Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is not simply the domain of international organizations operating under multilateral agreements, but a deeply place-based set of tasks that play out at the sub-national and local scales. Design and implementation of solutions, therefore, requires involvement from the sub-national public sector, civil society, academia and businesses, investing in solutions that accelerate progress towards sustainable and disaster-resilient development. Recent achievements in this regard, howevever have remained limited in both scale and depth, insufficient to prompt a more transformative shift towards low-carbon resilience. In this article, we present a transdisciplinary capacity-building and experimentation methodology that was deployed to co-produce and amplify locally driven solutions. Through data gathered throughout a multi-year series of interviews, focus groups, capacity-building events, and experiment design sessions, we propose that this model can accelerate building capability of teams within an ecosystem of actors to experiment with (and amplify) business practices that support sustainability transitions. We futher argue that capacity should be generated and enhanced, iteratively, throughout the experimentation process, and the requuirements for funding and supporting initaives should minimize barriers for accelerate real world impact of these types of solutions. The process we tested raises continued questions about how transdisciplinary sustainability scientists might deepen their understanding of the many roles that researchers play within these processes: as sources of expertise, as strategic facilitators, as observers, and as advocates.
The urban sites of sport mega-events, such as the World Cup or the Olympic and Paralympic Games, have become stages for experimenting with extraordinary security and safety procedures. These procedures are designed to demonstrate the host country’s capacity to mobilize in the face of an extreme level of terrorist threat while also providing a safe and welcoming environment for attendees under the Olympic principles of peace and equality. The exceptional nature of the threat associated with such events means that these experiments not only amplify existing systems and procedures but also challenge their structural standards, strategies, and limits, allowing for significant changes to be considered post-event, based on the outcomes of these experiments. In this article, we argue that the ability of such experimentation to serve as leverage for urban transformation makes it part of the legacy of mega-events. To illustrate this, we analyze the security mobilization in the railway transport spaces of the Parisian region during the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. We examine how experimental practices, developed as part of an extraordinary counterterrorism response, have challenged the spatial coordination of security and responsibility in multimodal stations, interinstitutional cooperation, the role of passengers in counterterrorism efforts, and the ethical boundaries of associated digital practices. We also explore how framing the response’s elements as experiments can help optimize the policy learning process and optimize the long-term implementation of the lessons learned during it. Mega-event legacy involves actions leveraging structural changes to key institutions and policies Exceptional threat associated with mega-events allows for exceptional measures Urban sites hosting mega-events become the experimentation stage in terms of security and counterterrorism Experimentation is a form of experience that can trigger policy learning when successful The capacity to trigger policy learning qualifies experimentation as part of the mega-event legacy
Children’s and adolescents’ independent mobility without being accompanied by others, such as parents or grandparents, and their use of active modes of transportation, such as walking and cycling, have both declined in recent decades. Awareness campaigns promoting such mobility exist in Switzerland. Yet, reducing affordability barriers to public transport (PT) by means of vouchers to improve independent mobility and reduce car use has not been introduced and evaluated as an intervention. This paper describes a large-scale experiment in the city of Lucerne, embedded within a Real-world Laboratory (RwL). RwLs are a participatory methodology in transformative sustainability research. The provision of PT vouchers was initiated as part of a participatory process anchored in the Children’s Parliament. The Parliament assumed that the introduction of vouchers creates an incentive to use PT. Overall, multivariate statistics indicate higher PT trips in the voucher years. Specifically, count models show significant increases in PT use for school and visiting trips. However, as no corresponding reductions in car, walking, or cycling trips were observed, the findings primarily point to induced demand rather than modal shifts towards PT. From a policy perspective, we conclude that PT vouchers have the potential to contribute to more independent and sustainable mobility opportunities for children and adolescents as part of their mobility socialization. A three-year trend study evaluated the uptake and use of a city-wide public transport voucher for pupils. Logistic and negative binomial models indicate higher PT trips in the voucher years. The voucher increased the number of PT trips per pupil, while no significant reductions in other modes were observed, indicating primarily induced demand. Effects differ by trip purpose, with the strongest increases in PT trips being for school and visits. Affordability appears to be an important factor in shaping children’s public transport use. • Children’s parliaments can initiate effective urban mobility measures. • Real-world laboratories provide robust evaluation of real-world experiments. • Public transport vouchers can strengthen children’s independence and mobility. • The public transport voucher experiment design is transferable, but the expected effects depend on local spatial and institutional conditions.
