Definitionv1
Environmental drift: the gradual degradation of a designed
Environmental drift: the gradual degradation of a designed environment toward disorder and clutter through mechanisms including habituation, perceptual adaptation, and the compounding effect of small accommodations, requiring systematic periodic resets to maintain architectural intent
Why This Is a Definition
This definition precisely captures the phenomenon of environmental drift by identifying its specific mechanisms (habituation, perceptual adaptation, compounding small accommodations) and its solution (systematic periodic resets). It distinguishes this from simple clutter accumulation by focusing on the degradation of intended behavioral influence.