The System for Observing Outdoor Play Environments in Neighborhood Schools (SOOPEN) is a new systematic observation tool to assess children´s play behavior. SOOPEN uses a novel group dynamics approach. The tool has good reliability and is accompanied by a user-friendly protocol.
This study aimed to delve into the significance of neighborhood walkability and the accessibility of third places in bolstering community well-being. It scrutinized the influence of walkable designs and convenient access to third places on the emotional well-being of community members. Moreover, the research utilized tweets to gauge the frequency of positive sentiments as a proxy for measuring happiness levels within the community.
Mental health needs are poorly understood in the development and management of public space. However, people recovering from health issues such as psychosis need to use city space in their everyday lives. We note that large sites in city centres continue to be made available. As such their redesign and management needs to factor in these broader needs. There will be further benefits to people with conditions such as anxiety, depression and autism.
This street matrix tool can be used by urban planners and other built professionals both to plan new streetscapes and also to assess exisiting streetscapes for improvement. Currently, in many global contexts, it is good practice to make areas accessible for all and complete street audits. Despite this, without background knowledge of visual impairment and other disabilities, it can be difficult to assess these challenges and provide adequate solutions. This street matrix makes this more accessible and easy to assess these areas.
This research from Sydney shows the value of combining qualitative flexibility with systems thinking. Key contributions include: 1) Demonstrating how conversational, non-rigid methods reveal overlooked drivers of health and well-being. 2) Showing that human–environment systems perspectives add depth to urban health research. 3) Providing a never-before-used resident-centred approach for studying complex city living challenges.
Urban planning significantly impacts public health, yet health considerations are often overlooked in city development strategies. Climate change further exacerbates urban health risks, particularly in vulnerable regions. Despite growing recognition of the link between urban planning and health, cities lack structured methodologies to quantify and integrate health-related data into policy. Without systematic approach, cities struggle to identify disparities, allocate resources effectively, and create health-resilient urban environments. Addressing this gap is critical for sustainable urban development.
What makes a city truly healthy? This study engaged experts worldwide to identify 144 key indicators across social, economic, environmental, legal, technological, and commercial determinants of health—offering a practical roadmap for India’s mission to build 500 healthy, inclusive, and sustainable cities.
There is limited evaluation of whether green space interventions lead to more people using these spaces. This is partly due to the difficulty of collecting data on visits to green spaces. Mobile phone data may offer one solution, but are rarely made available to researchers. As such, there is less examination of whether these data are valuable. We accessed small area anonymised mobile phone GPS data for Liverpool (2021-2022). Using a case study of wildflower planting, we identified green spaces where wildflowers were planted. A synthetic control was then constructed to identify similar green spaces where planting did not take place. We then compared the number of visits post-intervention between the intervention and control green sites. Our paper also gives an empirical and methodological evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of using mobile phone data, which can inform others on how to best use them.
Discover how neuroscientific methods reveal the impact of urban environments on mental well-being. Our study provides insights to help city planners design spaces that enhance mood and cognitive health, making cities better for everyone.
This newly developed methodological approach aims to identify the underlying causes of stress in urban environments. To this end, it analyses a broad spectrum of perception-related factors from various fields to capture the full complexity of human perception in a more holistic manner. The evaluation of five case studies using the so-called ‘Stressor Matrices’ serves as the basis for deriving initial hypotheses about the triggers of urban stress.