The energy transition in districts is urgent and complex, necessitating new forms of stakeholder collaboration to address these challenges. In certain districts, decentralized technologies such as heat pumps present promising solutions for heating transitions. However, the transition in the building sector is slower than needed, and despite existing support mechanisms, many property owners hesitate to adopt measures that would facilitate the heating transition. To address this lack of engagement, the city of Freiburg implemented the Klimaquartier Waldsee project, an urban pilot aimed at fostering citizen engagement for sustainability. Within this project, various co-learning and co-creation formats were developed, iteratively designed, and formatively monitored. Using a conceptual framework outlining the “property owners’ journey toward climate-friendly heating,” recommendations for practitioners were developed to overcome property owners’ barriers. The steps toward adopting climate-friendly heating technology in properties are manifold, presenting diverse barriers along the way. Different countermeasures addressing exchange, information, mentoring, and strategic tasks can help mitigate these barriers. These countermeasures can be organized through social innovations, such as an “Infopoint” that combines proven and new concepts synergistically and supports practitioners in optimizing their assistance to property owners. The social innovation concept was co-evaluated by key actors of the Klimaquartier itself. Urban experimentation can lead to improved governance by bringing together key actors on topics such as positive energy districts. However, careful design and systematic monitoring are crucial for learning from experimental interventions and enabling the development and upscaling of promising new governance tools. The property owners’ journey toward climate-friendly heating consists of multiple steps, each with its own challenges. Four action fields have been identified to address the barriers faced by property owners. Urban experimentation in Waldsee enabled co-creation and co-design of recommendations to practitioners. An integrated approach is required to support property owners in implementing a decentral heating transition. Social innovation, such as an Infopoint on district and city levels, addresses multiple barriers faced by property owners. Consistent monitoring of urban experiments can improve their long-term effectiveness and facilitate learning.
Abstract This study examines the experiences of residents in seven small but rapidly growing towns in Uganda, an understudied scale of urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on extensive household survey and focus group data, we apply the aspirations–capabilities framework to explore how diverse residents navigated the contexts, with differentiated outcomes. Experiences of urban change are not homogeneous. Residents who had moved to the towns from rural areas sought employment but tended to remain in precarious circumstances. Urban-origin in-migrants were more educated and female and sought a better-quality life and they were reaping more benefit from town developments. Lifelong residents shared some of the challenges of rural migrants but could also engage their networks and home ownership and land ownership to benefit from how urban Uganda has been developing. Local discourses around urban growth and in-migration were more positive than official control narratives in the country have been. Residents portrayed in-migration as bringing new ideas, jobs, and an increase in urban services and facilities. Yet residents also noted that growth in population did not always equate to improved quality, with concerns about privatisation limiting inclusivity. Policy implications stress the need to move beyond a numbers-focused approach to urban growth. Insights are relevant not only for Uganda but also for other fast-growing African towns facing similar challenges in how to support an inclusive development.
Abstract Cities are significant sources of emissions, bear the impacts of climate change and are at the forefront of applying new digital tools. This leads to an increased interest in how big data can be leveraged to tackle climate change impacts. One of the emerging big data applications on a city level is the urban digital twin. Current literature on urban digital twins focuses on their data and technology aspects, but studies on their implementation, use, and the role of various stakeholders involved in these remain scarce. Therefore, this study examines how urban digital twins are conceptualized and envisioned to support the decision-making process for climate adaptation measures. This study consists of a literature review and examines six European urban digital twins through eight semi-structured interviews with practitioners. The results show that the main features of the urban digital twins are connected to (1) simulations of extreme weather events and climate adaptation measures to address the impacts of these extreme weather events by city employees, and in the future, (2) co-creation of climate adaptation measures through collaborations between city employees and citizens. Both features aim to support the decision-making process within the local government. In conclusion, this article discusses practical examples of urban digital twins, revealing that more research is needed on the perspectives of the end-users of the urban digital twin and how to support them.
