The vibrant and bustling metropolis of Toronto is the perfect setting for exploring the psychology of space.

More and more people are moving to cities. What effect does living and working cheek-by-jowl in a stressful urban environment have on the human psyche? How does a fast-paced urban lifestyle impact our physical health?

From floor-to-ceiling windows in new condos designed to provide an illusion of visual space to open-concept workplaces and urban green spaces meant to free our minds, a lot of attention has been paid recently to designing better environments. But is this enough to fool us into forgetting what cramped quarters we live in and secure our well-being? Or is a lifestyle overhaul necessary?

On February 7, 2012, we held a provocative dialogue about mental space, at the Rosehill Venue Lounge in Toronto.

Podcast

2011-12 Event Series Sponsor

Panelists

Daniel Sieberg, MJ’00 – Journalist and author of The Digital Diet: the four-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life

Marco L. Polo, BA’81, BArch’85 - Associate Professor, Ryerson University Department of Architectural Science

David Fell, PhD’10 – Senior Researcher, Building Systems, FPInnovations

Panelist Biography

Daniel Sieberg

Daniel Sieberg hosts and writes a weekly program called Tech This Out! for ABC News Now, and also regularly contributes to ABC’s GMA weekend, MSNBC,CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Evening News, BBC World News America, PBS, Al Jazeera English, CNN, Details magazine, The Daily and a variety of other outlets. His first book called The Digital Diet: the four-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life (Crown) came out May 2011.

Sieberg was the CBS News science and technology correspondent from December 2006 to February 2010 reporting for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, The Early Show, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Radio and CBSNews.com. From 2000-2006 Sieberg was the technology correspondent for CNN, CNN International and HLN, and anchored Next@CNN, a weekly broadcast about science, technology, space and environment. Sieberg was also the CNN.com technology editor from 2000-2004.

Sieberg has been nominated for five News and Documentary Emmy Awards, received accolades from the likes of the World Technology Awards, and is a recipient of the Rafe Mair Award for public service journalism. His written work has appeared in the Huffington Post,Details, Oprah.com, Salon.com, Time, the Vancouver Sun, the Toronto Star, and others. Sieberg has a bachelor’s degree in writing (UVic, ’98) and master’s degree in journalism with a focus in technology (UBC, ’00). He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.