From Cave to Cage? The Evolution of Housing Complexity and the Contemporary Dead End for the Human Brain.

The evolution of the ever-changing neuroplastic human brain is inseparably linked to its environment. While early humans evolved in response to nature's complexity and unpredictability, over millennia, the housing trajectory has increasingly prioritized sedentary behaviors, predictability, and comfo...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Housing, Theory & Society Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 370 - 389
Autor principal: Khalil, Mohamed Hesham
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=186129988&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ssf
    uiTerm: 186129988
    longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        14036096
        B7J
      jtl: Housing, Theory & Society
      issn: 14036096
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jun2025
      vid: 42
      iid: 3
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
    artinfo:
      ui:
        186129988
        10.1080/14036096.2024.2393694
      ppf: 370
      ppct: 19
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: From Cave to Cage? The Evolution of Housing Complexity and the Contemporary Dead End for the Human Brain.
      aug:
        au: Khalil, Mohamed Hesham
        affil: Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and History of Art, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
      su:
        Mental health
        Neuroplasticity
        Architectural design
        Human evolution
        Brain stimulation
        Dwelling design & construction
        Sedentary behavior
        Biocomplexity
      sug:
        subj:
          Mental health
          Architectural Services
          Residential building construction
          Other Building Finishing Contractors
          Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians)
          Neuroplasticity
          Architectural design
          Human evolution
          Brain stimulation
          Dwelling design & construction
          Sedentary behavior
          Biocomplexity
      keyword:
        contemporary lifestyles and wellbeing
        environmental enrichment and spatial complexity
        evolution of the environment and the human brain
        House and home
        residential architecture and aesthetics
        contemporary lifestyles and wellbeing
        environmental enrichment and spatial complexity
        evolution of the environment and the human brain
        House and home
        residential architecture and aesthetics
      ab: The evolution of the ever-changing neuroplastic human brain is inseparably linked to its environment. While early humans evolved in response to nature's complexity and unpredictability, over millennia, the housing trajectory has increasingly prioritized sedentary behaviors, predictability, and comfort at the expense of cognitive stimulation. Modern life stress, mental health issues, and cognitive decline are markers of a poor environment. The pandemic lockdown has implicitly exposed that we need better houses for our brains. This paper goes back in time, navigating the cross-cultural evolution of environmental complexity to escape the contemporary dead end for the human brain that needs to evolve further. The paper advocates for a paradigm shift in housing design, emphasizing the need to foster neuroplasticity rather than constrain it. By reconceptualizing houses as architects of our brains, architecture becomes an independent variable embedding what the brain needs rather than embodying what the brain wants.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: N
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N