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are internationally widely recognized as interventions that contribute to climate and environmental adaptation in the face of global change. Uncertainties remain around both their performance and their co-design and co-creation. Focusing on the latter, a range of frameworks for monitoring, evaluating and learning (MEL) from NBS co-creation processes are emerging but there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. In this paper a simple and practical transdisciplinary MEL framework is presented to reflect on the activities and artefacts generated through NBS co-design and co-creation processes. Indicators focus on value, influence and participation and present the results visually in the form of a ‘co-creation constellation’. The framework is applied through the Connecting the Culm (CtC) project, which was undertaken in the South West of England, UK under the EU Co-Adapt Programme. The resulting CtC co-creation constellation highlights some NBS co-creation activities and artefacts may be more efficacious and effective than others at co-creating value, influence and participation in NBS implementation. Additionally, there was the potential for some activities and artefacts to enhance their value, influence and participation contributions through ongoing work. Furthermore, application of the co-creation constellation at the co-creation activity design stage could enhance the overall outcomes and impact achieved through NBS co-design and co-creation projects. Communities, practitioners and policy-makers may need to consider a combination of NBS MEL approaches, depending on benefits, outcomes and impacts sought, as well as investing in parallel team development processes, to maximise NBS success.
Abstract To support the efforts of urban experimentation spaces, such as testbeds and living labs, in accelerating societal transformations towards urban sustainability, an exchange of experiences and knowledge across local and regional initiatives is vital to enable the rescaling and broader adoption of sustainability innovations and processes. This perspectives paper explores a framework for cross-case learning, conceptualized as a transformative, participatory process, going beyond replicating best practices. Rather, this framework emphasizes reflexivity, contextual sensitivity, and the co-production of knowledge. We explore a four-stage iterative framework, consisting of exploration, generalization, abstract conceptualization, and repurposing/rescaling. This facilitates the translation of experiences across socio-cultural and geographic boundaries, aiming for transformations of practices. In this context, this perspectives paper investigates selected drivers of sustainability transformations, specifically narratives, metrics, structures, and innovation. These shape how sustainability efforts are envisioned, measured, organized, and implemented. The paper concludes that urban experimentation spaces can play a crucial role for the development and exploration of sustainability innovations, providing space for collaboration, flexibility, opportunity and imagination. Cross-case learning from such spaces may thus be important for accelerating urban sustainability, requiring communicative-reflexive-affective approaches to adapt and scale innovations across diverse settings.
Energy systems are in need of fundamental transformations to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Cities are particular targets of energy transformation due to high energy demands as well as opportunities to generate, distribute, and use energy more effectively. In Europe, Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) embody an ambitious socio-technical vision to transform urban energy systems. They involve the creation of energy-efficient and energy-flexible areas to generate more energy than they consume. PEDs are still in their formative phase and there are significant variations in how they are conceptualised by stakeholders and how they are realised in practice. To date, researchers and practitioners have largely focused on the technical and economic aspects of PED development with placing less emphasis on the unintended social and ecological side-effects of changing energy systems. In this article, we introduce a framework to support responsible innovation of PEDs by initiating second-order learning (SOL) processes to instil reflexivity in PED development processes. Building on the notion of moments of reflection from constructive technology assessment, we developed and tested the method of second-order learning conversations (SOL conversations) in five PEDs in Austria, Belgium, and Sweden. In this article, we summarise the outcomes of applying this method and explore its potential to enhance responsible innovation in current and future PEDs. We conclude by arguing for the relevance of embedding reflexive practices in urban innovation processes such as PED development. Responsible innovation in PEDs requires stakeholder reflexivity to reveal risks and side-effects. Second-order learning conversations support reflexivity in PEDs. The method engages three distinct actor types to critically probe social-ecological issues in PEDs. The method reveals structural issues that allow interventions beyond technological fixes. Risks and side-effects of urban solutions should be explored and addressed in early stages. Urban decisions should be informed by the experiences of actors, including non-stakeholders. Reflexive practices in PEDs should be supported by recurring interactions and dedicated budgets. Reflexive practices in PEDs should be documented to facilitate knowledge exchange across sites.
