Designing Healthy and Restorative Urban Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid global urbanization creates unprecedented challenges for public health and environmental planning; a total of 68% of the world's population is expected to live in cities by 2050. Interdisciplinary research shows that built environments have measurable psychophysiological effects on human health through various pathways, including air quality regulation, sensory stimulation, and cognitive restoration. Urban design strategies—ranging from neighbourhood planning to architectural choices—significantly impact physical activity, social connections, stress responses, and mental health across different populations.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have confirmed strong links between exposure to restorative urban environments and better cognitive function, lower cortisol levels, and improved mental wellbeing. These findings particularly support the application of attention restoration theory in built environments. However, significant gaps remain in translating this evidence into practical urban design strategies that can effectively tackle increasing urban stress, attention fatigue, and health inequalities.

This Special Issue invites original research articles, systematic reviews, and methodological innovations focused on advancing evidence-based interventions in the built environment for health promotion. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions that utilize rigorous study designs, validated measurement tools, and transparent reporting to develop practical design guidelines, implementation strategies, and evaluation methods aimed at developing urban environments that support psychological restoration and promote health equity across populations.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to):

Design Practice and Implementation

• Case studies of health-integrated architecture, urban design, and planning projects;
• Design guidelines and tools for creating restorative urban environments;
• Collaborative approaches between health professionals, planners, and designers;
• Policy frameworks that support health-oriented design and development.

Therapeutic and Restorative Design Applications

• Biophilic design strategies for urban buildings and spaces;
• Design interventions for stress reduction and mental health support;
• Creating inclusive spaces that address health disparities across diverse populations.

Neighbourhood and District-Scale Interventions

• Green infrastructure integration for health and climate resilience;
• Mixed-use development strategies that promote walkability and social connection;
• Public space design for community health and social cohesion.

Innovation in Healthy Urban Development

• Smart city technologies that support health and wellbeing outcomes;
• Adaptive reuse strategies for creating health-supportive environments;
• Sustainable building practices that enhance occupant health.

Evidence-Based Restorative Environment Design

• Systematic evaluation of attention restoration theory applications in urban contexts;
• Multisensory design interventions and their psychophysiological impacts;
• Comparative effectiveness of natural versus built restorative environments.

Methodological Innovations and Measurement

• Geospatial analysis methods for assessing restorative environment accessibility and equity;
• Development and validation of objective measures for environmental restoration potential;
• Longitudinal study designs for evaluating urban health intervention effectiveness.

Topics of Interest:

• Evidence-based design practices for health promotion;
• Urban green infrastructure health impact evaluation, including stress reduction pathways in urban nature-based solutions;
• Attention restoration theory applications in built environments;
• Cross-sector collaboration models for healthy place-making;
• Digital technologies for healthy urban environment monitoring;
• Therapeutic landscape design and implementation;
• Climate-resilient urban health infrastructure design;
• Cultural and contextual factors in restorative environment effectiveness;
• Population-specific responses to urban restoration interventions.

We welcome submissions that employ rigorous study designs, validated measurement tools, and transparent reporting to enhance the scientific foundation for creating health-promoting urban environments. Contributions should demonstrate clear theoretical foundations, methodological thoroughness, and practical relevance to urban planning and public health.

Prof. Dr. Nimish Biloria
Dr. Hamish Robertson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• health-supportive urban environments
• restorative environments
• psychophysiological health and wellbeing
• healthy cities health equity
• green infrastructure
• evidence-based interventions
• biophilic design