Dr Stephanie Wilkie

Associate Professor

School: Architecture and Built Environment

Stephanie is Associate Professor in Built Environment in the School of Architecture and Built Environment. With more than 20 years of experience in higher education and external collaboration, she is an internationally recognised academic and researcher.

Her research investigates the impact of built and urban natural environments on human health, wellbeing, and sustainable behaviours through the lens of environmental psychology and using social science research methods. Much of this work is contextualised by place-related identities and place meaning; and focused on the underlying mechanisms that promote positive human and climate health outcomes. She has published 25 peer reviewed papers and led or contributed to funded projects totalling approximately £500,000 during her career.

Stephanie is a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) and Associate Fellow (AFBPsS) of the British Psychological Society (BPS). She is a founding (and current) member of the BPS Environmental Psychology Section committee and sits on the BPS’ Research Group on behalf of this committee. Stephanie is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

She joined the School of Architecture and Built Environment in July 2025. Her responsibilities include course leadership of the BSc (Hons) Real Estate programme and supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research students on several Built Environment courses. In addition to contributing to the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum, she is regularly invited to examine PhDs in Psychology, the Built Environment, and Urban Studies, as well as invited presentations for local and national organisations.

Prior to joining Northumbria, Stephanie was Associate Professor in Environmental Psychology at the University of Sunderland, where she sat on the university Sustainability and Environment Strategy and Postgraduate Research Degrees committees. Her PhD (2001) from Indiana University Bloomington (USA) explored gender differences in wayfinding strategies and their impact on navigation.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Happiness and life satisfaction associated with greenspace visits, greenspace type, and nature in self: Findings from the England’s People and Nature cross-sectional survey, Wilkie, S. 18 Jun 2026, In: Cities & Health
Is restoration in the ‘eye’ of the beholder? Contrast and place preference effects on the perceived restorative potential of natural and urban environments, Wilkie, S., Delicato, L. 3 Oct 2026, In: Current Psychology
Wellbeing During Blue Space Visits: The Role of Activity and Environment Type in a National Population Sample of 95,790 English Adults, Smith, M., Wilkie, S., Wetherell, M. 1 Oct 2026, In: Lifestyle Medicine
Wellbeing during blue space visits: The role of activity and environment type in a national population sample of 95,790 English adults, Smith, M., Wilkie, S., Wetherell, M. 25 Mar 2026
Wellbeing during blue space visits: The role of activity and environment type in a national population sample of 95,790 English adults, Smith, M., Wilkie, S., Wetherell, M. 1 Oct 2026, In: Lifestyle Medicine
A qualitative exploration into the lived experiences of females with a gastrointestinal condition, Dent, E., Davinson, N., Wilkie, S., Stevens, D. 1 Oct 2025, In: Journal of Health Psychology
On the importance of qualitative research in environmental psychology, Ratcliffe, E., Ogunbode, C., Wilkie, S., Jones, C., Devine-Wright, P., Uzzell, D., Canter, D., Korpela, K., Pinto de Carvalho, L., Staats, H. 1 Feb 2024, In: Journal of Environmental Psychology
Testosterone and cortisol: Hormone reactivity as it relates to playing venue in male academy soccer players, Fothergill, M., Wilkie, S., Moss, M., Wolfson, S. 1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Sport Behavior
Does a brief virtual dose of an environment affect subjective wellbeing and judgements of perceived restorativeness? Considering the role of place preference, Wilkie, S., Platt, T., Trotter, H. 8 Jun 2023, In: Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Examination: PhD Examination (External Examiner) 2026
Oral presentation: Considering the influence of place identity and trait cheerfulness on effects of brief virtual doses of nature on basic emotions, fatigue, and environmental perception 2026
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: International Association of People-Environment Studies Conference 2026 2026
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Psychology Meets Place: Designing Built Environments That Work for People and Planet 2026
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine Annual Conference 2026 2026
Examination: Environments of Optimal Experience for Wellbeing: Exploring the Impact of Natural and Built Environments on Flow Experiences 2026
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Heat and Health Cross-Council Scoping Meeting 2026
Other: Associate Editor - Environmental Psychology Research (British Psychological Society Journal) 2025
Membership of board: The British Psychological Society (External organisation) 2025
Examination: PhD Viva (External Examiner) 2025