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Based on increasing incidents of mental ill-health associated with living in dense urban environments, the field of Neurourbanism developed rapidly, aiming at identifying and improving urban factors that impact the health of city dwellers. Neurourbanism and the closely related field of Neuro-Architecture have seen a surge in studies using mobile electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the impact of the built and natural environment on human brain activity moving from the laboratory into the real world. This trend predominantly arises from the ready availability of affordable and portable consumer hardware, which not only guarantees operational simplicity but also frequently incorporates automated data analysis functions. This significantly streamlines the process of EEG data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation, seemingly challenging the necessity of specialized expertise in the method of EEG or neurosciences in general. As a consequence, numerous studies in the field of Neurourbanism have used such off-the-shelf systems in laboratory and real-world experimental protocols including active movement of participants through the environment. However, the recording and analysis of EEG data entails numerous requisites, the disregard of which may culminate in errors during data acquisition, processing, and subsequent interpretation, potentially compromising the scientific validity of the outcomes. The often relatively low number of electrodes offered by affordable and portable consumer EEG systems further restricts specific analyses approaches to the low-dimensional EEG data. Crucially, a large part of Neurourbanism studies used black-box analyses provided by such consumer systems or incorrectly applied complex data-driven analyses methods that are incompatible with the recorded low-dimensional data. The current manuscript delineates the prerequisites concerning EEG hardware and analytical methodologies applicable to stationary and mobile EEG protocols, whether conducted within a controlled laboratory environment or in real-world settings. It conducts a comprehensive review of EEG studies within the domain of Neurourbanism and Neuro-Architecture, assessing their adherence to these prerequisites. The findings reveal severe deficiencies in the utilization of hardware and data processing methods, thereby rendering these studies unsuitable for scientific scrutiny. Consequently, the present paper provides guidelines for the selection of EEG hardware and analytical strategies for researchers engaged in mobile EEG recordings, be it within a laboratory or real-world context, aimed at steering future investigations in the field of Neurourbanism and Neuro-Architecture. • Systematic review of papers in the field of Neurourbanism up to 2023 that use electroencephalography (EEG) as research method. • Review criteria included participant mobility and mobility of the EEG system as well as the replicability of the methods and analyses. • The majority of studies uses mobile EEG systems without using mobile protocols. • More than 50% of studies report insufficient information that would allow replication of the study. • Problematic methods and missing information are identified and guidelines to overcome these issues are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible homes provide residents with choice and control in how they use and modify their homes to suit their changing needs, but the psychological benefits of flexibility for residents' wellbeing have been underexplored. This paper examines to what extent flexible homes support residents' wellbeing, what architectural qualities (Architectural Flexibility) are important for wellbeing, and to what extent residents can use these qualities to make changes to home (Behavioural Flexibility) to achieve wellbeing. Three studies were conducted to examine the relationship between flexibility of the home and residents' psychological wellbeing. Study 1 (N = 187) explored the association between Flexibility and wellbeing. Study 2 (N = 212) examined the mediating nature of the Behavioural Flexibility component in the relationship between Architectural Flexibility of the home and residents' wellbeing. Study 3 (N = 300) examined this relationship further by exploring the influence of residents' individual factors of Capability and Motivation in the Study 2 model using the COM-B model of behaviour. Study 1 showed that residents' perceptions of flexibility of their homes were positively associated with their hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing at home, explaining 21% and 15.3% of variance respectively. Study 2 showed that Behavioural Flexibility significantly mediated the relationship between Architectural Flexibility and hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Among the three types of Architectural Flexibility explored in Study 3, the COM-B model of Availability of spaces at home explained the most variance in hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing, compared to Modifiability and Multifunctionality of spaces. In all models, COM-B components showed varying influence on wellbeing. The mediating nature of Behavioural Flexibility was confirmed in the COM-B model of Modifiability. Flexibility in the built home environment and residents' behaviour of making changes to it is important for their wellbeing. Individual factors like residents' abilities and motivations to engage with flexibility may need to be considered when designing flexible homes for wellbeing. • Flexibility of the home is important for resident's psychological wellbeing. • Making changes to home mediates this relationship. • Availability, Multifunctionality, and Modifiability varyingly supports wellbeing. • Motivations and Capabilities to engage with flexibility are important for wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Variability in and significance of hunter-gatherer aggregation sites are reviewed. • The Cadfael archaeological site is a Dorset aggregation in the Canadian Arctic. • The aggregation site contains stone longhouses as well as ritual features. • Change over time at the site results from interaction between Dorset and Inuit. Most hunter-gatherer lifeways revolve around periodic large gatherings – aggregations – that serve as social, ritual, and economic anchors for their annual cycles. However, in archaeological contexts they are often difficult to recognize. This paper describes and interprets a particularly large and well-preserved example of a warm season aggregation site dating to the Late Dorset period in the eastern North American Arctic. This site extends for over 750 m along coastal beach ridges and contains four boulder-outlined "longhouses" of up to 38 m in length as well as hundreds of other features used for storage, cooking, and ritual activities. In addition to interpreting the range of activities occurring on the site, this paper discusses the clear evidence for change over time in the ways its inhabitants interacted with the built environment, and with each other. Because these changes took place mainly during the 13th century CE, they likely represent a reaction to the arrival in this region of ancestral Inuit, who migrated from Alaska during this period and ultimately replaced Dorset populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many coastal urban areas are experiencing impacts of accelerated chronic and episodic flooding on the built environment and people's livelihoods and quality of life. These impacts sometimes exceed the households' adaptive