spaces (lived space); and finally, the role of communication and language, empathy and compassion, and participants' experiences of loss of trust and connection (lived human relations). Our findings reveal TGD patients' lived experiences as they navigated a lengthy and often difficult journey to penile-inversion vaginoplasty. They suggest a need for improved access to gender-affirmation surgery by reducing wait times, increasing capacity, and improving care experiences.

Pre-War Greek “Open” Prisons: A Dynamic Spatial Condition

The article explores the unique nature of pre-war Greek agricultural prisons, arguing that these settlements offered aprogressive spatial condition to the enclosed communities. In contrast to Foucault's model of central control andisolation, these prisons incorporated agricultural work and open-air spaces, aiming for rehabilitation through: a)connection with the natural environment and b) assigning responsibilities to the inmates. As Yi-Fu Tuan suggests, wecross-examine conceptual, built, and experienced spaces to explore "...how abstract ideas develop out of those givendirectly to the body...". Following a qualitative research method, we examine three aspects of prison space: spacedefined by the legal system, the built space, the lived space. We present findings on the built structures and lifewithin them, concluding with how culture of enclosed societies contributes to a state's legal and political civilization.We highlight these places as valuable heritage deserving further interdisciplinary investigation by architecture,criminology and anthropology.

The Family as a Place of Experiencing Critical Events – Case Study

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The main aim is to show the narrative of a woman who experienced critical events in her personal life. THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND METHODS: 1. How does the narrator describe critical events based on her family experience? 2. What meaning does she ascribe to the events experienced in retrospect? The presented research is situated in the interpretative research tradition. A descriptive‑theoretical type of case study was used. Empirical data was collected using Fritz Schütze’s narrative interview technique. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The interview began by presenting the narrator’s life story from her childhood to the present day. Attention was paid to her understanding of herself and her life, her relationship with her parents, and critical events that occurred in her family. The empirical material was then interpreted based on Schütze’s process structures, which revealed her current life course, critical events in the family and landmark events in the narrator’s individual biography. RESEARCH RESULTS: The interpretation of the empirical material showed the narrator in the process of change, internal metamorphoses. It revealed poor intra‑family relations, which became the cause of illness, lack of self‑acceptance, and depressive and anxious states. The therapy that she underwent, satisfying professional work and mutual feelings of love allowed the narrator to overcome her limitations, weaknesses and take a critical look at the family relationships that were the cause of her pain and suffering. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: The narrative presented in the paper can become a stimulus for change in people who are currently struggling with family problems, illness or suffering: all those people who experience anxiety and loneliness in the space of family life.

Method for identifying rural PLES and its applications

The quantitative identification of rural land functions serves as a basis for rural land planning, coordinated spatial development, and control capacity improvement and is significant for rural transformation and sustainable development. This paper constructs an analysis framework to identify and evaluate “production-living-ecological” space (PLES) in rural areas of central and western China. On the Loess Plateau, which was taken as the study area, a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis was completed to determine framework indicators and their thresholds. Resource and environmental carrying capacity and land suitability were measured through GIS spatial analysis under different land functional orientations. This sought to recognize production space (PS), living space (LS), and ecological space (ES) in rural areas, reveal their distribution patterns on the Loess Plateau, and determine alternative areas for future land use. The results indicate that the PS and LS of the Loess Plateau rural land show a relatively low resource and environmental carrying capacity but vary significantly in different functional regions. The space distribution of PS and LS with higher carrying capacity shows obvious consistency. Although the Loess Plateau has vast sustainable land for development, the intensity of development should be carefully controlled. Additionally, significant regional differences remain in rural PLES, so reasonable future rural land planning should be formulated according to the PLES pattern. This study provides a scientific basis for promoting coordinated development of Loess Plateau rural areas and implementing a rural revitalization strategy. It is also a reference for identifying PLES and its coordinated spatial development in rural central and western China.

Rabhia

The growing interest in Mozambican crime fiction since the early 2000's reflects a move to portray underexplored characters, stories and spaces of postcolonial life through the lens of the police procedural. This period has not only seen numerous debates in Mozambique surrounding the purported 'death' of Mozambican literature, but it has coincided with a significant literary shift towards the crime novel. Works such as Mia Couto's Under the Frangipani and Lília Momplé's Neighbours have drawn Anglophone readers and scholars into these conversations.1 Since then, Mozambican writers have continued to expand the boundaries of the crime novel in order to question the status of 'engaged' literature and to offer readers nuanced explorations of the genre alongside that of the country's social inheritances of colonialism, liberation struggle, civil war and ongoing armed conflict.