This paper explores the role of energy communities in advancing decentralized, resilient, and low-carbon energy systems in the Canadian context, introducing three case studies—a First Nation-led microgrid in Gull Bay, a district energy redevelopment in Montreal’s Lachine-East, and a net-zero neighborhood in London’s West5. The study investigates how different market compensation mechanisms can improve the energy and economic performance of such communities, an issue that has received little attention in the Canadian context. The novelty of this work lies in linking lessons from diverse community experiences, focusing on a detailed techno-economic assessment of West5. The first two cases are quickly framed to illustrate the operational and governance challenges of community-led transitions in remote and redevelopment contexts, while West5 is analyzed in depth using TOOLS4Cities platform to evaluate the impact of three market compensation mechanisms: Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Virtual Energy Sharing (VES), and Community Net Metering (CNM). West5 neighborhood is a grid-connected solar community in Ontario, Canada, and it was selected as a newly built net-zero urban testbed. Modeling results show that FiT yields the highest revenues at the individual-building level, whereas CNM offers the greatest cost savings due to flexible crediting logics. VES, inspired by the Italian policy model, supports collective self-consumption but it is limited by the need for hourly coordination. Findings underline the importance of regulatory strategies, the energy and economic benefits of community-level mechanisms, and the need for performance monitoring for implementing community-level renewable projects. By combining contextual insights from multiple Canadian cases with detailed modeling of West5, the paper offers insights for designing adaptive, inclusive, and scalable energy community models suited to Canada’s evolving energy landscape.
Abstract Conservation Units (CU) protect the environment and water resources, ensuring the integrity of the landscape. Thus, to understand the effects of the creation of the Piraquara Environmental Protection Areas (EPA), this study sought to understand changes in land use and land cover and the provision of ecosystem services that contribute to the water supply of the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba. Data from MapBiomas, the MOLUSCE program for projections and the benefit transfer method were used to estimate ecosystem services. The results indicate anthropization between 1991 and 2021, with a reduction in water bodies between 2011 and 2021. Projections for 2031–2051 indicate a reduction in forest and agricultural areas, an increase in water bodies and urban fragmentation. A decrease in support and regulation services was observed. It is concluded that the Piraquara EPA has a predominantly forested landscape and that the creation of the CU contributed to protecting the water sources and consolidating the landscape matrix.
Abstract This paper examines how a focus group methodology supported by the NEB Impact Model was used to promote the integration of cultural and spatial qualities into the decision-making process for the sustainable urban transformation of the Sørsida waterfront area in Ålesund, Norway. Following the approval of the Sørsida waterfront development plan in 2015, the municipality of Ålesund initiated a series of artistic, cultural, and creative initiatives, including temporary urban interventions and the temporary reuse of buildings originally scheduled for demolition. These initiatives aimed to foster social engagement throughout the area’s long-term transformation. In 2024, with the support of the Re-Value project, a multidisciplinary group of experts participated in a workshop organized by Ålesund municipality and Sørsida Utvikling AS, a municipal property management company. This workshop was specifically designed to leverage the knowledge and experiences generated by the Kulturhavna initiative, reflecting on the cultural and spatial quality in the Sørsida area and identifying opportunities and actions for a climate-neutral future by integrating these qualities in the decision-making process. The NEB Impact Model, a framework used within the Re-Value project to assess the environmental, social, cultural, governance, and economic impacts of urban development, was used to analyse the main outcomes of this workshop within a broader context. The reflections emerging from this analysis offer valuable insights for Ålesund’s climate-neutral transformation and reinforce the focus group methodology as a model for other cities seeking to integrate cultural and spatial values in their urban development.
