What do we study in the lab?

In the lab we study the influence of social and physical urban environments on residents’ health, wellbeing, and quality of life. While the concentration of people in cities may lead to social, health and environmental problems, it may also generate opportunities for social interactions and facilitate new ideas that support human wellbeing. Research in the lab seek for opportunities to improve the lives of residents.

What is a ‘Vital City’?

A vital city is a city that supports and improves the quality of life of its residents. It is a city that not only supplies good physical infrastructure (e.g., water, transportation), but rather also take advantage of its resources to encourage people to be more vital; adopt healthy and more sustainable lifestyle, generate social capital and make people happier.

Research topics

The Urban Vitality Lab focuses on current urban research topics in the domains of wellbeing and health, sustainability, tourism, leisure and culture activity in the city and the impacts of new technologies and social practices on the behavior and lifestyle of city residents.

Some of the main research topics that the lab promotes include:

  • Promoting active transportation (i.e., walking and cycling)
  • Promoting healthy and sustainable lifestyle
  • The influence of urban environments on social interaction and tolerance
  • Inequality and health in the city
  • Smart management of leisure and tourism activity in cities
  • Mental health in the city
  • The influence of new technologies on residents

Cutting edge research methods

The lab utilizes and develops advanced data collection and measurement tools that allows its researchers to study of human behavior and the exposure and interaction of people with their living environment at. Tools and methods that are developed and implemented in the lab include the utilization and analysis of large data sets, location tracking technologies (e.g., GPS, smartphones), Portable sensors (e.g., biosensors), virtual and augmented reality. These methods allow high resolution investigation of human behavior in both lab-style and real-world settings.