and coping capacities to deal with flooding, prompting residents to consider relocation. It is unclear how urban dwellers living in flood-prone locations perceive this adaptation strategy and under what flood-driven circumstances they would consider permanently moving. This paper provides empirical evidence on relocation preferences among urban residents along the U.S. East Coast. It further explores how this decision is influenced by socioeconomic determinants, experiences with flood exposure, comprehensive concerns with flooding, and preferences for relocation destinations. We administered an online survey to 1450 residents living in flood-prone urban areas across multiple states, from New York to Florida, and analyzed the results using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that almost half of respondents would consider relocating due to coastal flooding, with only 13 percent declining this option. The results show that age and race, several determinants of place attachment, problem-solving capacity, and flood-related household- and community-level concerns play a significant role in willingness to relocate. • Accelerated flooding in coastal urban areas will increase the need for relocation. • Empirical evidence about coastal relocation drivers is limited. • Survey responses indicate that many urban coastal residents are willing to relocate. • Willingness to relocate is affected by age and race, and other personal concerns. • Crime, future flooding, community support, and living costs predict relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the needs and expectations of communities towards their urban environments often vary, landscape management strategies can often be prone to fail in the absence of social considerations. It is therefore incumbent on policy-makers to investigate and attempt to reconcile diverse community perceptions toward the natural and built environment for more equitable governance. This is of particular interest when planning and managing nature-based solutions (NBS) for river protection. We considered this challenge in understanding human values, perceptions and behaviour in a multilayered ecosystem that includes waterways, NBS, green open spaces, and a built environment. This paper analyses perceptions and behaviour around a public urban park next to the Georges River in Sydney Australia, utilizing a proxy-based approach and a mixed-method comprising community surveys and behavioural mapping. The results showed that while users perceive the significance of the urban river environment differently, naturalistic (ecological), humanistic (recreational) and utilitarian (well-being) values are dominant. Urban river catchments are highly valued for recreational purposes, with a strong perception of potential flooding hazards. Through exploring the literature, we recognized that the dominancy of leisure-related values around urban river catchments can be generalized to similar cases worldwide. While NBS, as an urban stormwater management solution, address some user values (e.g., naturalistic) around urban river catchments, they may lack further delivery of humanistic and utilitarian values due to the poor integration with recreational and cultural spaces. It was also the case around the Georges River, where low prominence of cultural features was observed. We concluded that NBS development around Georges River and other urban river catchments should incorporate socio-cultural considerations and community values, in particular the ones related to leisure. The gaps between users' beliefs and behaviour do not greatly challenge governance, provided that the decision-makers utilise these gaps for optimising management actions. • We used mixed-method approach to show community values in urban environment. • Behavioural mapping was a complementary process in value perception analysis. • Study highlighted the importance of ecological, recreational and utilitarian values. • Existing NBS addresses naturalistic values, but lacks cultural, recreational values. • Management actions need to consider socio-cultural values and landscape integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses how subjective wellbeing is related to housing and neighbourhood characteristics, controlling for personal variables. The secondary data analysis was based on the English Housing Survey, 2017: Housing Stock Data and the English Housing Survey: Fuel Poverty Dataset, 2017, collected in the period April 2016 to March 2018 (N = 9205). Subjective wellbeing was measured with four variables - life satisfaction, the perception of things being worthwhile in life, feeling happy and feeling anxious - that were dichotomized into low and high wellbeing. Logistic regression analysis showed that personal variables are most strongly related to wellbeing but that both housing and neighbourhood variables are also significantly related to it. Finding it difficult to keep the living room warm, being in fuel poverty, and finding it difficult to meet heating costs were associated with lower wellbeing. Low area satisfaction and not feeling safe were also significantly associated with lower wellbeing. The effects of variables are not constant across all four wellbeing measures used which raises the question 'which wellbeing' should be addressed. Results also showed that targeting householders with lowest wellbeing and hence in greatest need of wellbeing interventions based on publicly available data would be challenging. Finally, the research community needs to address methodological challenges around identifying the most appropriate covariates, defining wellbeing and considering the measurement of key variables. • Personal variables explain most variance in subjective wellbeing. • Housing and neighbourhood variables also related to wellbeing. • Different facets of wellbeing differentially related to predictors. • Cold and difficultto keep warm homes associated with lower wellbeing. • Lower area satisfaction and feeling unsafe associated with lower wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been known that social and physical environments can shape individual and population health, for better or worse. Master-planned communities (MPCs) in the US are custom-designed residential neighborhoods with defined boundaries planned and developed under a single, private owner or entity from their inception. Across the US, these vary greatly in scale ranging from 100 to over 50,000 homes, but broadly all provide residents with housing, infrastructure, landscaping, and purpose-built facilities to support socialization. Current research in the urban planning literature suggests that MPCs can influence the health of their residents. However, few studies have examined the use of MPCs as settings to conduct individual or population health research. In this paper, we examine the potential of MPCs as context for observational or intervention studies aimed at understanding individual and population-level health and well-being. We first summarize links between built and social environment and individual and population health research. Next, we describe the history of planned communities in the US. Then, we review specific features of MPCs related to governance, development, design, and social structure. We end by exploring how those specific features may lead to potential opportunities and challenges when using MPCs in health research. Through this discussion, we highlight MPCs as overlooked settings that may offer potential for collaborative, innovative, and socially engaged health research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]