Biophilic Design, Human Well-Being, and SDG Interactions in the Context of COVID-19

This paper examines how biophilic design intersects with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amid disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, considering human–nature interactions as an individual-scale link between well-being and sustainability. Biophilic design—the integration of natural elements into the built environment—reflects well-being through human–nature interactions and connects social–ecological system dynamics and sustainability interdependencies. Drawing on evidence that pandemic-induced psychological stressors transformed people–environment relations, this study developed a conceptual framework linking selected SDG targets to the 14 biophilic design patterns and examined these relationships using data from a Europe-wide survey conducted in early 2023. It complements research on SDG interdependencies, which is mainly conducted at the system or policy level, by introducing individual experiences. NMI analysis identified a central cluster of strong statistical interdependencies among SDGs related to energy efficiency (SDG 7), infrastructure (SDG 9), and resource use (SDG 12), while SDGs associated with cities (SDG 11) and terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15) showed weaker and more diffuse interdependencies. The observed interdependencies were strongest for SDGs represented by survey variables that reflect direct, everyday experiences of the built environment, such as indoor environmental quality, access to natural light, ventilation, contact with vegetation, and the use of natural materials, whereas SDGs represented by indirect or broader ecological dimensions exhibited weaker statistical associations. Not all conceptually linked SDGs were reflected equally in individual experiences; only a subset of potential interdependencies showed strong statistical—association. This study demonstrates that the pattern of SDG interdependencies depends on the analytical scale at which sustainability is examined. The study reinforces the value of the SDG framework as an analytical structure for sustainability science, enabling interdisciplinary investigations of complex interactions among environmental, social, and built-environment dimensions beyond policy implementation assessment.