How Trauma Shaped Our Cities

In this episode, Lyssia sits down with architect, researcher, and author Ann Sussman to explore how the spaces around us shape the way we feel, move, and behave, often before we are consciously aware of it. Drawing from her work in cognitive architecture, neuroscience, and eye tracking, Ann looks at what our brains are actually responding to when we experience a building, a street, or a city. The conversation explores the idea that humans may be far more instinctive than we realize. Ann explains why our brains are naturally drawn to faces, contrast, color, and certain visual patterns, and how tools like eye tracking can reveal what captures our attention within the first few seconds of entering a space. She also looks at why industries like technology, advertising, and automotive design have become so sophisticated at understanding human emotion while architecture has been slower to embrace the same science. They take the conversation deeper into one of Ann’s most provocative ideas: the connection between war, trauma, and the rise of modern architecture. Ann explores how the destruction of World War I and World War II created an urgent need to rebuild, and how the personal experiences of architects who lived through war may have influenced the buildings and cities that followed. They ask what happens when design is shaped during periods of enormous disruption—and how much of that legacy we may still be living with today. Lyssia and Ann also examine the health consequences of the environments we have built. From highways and car-dependent neighborhoods to narrow sidewalks and places where walking has become difficult or unsafe, Ann argues that architecture is not simply about the buildings themselves. It is also about whether we can walk to a café, whether children can bike to school, whether older adults can remain independent, and whether our surroundings support the way human bodies were designed to move. The conversation moves into walkability, longevity, stress, social connection, public transportation, and the difference between places built around people and places built around cars. Ann points to cities like Paris and Copenhagen as examples of environments that increasingly prioritize pedestrians, bicycles, and everyday human interaction, while asking what American cities may need to rethink as the population ages. Ann also shares the work of the Human Architecture + Planning Institute, a nonprofit focused on understanding the human experience of the built environment through education and research, including eye-tracking and biometric studies. Its courses bring together neuroscience, psychology, architecture, and design to better understand how people actually experience the places around them. By the end of this episode, you may start looking at the built environment differently and asking a bigger question: if our surroundings are constantly shaping our nervous systems, our behavior, and even our health, why are we still designing as though they are only something to look at? More Room to Think: Ann Sussman / Human Architecture + Planning Institute Website: https://www.thehapi.org/ HAPI Courses: https://geneticsofdesign.com/2026/07/30/looking-for-a-happy-summer-check-out-these-hapi-courses-bridging-the-arts-sciences/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T13cAmFcHHc Room to Think https://roomtothinkpodcast.com/ Loved this episode? Let us know! Subscribe to Room to Think If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review and share it with someone who would appreciate a more thoughtful approach to their space. New episodes every week. Build a better life by design. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Instagram