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  • © 2017

Handbook of Environmental Psychology and Quality of Life Research

  • Presents a multi-disciplinary overview of current research
  • Combines theoretical with methodological perspectives
  • Brings psychological and environmental dimensions into account in working practices

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life (IHQL)

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Table of contents (31 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Introduction: Environmental Psychology and Quality of Life

    • Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi, Enric Pol, Oscar Navarro
    Pages 1-8
  3. People-Environment Relations and QoL – Environmental Quality and Well-Being

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9
    2. Quality of Life and Sustainability: The End of Quality at Any Price

      • Enric Pol, Angela Castrechini, Giuseppe Carrus
      Pages 11-39
    3. Some Cues for a Positive Environmental Psychology Agenda

      • Sergi Valera, Tomeu Vidal
      Pages 41-63
    4. Linking People-Environment Research and Design. What Is Missing?

      • Carole Després, Denise Piché
      Pages 65-83
    5. Place Attachment, Sense of Belonging and the Micro-Politics of Place Satisfaction

      • Andrés Di Masso, John Dixon, Bernardo Hernández
      Pages 85-104
  4. People-Environment Relations and QoL – Restorative Environments

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105
    2. Restorative Environments and Health

      • Silvia Collado, Henk Staats, José Antonio Corraliza, Terry Hartig
      Pages 127-148
    3. Green Exercise, Health and Well-Being

      • Ana Loureiro, Susana Veloso
      Pages 149-169
  5. People-Environment Relations and QoL – Ecological Behavior

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 171-171
    2. Sustainable Behavior and Quality of Life

      • Cesar Tapia-Fonllem, Victor Corral-Verdugo, Blanca Fraijo-Sing
      Pages 173-184
    3. Pro-environmentalism, Identity Dynamics and Environmental Quality of Life

      • Marie-Line Félonneau, Elsa Causse
      Pages 211-228
    4. Can Engagement in Environmentally-Friendly Behavior Increase Well-Being?

      • Leonie Venhoeven, Linda Steg, Jan Willem Bolderdijk
      Pages 229-237
  6. Well-Being and Daily Environments – Urban Environments

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 239-239
    2. Urban Design and Quality of Life

      • Ombretta Romice, Kevin Thwaites, Sergio Porta, Mark Greaves, Gordon Barbour, Paola Pasino
      Pages 241-273

About this book

This Handbook presents a broad overview of the current research carried out in environmental psychology which puts into perspective quality of life and relationships with living spaces, and shows how this original analytical framework can be used to understand different environmental and societal issues. Adopting an original approach, this Handbook focuses on the links with other specialties in psychology, especially social and health psychology, together with other disciplines such as geography, architecture, sociology, anthropology, urbanism and engineering.


Faced with the problems of society which involve the quality of life of individuals and communities, it is fundamental to consider the relationships an individual has with his different living spaces. This issue of the links between quality of life and environment is becoming increasingly significant with, at a local level, problems resulting from different types of annoyances, such as pollutionand noise, while, at a global level, there is the central question of climate change with its harmful consequences for humans and the planet. How can the impact on well-being of environmental nuisances and threats (for example, natural risks, pollution, and noise) be reduced? How can the quality of life within daily living spaces (home, cities, work environments) be improved? Why is it important to understand the psychological issues of our relationship with the global environment (climatic warming, ecological behaviours)? 



This Handbook is intended not only for students of various disciplines (geography, architecture, psychology, town planning, etc.) but also for social decision-makers and players who will find in it both theoretical and methodological perspectives, so that psychological and environmental dimensions can be better taken into account in their working practices. 


Editors and Affiliations

  • Faculty of Psychology, University of Nantes, Nantes, France

    Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi, Oscar Navarro

  • Department of Social Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Enric Pol

About the editors

Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi
After gaining a PhD in Psychology at the University Paris Descartes, Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi became a Lecturer at the University of Nantes in 2000. Since 2010, she is Full Professor of Social and Environmental Psychology at the University of Nantes. Her research is based on the study of the psychosocial processes involved in the relationship to the environment, and more precisely on the evaluation of environmental risks, environmental health and the environmental determinants of quality of life. 


Enric Pol

Enric Pol, received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Barcelona in 1986.In 1987, he was promoted to "Profesor Titular” position and since 2003, he is Full Professor on Social and Environmental Psychology at the University of Barcelona in 2003. Since 1987 he has been teaching Applied Social Psychology, with special emphasis on Quality of Life and wellbeing. Since 1988 he is running a professional oriented Master Program on "Environmental Intervention and Management: People and Society". As Director of the Department of Social Psychology (2008-2012) and director of Research Group on Environmental Psychology first (since 1987), and on Social, Environmental and Organizational Psychology (since 2005), he has conducted research on Quality of Life in Barcelona and in Catalonia, and he published a large number of papers on peer-reviewed journals, and books and chapters.



Oscar NAVARRO, Ph. D.

Oscar Navarro is Associate Professor in Social Psychology at University of Nantes in France. He is member of Psychology Laboratory of Pays de la Loire (LPPL) and is currently working on analysis of psychosocial and environmental factors, which can influence the evaluation and management of risks. He is Principal Investigator for the project CLIMATRisk (sense of vulnerability and adaptation to face effects of climate change strategies: the case of perception of coastal risks), which is funded by the ANR (the French national agency for research).


Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access