By Kathryn Yap - 25th August, 2025
The 2025 Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) conference, held in Halifax, Canada this past spring, offered numerous sessions geared toward understanding how the built environment influences the human experience at various scales. The experience began with landscape architect Roberto Rovira and his thoughts on uncertainty in design, and concluded with social scientist Dr. Ingrid Waldron's call for environmental justice. Ultimately, the conference program created space for participants to think through how place mediates equity, behavior, and belonging. One of the notable sessions that exemplified these themes in an everyday context was "Nudging Habits Through Workplace Design," presented by Melissa Marsh of PLASTARC. Marsh took an approach to reading how more subtle interventions, in terms of visibility, sensory experience, or the digital systems we use daily, can have numerous impacts on what you choose to do in the workplace. Transforming an evidence-based concept into something tangible, her aim is simple: design environments that make "the better choice" more accessible.
Marsh began with a simple idea: “We might think about the different ways that people make decisions about where to occupy, but at the end of the day, by someone being in a space, it says that we got something right about that space.” This framed the session around behavioral science and how built environments support or hinder our everyday choices.
She first explored spatial visibility. In studies across corporate offices, Marsh’s team found that people consistently used rooms that were visible from main work areas more than those tucked behind corners or opaque walls. Transparency didn’t just reveal the existing spaces; it signaled availability and encouraged use. Spaces need to be seen to be used. This idea is closely tied to affordance theory, which suggests that people respond to the signals a space emits about how it should be used.
Next came multisensory nudges. Elements such as scent, lighting, and sound were shown to shape behavior without requiring verbal instruction. A citrus scent in a shared pantry prompted more frequent cleaning. Dynamic lighting helped staff regulate energy and focus throughout the day. These cues worked by tapping into automatic behaviors and supporting comfort through small, repeated moments.
Marsh then introduced technological nudging. Wearables, occupancy sensors, and digital tools can reinforce healthy habits. A smartwatch might prompt a posture shift. A booking app might surface an underused room nearby. But these tools only work when they protect autonomy. “We’re not trying to control people,” Marsh said. “We’re creating environments that make the better choice easier.”
Her session resonated with broader themes present throughout EDRA 56. In a plenary session on HalifACT, city leaders described how infrastructure and policy could support low-carbon behaviors without mandating them. In a keynote titled "The Art of Uncertainty," landscape architect Roberto Rovira challenged attendees to imagine design as a process of change, rather than as resistant to change. His request to embrace uncertainty echoed Marsh's approach to nudging, which is the interest in learning how places will be intentionally used and then allowing the environments to evolve.
Dr. Ingrid Waldron's keynote on environmental racism was a timely reminder that spatial interventions are not neutral. Waldron challenged the audience to think about how race, class, and place intersect to create differential risks. Marsh reinforced that awareness, mentioning the need for nudges also to be tested for fairness, not just their function.
The presentation ended with a reminder to be intentional. Each layout, scent, sightline, and system nudges users to take responsibility for ensuring that these nudges are above-board, ethical, and legitimized by our authentic human needs.
Marsh’s session provided a concrete understanding of behavior-based design. Rather than offering singular solutions, she illustrated how small, intentional choices over time can transform workplace culture when well-researched and effectively implemented. Nudging is not about control. It is about making a competent decision easier for us to reach.
