Developing a Citizen Social Science approach to understand urban stress and promote wellbeing in urban communities

Jessica Pykett (), Benjamin Chrisinger, Kalliopi Kyriakou, Tess Osborne, Bernd Resch, Afroditi Stathi, Eszter Toth and Anna C. Whittaker
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Jessica Pykett: University of Birmingham
Benjamin Chrisinger: University of Oxford
Kalliopi Kyriakou: University of Salzburg
Tess Osborne: University of Groningen
Bernd Resch: University of Salzburg
Afroditi Stathi: University of Birmingham
Eszter Toth: University of Birmingham
Anna C. Whittaker: University of Stirling

Palgrave Communications, 2020, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract This paper sets out the future potential and challenges for developing an interdisciplinary, mixed-method Citizen Social Science approach to researching urban emotions. It focuses on urban stress, which is increasingly noted as a global mental health challenge facing both urbanised and rapidly urbanising societies. The paper reviews the existing use of mobile psychophysiological or biosensing within urban environments—as means of ‘capturing’ the urban geographies of emotions. Methodological reflections are included on primary research using biosensing in a study of workplace and commuter stress for university employees in Birmingham (UK) and Salzburg (Austria) for illustrative purposes. In comparing perspectives on the conceptualisation and measurement of urban stress from psychology, neuroscience and urban planning, the difficulties of defining scientific constructs within Citizen Science are discussed to set out the groundwork for fostering interdisciplinary dialogue. The novel methods, geo-located sensor technologies and data-driven approaches to researching urban stress now available to researchers pose a number of ethical, political and conceptual challenges around defining and measuring emotions, stress, human behaviour and urban space. They also raise issues of rigour, participation and social scientific interpretation. Introducing methods informed by more critical Citizen Social Science perspectives can temper overly individualised forms of data collection to establish more effective ways of addressing urban stress and promoting wellbeing in urban communities.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1057/s41599-020-0460-1

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