Cities are at the forefront of the energy transition, playing a pivotal role in shaping the way we generate, consume, and manage energy. At the urban level, frictions in the energy regime and specific local constellations can open space for experimentation with energy system innovations with the potential to transform the energy regime beyond the local context. This paper proposes that urban stakeholders not only adopt novel strategies and technologies, positioning cities as testing grounds and pivotal sites for implementing change but also innovate and explore new methods to improve energy efficiency, alter energy consumption patterns, and innovate energy production. Focusing on the local scope of action and the urban level as a level for experimentation, this paper applies the multilevel perspective Geels (Res Policy 31:1257–74, 2002), which analyzes transformations as an interplay of three different levels: landscape, regime, and niches. The results are based on case studies in two metropolitan areas in Germany, Frankfurt/Main and Berlin. Starting with a literature review on the role and scope of actions for cities, it presents and discusses findings from qualitative guideline-based actor and expert interviews, providing insight into the assessment, experiences and perceptions of key actors of the local energy systems of these two urban areas. The results highlight the scope and fields of action of cities and highlight the high potential for local experimentation as well as existing challenges and barriers.
Cities have been identified as critical agents in a social-ecological transformation (SET) oriented at curbing environmental degradation and resolving social inequities. In a SET context, Doughnut Economics (DE) emerged as a guiding framework for alternative economic thinking oriented at a safe and just place for humanity. With a notable increase in the number of DE initiatives, including a variety of urban collectives, their transformative potential will depend on whether urban DE initiatives challenge or reproduce growth-dependent urban regimes. Based on recent advancements in the conceptualization of degrowth transformative capacity (DTC) in a SET context, this paper applies an existing DTC framework to a case study of ten DE initiatives in Amsterdam. With a self-assessment survey and semi-structured interviews, this research aimed at transdisciplinary learning if and how urban DE initiatives contribute to SET. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that degrowth transformative capacity varies significantly among individual DE initiatives in Amsterdam, with only few initiatives showing a balanced set of transformative capacities, but that their network structure strengthens pooling and sharing of critical resources, learning and empowerment. However, in view of their growth-agnosticism, we recommend complementing DTC assessments of DE initiatives with global outcome assessments oriented at SET from an urban perspective. In terms of methodology, we recommend advancing the DTC framework towards a more pronounced capacity for ‘unmaking strategies’, in order to also assess DE initiatives’ capacity to challenge and curb growth-oriented institutions in urban contexts. Degrowth Transformative Capacity (DTC) of urban Doughnut Economics (DE) initiatives is highlighted as a condition for a Social-Ecological Transformation (SET) in growth-dependent urban contexts. This research supports policy makers with evidence on transformative potential of urban DE initiatives in the Amsterdam Doughnut Coalition. DE practitioners and network organizations can apply the DTC framework as a strategic roadmap for strengthening urban transformative capacity in a SET context. Democratization of transformative capacity emphasizes the participation of policy makers in transformative urban networks. Bridging governance scales in urban transformations shows up as a poorly developed capacity of DE initiatives, to which policy makers at multiple administrative levels can contribute. Doughnut Economics emerges as a network of multi-stakeholder collectives with varying transformative capacities in Amsterdam. The multidimensional concept of Degrowth Transformative Capacity has been self-assessed by DE initiatives in an urban case study context and interpreted in a transformative learning approach. DE initiatives show pronounced network building, empowerment and learning capacities for developing and scaling out alternative economic strategies in a context of growth-oriented structures. Transformative capacity assessments of DE initiatives need to be complemented with outcome assessments, i.e. causal frameworks. Transformative capacity assessment frameworks need a more explicit capacity dimension oriented at ‘unmaking strategies’ in growth-oriented contexts.
