The 2nd edition of the special issue on Experiencing the City: The Relation between Urban Design and People’s Wellbeing at the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is now open until 31 July 2022.

Urbanization brings major challenges in terms of livability as well as the wellbeing and health of residents. It is important that the urban environment meets the current needs of society, so that people have positive experiences, feel safe, comfortable, and are satisfied with their surroundings. Therefore, in recent years, there has been a growing interest in empirically investigating how people interact with the social and built urban environments. Both policymakers and academics now aim to better understand how urban environments may affect the perception, behavior and experiences of residents, and how urban planning and policy may generate more livable environments and support wellbeing. To date, there is still little empirical research on the (momentary) perception, experience, and affective reactions of people in relation to the urban design of cities. Novel tools such as virtual reality (VR), real-time surveys (ecological momentary assessment—EMA), and geotagging techniques are now emerging as viable methods that can enhance investigation in the field. These techniques may help develop policies on health and wellbeing in urban areas, and supply guidelines for urban planners who wish to design attractive, livable, and safe living environments.

This Special Issue seeks papers that empirically study the relations between urban environments and people’s experiences and wellbeing, as well as papers highlighting novel methods to measure and analyze momentary experiences in the city. We also welcome papers on urban interventions to increase citizens’ wellbeing and high-quality systematic reviews related to experiencing the urban environment.

Dr. Bernd Resch
Dr. Pauline Van den Berg
Dr. Gamze Dane
Dr. Amit Birenboim

Guest Editors