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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Urban Science
Volume 10 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2024.1504553
This article is part of the Research Topic Extended Mind for the Design of Human Environment View all 10 articles

Operationalising 'Loveability' : an Interdisciplinary Approach to Enriching Quality of Life Experiences in Cities through Creative Cultural Spaces

Provisionally accepted
Mizan Rambhoros Mizan Rambhoros 1*Raymond Richard Neutra Raymond Richard Neutra 2Rosa Cerarols Rosa Cerarols 3Matthew Pelowski Matthew Pelowski 1
  • 1 Institute for Psychology of Cognition, Emotion and Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Wien, Vienna, Austria
  • 2 Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design, Pacific Grove, United States
  • 3 Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Loveability represents an emerging answer for enriching urban quality of life. The idea prioritises city dwellers' emotional connections with psycho-spatial aspects of cities, beyond mere infrastructure, functionality, or services ('liveability'), which may not fully support positive wellbeing, especially in European cities. However, due to shifting, largely theoretical definitions and arguments for an unquantifiable nature, questions remain as to how people themselves think and feel about loveability within actual urban spaces. Here, for the first time we assessed how people quantify loveability, within two creative cultural or 'third places': MuseumsQuartier Haupthof in Vienna, Austria and Plaça de Joan Coromines in Barcelona, Spain. Based on a literature review, we identified potential psychological and spatial aspects associated with loveability and created a survey administered on-site to participants (N = 244) recruited from among foot traffic in our study settings. Participants rated spaces for liveability and loveability in their general experience of the places, and then defined how they had rated the 'loveability' aspect via the importance of 55-items. Participants considered both places as loveable and contributing to positive wellbeing. Exploratory Factor Analysis and multiple regression models led to 5 factors for each population that highlighted groupings of significant psychological versus spatial dimensions. The distribution pattern showed commonalities of mostly psychological (e.g. delight/fascination, community, restorative wellness) but fewer spatial (usage/functionality) aspects across both settings. Our findings demonstrate that loveability plays a role in serving individuals' delight and wellbeing, and insights of 'accessibility', 'inclusivity', and 'order' may inform urban planning strategies and placemaking.

    Keywords: aesthetics1, architecture2, loveability3, Psychological4, spatial5, third places6, urban7, wellbeing8

    Received: 30 Sep 2024; Accepted: 31 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rambhoros, Neutra, Cerarols and Pelowski. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mizan Rambhoros, Institute for Psychology of Cognition, Emotion and Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Wien, 1010, Vienna, Austria

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.