Tadeáš Dvořák first studied psychology at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, where he examined the influence of the city and its factors on human thinking. He did not abandon the research topic but decided to expand it with a biological basis – he was interested in what exactly happens in the body during these processes. This led him to RECETOX, where he is currently working on his dissertation under the supervision of Professor Julie Vašků. In the interview, he explains what urban stress research entails, how it can be objectively measured, and why such research is important for our health.
How would you describe the research you have been involved in since your master's degree?
During my master's, I was interested in the influence of urban factors on humans. In my thesis, I dealt with the concept of visual clutter and its impact on human attention and reaction time, i.e., behavioral response. Now, I am focusing on the biological foundations of urban influences on humans and am more focused on the phenomenon that can be labeled as urban stress. Simply put, I am researching how the city and environmental factors around us affect our body, brain, or physiology, but I am primarily interested in the stress response they provoke. This can be demonstrated, for example, by the feelings of overwhelm that a person may experience when passing by the main train station in Brno.
That sounds interesting, but can stress really be measured objectively?
Yes, the experience of a stressful situation can be objectively measured using physiological methods, as it can manifest in heart activity, blood pressure, or brain activity. We measure these stress indicators using cardiovascular methods, monitor heart rate variability, and use brain imaging techniques. We combine field measurements in real environments with experiments in controlled, laboratory conditions. In the lab, we can isolate the factors affecting a person and use sophisticated instruments like magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity based on changes in blood oxygenation. Field instruments are smaller and less expensive, such as smartwatches for measuring heart rate. Another example is a mobile EEG cap that measures the brain's electrical activity.
So, you achieve results by comparing data from the lab with data from the field?
Static experiments in the lab complement the knowledge gained from field studies. In real environments, it is difficult to isolate all the different factors affecting a person at any given moment, such as noise or air pollutants. On the other hand, data obtained in static, controlled scenarios in the examination room are harder to translate into real-world environments. For example, I primarily study the role of vision in the perception of urban stress. My methodological approach involves participants being exposed to all stimuli – noise, air pollution, and visual stimuli – while walking a route in a field study. We record these stress stimuli using sensors – a noise meter, an air particle sampler, and video recordings. In the controlled conditions of the neurophysiological examination room, we can isolate the factors – participants are exposed to only photographs or video recordings of the environment without an audio track, allowing me to fully study the impact of visual stimuli on the physiological response.
Such research must be quite demanding in terms of coordination, knowledge, and human resources?
The research is very interdisciplinary; one discipline alone is not sufficient. People from different fields must come together to piece together the mosaic of human responses to the environment from the data. Therefore, we collaborate with colleagues from the Department of Geography at the Faculty of Science, MU, who help us with geodata. Professor Vašků is a doctor of medicine, I have knowledge in cognitive sciences, and we consult neurophysiological data with colleagues from CEITEC, so it all fits together nicely. Data analysis and interpretation are a significant and indispensable part of our research, so collaboration with data scientists from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the Faculty of Science, MU, is also essential.
Is the research geographically limited to Brno, or is it conducted elsewhere as well?
The field study is conducted right here in Brno; the city serves as a kind of living laboratory for us. However, the results are relatively transferable, and we try to generalize them as much as possible. Studying the terrain specifically in Brno has the undeniable advantage that we can simultaneously strive for local changes. For example, Professor Vašků is the guarantor of the "Healthy People in a Healthy City" indicator within the Brno City Hall's #brno2050 strategy, which allows us to communicate with the municipality and participate in the strategic development of the city. Our mission is to inform stakeholders, such as urban planners or architects, who have a direct influence on city planning, with scientific knowledge. However, we are still in the basic research phase; we have spent a lot of time setting up the methodology, and now we are analyzing the results. Once they are published, we can start informing stakeholders and the public more.
What are the main factors that can cause stress in the city?
