Urban spaces are becoming monotonous in their appearance as well as in terms of their
experience. In an effort to match the fast pace of our lifestyles, the design of most of our
streetscapes and urban areas in our cities have started to look and feel the same. The thesis
of this major research project is an investigation into the understanding of the psychological
impact of the design of such spaces on human beings, and an attempt to develop a framework
to summarize this understanding to help designers and architects design our environments
to inspire creativity and innovation. The framework derives its inspiration from the
philosophy of ‘heterotopia’ proposed by Michel Foucault, where heterotopia is referred as
“the other space”, a space which facilitates heterogeneous experiences.