Why Water Induces Feelings of Awe, Peace, and Joy [Paris]

Why Water Induces Feelings of Awe, Peace, and Joy [Paris]

Arti Harchekar

Have you ever paid attention to how you feel when you are immersed in or adjacent to water? Long ago a friend who is a landscape architect mentioned to me that people are naturally drawn to water. That is why they always try to incorporate water features within the programming of public spaces. That comment always stuck with me and raised a number of questions, until I came across Blue Mind:

  • Why are humans naturally drawn to water?

  • Should we be thinking about access to water and the protection of water at a regional scale?

If we are truly building with the land and highlighting the assets of natural topography and terrain, then we would naturally preserve water bodies and corridors. It is essential for freshwater life, ocean life, and our own that we transform ourselves from a species that uses up our resources to one that cherishes and nourishes them. Think about the cities that have made natural features and water communal assets that are publicly accessible with paths for people to walk along them and footbridges to cross them: the shoreline in Chicago along Lake Michigan; the coastline in California along Highway 1; the white sand beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea; Baker Beach and Fort Funston in San Francisco; the canals in Amsterdam, Burges, and Venice; and, the Seine in Paris. They are magical places where everyone benefits from the physical and mental health advantages of being in proximity to water. They are also sustainable places where the built environment respects and becomes a part of the natural landscape enabling systems to continue functioning in a healthy way long into the future.

Aristotle summarizes that a city must be designed to make people at once feel secure (safe and comfortable) and happy. In order to realize this, city planning is not just a technical practice. In its truest and most elevated sense, it is an artistic enterprise. As I described in the Florence post, we are drawn to balance in architecture, and we characterize this balance as beautiful. Similarly, we find beauty in a balanced landscape where the tension between the built environment and the natural environment feels elegantly resolved. This beauty alludes to a balanced inner self that we describe as happy.  Like buildings and landscapes, we have an internal dialogue of opposites that we are constantly working with to find a middle ground. As humans, we seek to inwardly resemble the buildings and places that touch us with their beauty. Studies referenced in Blue Mind also suggest that we find water beautiful because of its connection to a landscape that ensures our survival as a species. Places that we as a species want to stay, reinvest in, and protect.

Water plays a fundamental role in our psychology and we have always sought to be close to water. Our ancient ancestors came out of the water and evolved from swimming, to crawling, to walking. We spend the first 9 months of our lives in the watery environment of our mother's womb. When we are born our bodies are 78% water and as we age that number drops to 60%, but the brain continues to be 80% water. The human body as a whole is almost the same density as water, which allows us to float. The mineral composition of the water in our cells is similar to the water in the sea. We need constant access to water, beyond just turning on a tap or taking a shower. These actions do not satisfy our emotional need to have water all around us and to be able to make contact with water bodies and corridors. We have an innate desire and curiosity to understand the cycle of water. If we consider Paris and the Seine, the river is bounded by lovely boulevards and offers water to sit by, dangle your feet above, and connect with people. It is close enough for children to walk to, and there are other water features throughout the city that are just as easily accessible. The Jardin des Tuileries has ponds with safe edges and ducks, there are play fountains to help ease the hot temperatures, and fountains within courtyards where children can come close and delight in water.

The Seine is essential to the establishment of and life in Paris. A Celtic tribe established a fishing village on the Ile de la Cité over two thousand years ago. This island in the river is where Notre Dame Cathedral now stands. It is understandable that our ancestors would see a location on a river as defensible and nourishable. Along a sea coast, lake shore, and river bank, we would see danger from a far distance. Land-based predators barely came from the water and most marine-based predators could not survive out of the water. Food and material resources in or near water typically surpassed what was on land. Our ancestors could harvest shellfish or fish through the seasons. The nature of water is to ebb and flow so they could forage what was brought to them at the water's edge. On land, the supply of plant-based and animal food may vanish in the winter or be more difficult to come by. Over time, the Seine became a valuable trading route and the small riverside village grew into the city we see today.

When we think about, see, taste, smell, and touch water we feel something. We are inspired by water in art, literature, and poetry. We cherish water because it brings us feelings of awe, peace, and joy. We are healthier in the presence of water since it lowers stress, anxiety levels, and heart rate, and boosts our creativity and problem-solving capabilities. Our emotional responses arise from the oldest parts of our brain and can occur before any cognitive response arises. The human brain is shaped by environmental demands such as individual experiences, social and cultural interactions, and physical environment. When we survive and reproduce, some of these neural networks are passed along to our descendants. We also have the ability to continually create new neural networks and eliminate those that no longer serve us. This is what allows us to learn and form memories throughout our lives; and, as designers help people recall positive memories more easily through joyful patterns within the public realm. People who are emotionally happier, have more satisfying lives, and who live in happier communities are more likely to be healthy, productive, and socially connected. These advantages flow more broadly to their communities allowing everyone to benefit.

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How Awe is Fundamental to Our Joy and Happiness [Paris]

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