These are primarily factors belonging to one of three groups – environmental, functional, or social factors. There can be too many people in a small space, high movement, social-pathological phenomena, automobile traffic, and the associated noise pollution and particulate matter in the air. We are primarily more stressed by places where we find these factors and also by locations with little greenery, which is a protective factor against urban stress. These are relatively intuitive factors that we can deduce even as laypeople by walking through the city and perceiving these factors. However, data and methodology to empirically capture such an experience have been lacking so far. The long-term impact of these factors is described by longitudinal epidemiological studies, but they cannot tell us what is happening at a specific moment and what immediate impact such exposure has on our physiology.
Can you say more about the impacts of urban stress on our health?
From epidemiological studies, we know that living in cities and chronic stress as such are associated with the development of mental illnesses – primarily schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. In addition, it is associated with higher blood pressure and heart rate – risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, such as ischemic heart disease.
The space we live in then defines other variables, such as the distance to greenery or sports facilities, which can affect our physical activity and thus contribute to overweight and obesity rates in the population. There are therefore more factors and impacts, and they are interconnected. At the same time, they may not always manifest; individual differences play an important role. Let's not forget all the socio-economic and cultural benefits or the advantage of more accessible healthcare that cities have brought us and why we move to them.
Is there anything that can help us increase resilience to urban stress?
First of all, it should be said that stress is not inherently bad; stress helps us adapt to the environment and challenges within it – from an evolutionary perspective, it is fundamental for human survival. The problem is chronic stress, which leads to the overload of systemic functions of the organism and, in the long term, can create a pathophysiological basis for the development of civilization diseases. For a person, an optimal level of stimulation is important, one that does not overload them significantly in the long term but provides enough stimuli that they need at the moment. After all, we enjoy the hustle and bustle of cities to some extent and seek it out – but when we feel overwhelmed, it is good to prescribe ourselves a sensory diet – change the environment, find a quieter corner in the city without noise, in the shade and with trees. Some studies show that even just a few seconds of observing greenery can somewhat reduce heart rate, decrease activity in the amygdala, or improve attention and other cognitive functions. A healthy lifestyle and feelings of belonging – quality sleep, exercise, diet, and relationships – help to generally increase resilience to stress.
Can anything be done about urban stress at a systemic level?
Certainly, a lot can be done. For example, our team is developing a web mapping application that could visualize the accumulation of health risk factors for Brno. This could help municipalities identify locations that deserve various measures to mitigate the negative effects of the environment on stress.
We are also developing a methodology for physiological measurement of the impact of urban environments on stress, which could be used to test urban space modifications and compare the state before and after – for example, the impact of closing a street to cars. The data could be used for so-called tactical urbanism, which is currently being applied, for example, in the modifications of Brno's Captain Jaroš Avenue. My dream is that we would develop software into which architects or designers could upload graphic designs, and the application would be able to numerically predict the expected impact of the design on human stress. This would allow pilot testing and changing things before they become reality from a pencil sketch. Based on physiological data, we could design the ideal graphic pattern that reduces stress and could be applied, for example, to noise barriers on the walls of a waiting room in a clinic.
Is urban stress research still a rather marginal topic?
As far as I know, we are the only research group in the Czech Republic dealing with this phenomenon, and even in terms of the European scale, it is still a very small and specialized research niche. However, the trend is slowly growing in the UK, Netherlands, USA, and Germany, along with the development of environmental neuroscience, which deals with the question of how the environment affects brain activity.
What do you enjoy most about this research?
It is a relatively small and new area of research; the first studies date back to the late 1980s, and only now is it beginning to expand. Therefore, there is always something to explore. At the same time, it is thrilling to conduct research in an area that is developing so dynamically. I would like to contribute to the understanding of how the environment affects humans through scientific research, and these findings would then be used by municipalities, architects, and urban planners – to make the environment around us healthier and more liveable. The overall vision is to continue research in the academic sphere while also engaging in the applied sphere through consultations.
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