From Lived Neighbourhood Experience to Planning Action – Seeking Partners in Western, Central or Northern Europe

An emerging consortium is developing a proposal for HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-03 – Understanding inhabitants’ experiences of neighbourhoods to support their health and well-being.

We are seeking research and local-government partners from Western, Central or Northern Europe to develop the third comparative European context of the project.

We are also open to an experienced research institution taking a wider leadership role in the consortium, potentially including formal project coordination and/or scientific coordination.

Project concept

At the core of the project is a question that conventional neighbourhood assessments rarely answer:

How does the environment that can be mapped and measured relate to the environment that people actually perceive, feel and use?

Across contrasting European neighbourhoods, we will integrate GIS and spatial/morphological analysis, environmental measurements, resident surveys, participatory mapping, seasonal follow-ups, walking interviews and explanatory qualitative research.

The project will examine where measured and experienced environments converge or diverge; which characteristics of the built–natural environment, public space and public–private interface are associated with place attachment, everyday behaviour, social and physical activity, creative expression and cultural participation, health and well-being; how these relationships differ between population groups, places and seasons; and which spatial characteristics can realistically be influenced through planning, urban design, regeneration and local policy.

Comparative design

The project is structured around three contrasting European comparative contexts, each including:

• a larger urban centre: one urban and one peri-urban neighbourhood;

• a small town / small regional centre: one urban and one rural neighbourhood.

This will provide 12 core neighbourhood case studies, with a limited number of targeted external-validation cases where useful for testing transferability or specific research findings.

Croatian (post-socialist) and Spanish (Mediterranean) comparative contexts are currently being developed. We are therefore particularly interested in a complementary context in Western, Central or Northern Europe.

The preferred model combines larger and smaller settlements within the same country, although a scientifically coherent cross-border pairing between neighbouring countries may also be considered.

Partners sought

We are particularly interested in:

• universities and research institutes working in environmental psychology, urban health, neighbourhood research, human geography, sociology, public health, urban studies or related fields;

• researchers with expertise in comparative and longitudinal research, survey methodology, mixed methods, health and well-being, or research with vulnerable and marginalised groups;

• municipalities and local authorities interested in providing larger-city, peri-urban, small-town or rural case-study environments.

We are also seeking a strong research partner capable of acting as Research Lead for the third comparative European context, coordinating the common research protocol across its larger-city, peri-urban, small-town and rural case studies.

Strong candidates may also take a wider consortium role in scientific coordination, environmental psychology / urban health, quantitative methods or comparative analysis.

The emerging consortium already brings together expertise in spatial planning and GIS, environmental psychology, neighbourhood sociology, urban and landscape design, green infrastructure, participatory research and research-to-planning translation.

We are particularly interested in partners who want to co-develop the common scientific methodology and comparative analysis, rather than contribute an independent pilot site.

Institutions with substantial Horizon Europe experience and the capacity to take a broader consortium leadership role are especially welcome.

If this matches your expertise or local context, we would be pleased to discuss potential case studies and consortium roles.