The order characteristics of daily life space in Chinese urban communities--a case of Ningbo Green Axis Sports Park

This paper explores the order characteristics of urban daily life spaces in China through ethnographic studies and field research data, with a focus on Ningbo Green Axis Sports Park. The study identifies four key characteristics of urban community daily life spaces: hierarchical "bounded space", rhythmic temporality, physical embodiment, and habitual occupation. In Chinese urban contexts, the delineation between work and life proves challenging, intertwining hierarchical relationships among neighbors and colleagues within public spaces, thereby forming a structured hierarchy of subcultural groups.Individuals engage with colleagues, neighbors, and diverse individuals within daily life spaces to negotiate identity and hierarchy, thereby shaping the social space of the subject through public interactions. Our analysis posits that the orderliness of public spaces hinges upon empowerment and domain delineation; the preservation of order sustains the publicness, social connectivity, and interactive dynamics of such spaces. The tension between publicness and domain delineation may indeed serve as the linchpin of public space efficacy. Consequently, urban planning endeavors should prioritize the orderly attributes of public spaces and foster the development of human-centric urban environments.

Dam Construction, Company Towns and Planned Urban Development: The Example of Salto del Esla, Spain

ABSTRACT Company towns are integral to the urban and territorial changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution, especially in remote, resource-rich areas. Among these, villages constructed alongside dams stand out due to their profound territorial impact. This study focuses on one such unique settlement near the Ricobayo dam in Zamora, Spain, exploring its construction and environmental integration. At its inception, Ricobayo was Europe’s largest dam, its creation marked by notable feats like relocating a church, and pioneering hydraulic engineering and bridge construction, including a record-breaking design by Torroja. The adjacent company town set a precedent for creating liveable spaces for workers in isolated locales, influencing later developments. Research included on-site investigations, archival work at Iberdrola’s Historical Archive, and review of historical texts, underscoring the cultural and landscape significance of 20th-century dam settlements and the distinctive features of Ricobayo’s surroundings.

Embodied spatiality: mapping gendered exclusion and women’s embodied right to the city in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

This study addresses the critical research inquiry surrounding the persistence of gendered urban inequalities and the subsequent exclusion of women in urban settings within the broader context of gender, spatiality, and embodiment. Using feminist geographical theory and informed by Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the right to the city, the study investigates how the spatial characteristics of public spaces, along with underlying gendered dynamics, engender discriminatory and exclusionary practices that restrict women’s right to the city and public lived space. The study collected data through a questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and a mapping exercise utilising open-access Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. The participants were 166 individuals from the historically racially segregated areas of Umlazi, Chatsworth, and Durban Central in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings reveal women’s negative experiences and perceptions of the risk of victimisation, which stem from a form of ‘self-imposed exclusion’ from public spaces, thereby limiting their overall right to the city. The study also highlights the intersecting hierarchies of race, gender, age, and nationality that (re)produce intersectional exclusions, contributing to multiple barriers to access. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that women’s exclusion from public spaces and their limited rights to the city results from a complex interplay between embodied ‘self-imposed’ exclusions, intersectional dynamics, and spatial constraints, which collectively infringe their embodied right to the city.

Modeling the Livable City: Urban Ableism Across Borders

The concept of livability is treated as a universal public good, and many cities seek to model those ranked high on livability indexes. In the global livability imaginary, however, certain design features (notably active transportation infrastructures) are prioritized, with livable cities being those designed for bicycling and walking rather than automobiles. This article extends feminist infrastructure theorist Susan Leigh Star’s query, “cui bono?” to the question of “livability for whom?” Drawing on site visits and autoethnographic vignettes of disabled life in supposedly livable spaces, the article argues that infrastructural preferences for able-bodiedness in social and built environments create hidden geographies of urban ableism. In an era of mass-disabling phenomena such as climate change, COVID-19, and housing instability, attending to unequal forms of livability is necessary to design cities for a broad, inclusive range of inhabitants.

Discovering the sensory, emotional, and interactive experiences of a place.

This article proposes a data collection technique for describing experiences of a built environment. Besides the experiences of the visual and physical aspects of the place, this technique helps describe the sensory, bodily, emotional, interactive, and social experiences occurring during the human-environment encounter. The enabling technique presented is called Reactions and Actions Description Survey (RADES). It employs 120 images depicting people going through different situations involving all the senses, showing expressions related to positive and negative emotions, and realizing varied activities. Forty-five participants visited the esplanade in the exterior of a historic building called Obispado. The case study is located on a hill and is a scenic viewpoint of Monterrey, Mexico. The participants answered the RADES and the Environmental Description Survey (ENVIDES), which focuses on describing the qualities of the place and the appraisals with which it is experienced. The comments about the experiences of the place obtained through both surveys were grouped into 133 categories. Qualitative and quantitative data about the experiences of the place were obtained through both techniques. A quantitative analysis of the data was realized since the participants not only described their experiences with words but also indicated numerically the intensity of such experiences. Spearman correlations between the experiences were calculated, and a general map of the experiences of the place was created through multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS). The study revealed the connections between the elements and qualities of the site and the views with specific positive and negative experiences occurring during the visit. Furthermore, MDS allowed the discovery of 10 dimensions of environmental experience-pleasure/displeasure, high/low arousal, dominance/submissiveness, knowing/inhabiting, environment/self, higher/lower cognition, spatiality/materiality, states/processes, natural/built, and visual/sensory. The presented techniques and the findings obtained through them can assist architects in recognizing valuable environmental features for the design of livable spaces.