Draft:Time-based design

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Time-based design

Time-based design is an emerging concept in urban design and environmental psychology that examines how built environments shape people’s subjective perception of time. It highlights the idea that architectural form, spatial rhythm, visual complexity, and sensory conditions can alter how long or short a journey feels, regardless of actual clock time. The concept has gained attention as a bridge between psychological theories of time perception and practical methods for urban planning.

Background

The influence of environment on temporal experience has long been observed. In The Image of the City (1960), Kevin Lynch described "motion awareness" and "time series" as central to urban legibility.^[1] Edmund Bacon (1976) argued that adding the dimension of time to space changes how cities are perceived and designed.^[2] Philosophers and psychologists, including William James (1890) and Paul Fraisse (1984), provided early theories linking perceived duration with novelty, attention, and event structure.^[3][4]

Although such insights suggested design implications, they were rarely translated into applied tools for environmental or urban analysis.

Development of the concept

The first systematic framework for time-based design was proposed by Shakibamanesh and Ghorbanian (2017). Their study introduced an applied time-based evaluation checklist that consolidates more than two decades of scattered psychological and environmental research into a practical method for analyzing how design factors influence subjective duration.^[5]

The checklist identifies over 25 measurable design principles, including:

• **Spatial scale** – narrower streets and smaller cross-sections lengthen perceived duration.
• **Rhythmic sequencing** – repetition of facades or landmarks affects the felt passage of time.
• **Complexity and novelty** – stimulating environments compress subjective time, while monotonous ones elongate it.
• **Event structure** – predictable sequences shorten perceived duration, while fragmented ones extend it.
• **Attention and information load** – rich sensory environments slow time perception, while routine contexts accelerate it.

By formalizing these principles, the framework positioned time perception not only as a theoretical issue but also as a design parameter that can be evaluated in practice. Later studies have cited this checklist as a reference point for integrating temporal psychology into urban design research.^[6]

Applications

Time-based design has been discussed in relation to:

• **Transport corridors** – reducing perceived travel time through engaging spatial sequences.^[7]
• **Commercial and cultural districts** – lengthening perceived duration to encourage pauses, exploration, and stronger memory of place.^[8]
• **Healthcare and educational environments** – shortening the felt duration of waiting or monotonous activities.^[9]
• **Walkability and health promotion** – leveraging perceptual design to make routes feel shorter, thereby supporting active mobility and stress reduction.^[10]

Shakibamanesh and Ghorbanian’s framework has been particularly noted for providing a replicable method for measuring these effects in real design projects.^[11]

Criticism and limitations

Critics note that subjective time perception varies significantly across individuals, depending on age, mood, and cultural context.^[12] Moreover, most experimental psychology studies deal with very short intervals in controlled settings, limiting their applicability to complex urban environments.^[13] Nevertheless, the 2017 checklist has been described as a pioneering attempt to operationalize time perception in urban design, and its broader empirical validation is a suggested area for future research.^[14]

See also

• Time perception
• Environmental psychology
• Urban design
• Psychogeography
• Space syntax
• Place identity

References

1. Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. MIT Press.
2. Bacon, E. (1976). Design of Cities. Penguin Books.
3. James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. Henry Holt and Co.
4. Fraisse, P. (1984). Perception and estimation of time. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 1–36.
5. Shakibamanesh, A., & Ghorbanian, M. (2017). Toward time-based design: Creating an applied time evaluation checklist for urban design research. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 6(3), 290–307. doi:10.1016/j.foar.2017.05.004
6. Shakibamanesh & Ghorbanian (2017), ibid.
7. Isaacs, R. (2001). The subjective duration of time in the experience of urban places. Journal of Urban Design, 6(2), 109–127.
8. Bosselmann, P. (1998). Representations of Places: Reality and Realism in City Design. University of California Press.
9. Sucală, M. (2011). Psychological time: Mechanisms and measurement. Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 15(1), 3–14.
10. Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1982). The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
11. Shakibamanesh & Ghorbanian (2017), ibid.
12. Block, R. A., & Zakay, D. (1997). Prospective and retrospective duration judgments: A meta-analytic review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 4(2), 184–197.
13. Fraisse, P. (1984). Perception and estimation of time. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 1–36.
14. Shakibamanesh & Ghorbanian (2017), ibid.