For city planners, public experimentation has become an attractive tool to “look into the future”, increasingly including novel technologies: Actors test novel mobility options, such as autonomous driving on urban roads to receive real-world feedback on their prototypes; and digital technologies are used to create virtual spaces of experimentation to explore interventions in urban space before implementation. Paying explicit attention to the performative character of experiments and the mechanisms by which they make envisioned futures more plausible than others, we build on the concept of “techniques of futuring” (ToF) to better understand the role of experiments in urban transformations. We ask: How do urban experiments perform mobility futures and how does the performance make these futures plausible? We provide empirical insights on two cases of experimental environments in Munich: a living lab for autonomous driving and an urban digital twin for novel bicycle infrastructure design. We identify three core performative mechanisms by which urban experimentation contributes to making certain futures plausible: picturing the vision, preparing the city, and persuading the public. These mechanisms show how experiments involving novel technologies can become powerful in underpinning the presented visions of future mobility. At the same time, they call for caution when the allure of these mechanisms outplays alternative ways of deliberating and creating mobility futures. Explores the connection between experimentalism, performativity, and participation. Both virtual and real-world experimentation carry performative authority in making urban futures. The concept of Techniques of Futuring (ToF) provides an analytical lens for performative experimental practices. Suggests three performative mechanisms that are central in future-making: picturing, preparing, and persuading.
This paper offers a transdisciplinary and socio-cultural exploration into the way cities are planned and governed. It focuses on the concept of “constructive discussion” and uses the housing system of Sydney, Australia as a case study. Mobilising qualitative analysis of interviews with people that influence, or represent, key sectors of the public in relation to housing, the paper has two aims. First, it presents an analysis of how constructive discussion appears to relate to housing issues in Sydney. Doing so shows how constructive discussion can provide a new vantage point to consider and conceptualise complex social issues influencing governance and planning in cities. In our case, a focus on constructive discussion enabled ideation of social interventions and democratic innovations that complement technical and policy responses and understand Sydney’s ‘housing system’. We document both the diagnosis, and potential responses, in the paper. Most broadly, the paper shows that a focus on constructive discussion can offer new insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to achieve transformative system change in urban and democratic contexts. Our research emerged from a transdisciplinary collaboration between university academics and civil society actors in Sydney, Australia and we propose the ongoing integration of systems science, socio-cultural perspectives and transformative agendas can benefit from such endeavours. Constructive Discussion” is a boundary concept that can invite nuanced discussion and new perspectives on social issues in Australian democracy. Constructive Discussion helped orient researchers and interview participants in ways that helpfully identified dynamics occurring in a complex system and potential opportunities for transformative change. Our diagnosis, based on qualitative and co-produced research, identified a series of issues and potential interventions that could improve systemic resilience in Australia’s housing system and improve the level of Construction Discussion in decision-making about urban futures. Further research is required to test and validate potential interventions, and Constructive Discussion could benefit from further conceptual development and co-produced exploration and experiments. • A lack of Constructive Discussion is expressed in structural, institutional and communicative issues. These issues are influencing the quality of social outcomes produced by Australia’s housing system. • A long list of potential interventions is available to help build Constructive Discussion and improve how housing is being discussed and governed in Sydney and in Australia. • Most importantly, Australia’s approach to housing lacks a clear narrative about its overarching goals –we need to define the purpose of the housing system and there are systemic, institutional, cultural, and communicative interventions that might help to bring this about.
Understanding how shocks cascade through interdependent urban systems is essential for designing effective resilience strategies. We introduce the Urban Resilience and Sustainability Alliance (URSA), a network-based framework that represents a city’s physical, socioeconomic, and sociocultural dimensions as a multi-domain directed network of indicators, coupled with the URSA-RSPM (Realistic Stress Propagation Model). URSA integrates structural diagnostics with an adaptive contagion algorithm to quantify network resistance through defined metrics and to simulate both passive and policy-driven recovery. Computational experiments illustrate how URSA-RSPM identifies latent vulnerabilities and evaluates “what-if” interventions. In a Vancouver case study of a hypothetical tariff shock to the Public Finance and Business Environment indicators, the model reveals rapid cross-domain cascades when no action is taken and demonstrates that timely fiscal support can contain widespread failure. By serving as a city-scale digital living lab, URSA-RSPM enables planners and policy analysts to explore multi-hazard and compound-risk scenarios in a safe, data-driven environment, supporting iterative policy design and adaptive urban governance.
Given the contested nature of urban futures, we approach the term “transition” as a floating signifier to investigate imaginaries of transformation. Focusing on urban mobility transitions, we demonstrate the plurality of associations with a post-transition future. This perspective allows the identification of underlying tensions and incommensurabilities between competing visions of the future. Q method is applied to explore imagined mobility futures among professionals working on mobility and urban development in Hamburg. The results show that even among those directly engaged in mobility transitions in their day-to-day work, there are plural and often conflicting views on what such transitions can and should achieve. The research offers insights into the coordinating role of floating signifiers in processes of socio-technical change. While these signifiers perform an important coordinating function in the governance of socio-technical change, they are inherently susceptible to capture.
With the growing population in cities globally, progressively more people are compelled to live in apartments. Apartments often have small kitchens and food-related spaces, potentially making them less supportive environments for at-home food practices. Despite this, no existing evidence has documented how apartment-specific housing policies address kitchen design, although this poses potentially detrimental implications for population health. Using a comparative policy analysis, this study identified 17 apartment design guidelines from 10 territorial jurisdictions to address this gap. We compared them based on comprehensiveness, measurability, and whether they were evidence-based. Analysis was conducted using the Framework Method, detailing eight kitchen and housing design themes: ‘Ventilation’, ‘Suitability of construction materials’, ‘Storage for food and kitchen appliances’, ‘Lighting’, ‘Kitchen size and layout’, ‘Fixed kitchen equipment’, ‘Communal food spaces’, and ‘Accessibility and inclusivity’. Our findings showed that existing apartment design guidelines in our sample vary greatly in breadth and the level of detail in which they address the design aspects of kitchens and food-related spaces, and often lack a sound basis derived from research. Considering these, we illustrated clear aspects for improvement among existing apartment guidelines. Future work is needed to systematically monitor future apartment design guidelines from more diverse and novel settings. Growing urban populations worldwide are progressively living in apartments with restrictive kitchens, posing detrimental impacts on their food practices Existing apartment design guidelines lack detail and clear direction in achieving kitchen functionality In various international contexts, opportunities exist to leverage guidelines to support at-home food practices Policy and practice recommendations Adopting a key focus on kitchen design in urban housing policies may prove an effective strategy to foster healthier home food environments To achieve potential health benefits from well-designed and adaptable apartment kitchens, guidelines must take into account multiple food practices whilst providing maximum detail Existing policies could be greatly improved by being systematically informed and updated by current evidence reflective of residents’ needs
As urbanization progresses, urban stress has become an increasingly prominent concern, diminishing city residents’ well-being and overall quality of life. Responding to these challenges, nature-based solutions involving urban greenery have emerged as potential stress mitigators, providing respite from the demands of urban life. This paper examines the role of urban green space usage as compensatory strategy for traffic noise annoyance at home and the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in residents’ decision-making processes for relocations. The data for the analysis are drawn from a primary survey in two German cities, Cologne and Hamburg, encompassing 1,846 randomly selected respondents. The findings suggest that, particularly in the initial stages of considering relocation, individuals use urban green spaces to compensate for stressful circumstances. These green space compensation strategies may prevent individuals from progressing to subsequent stages of relocation decision-making, however, only under low-stress conditions. Recognizing the importance of urban green spaces in mitigating urban stress not only enhances the well-being of city dwellers but also improves understanding of effective strategies for planning resilient cities.
