Assessment of Users' Satisfaction in Public Spaces: Volume 3

Public spaces are pivotal in fostering health, well-being, and community connections. They provide vital opportunities for physical activity, mental rejuvenation, and social interaction, contributing significantly to overall quality of life. This Research Topic continues a well-established series on how people experience, use, and value public spaces, and on the objective attributes and subjective experiences that shape their satisfaction.Volume 1 (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/41836/assessment-of-users-satisfaction-in-public-spaces) laid the foundations, focusing on the tools and methods used to assess users' satisfaction. Drawing on on-site surveys and questionnaires, its contributions studied service quality at government public facilities (Tokyo ward offices), the reclamation of urban voids into community gathering spaces (Multan), user preferences between traditional open-air bazaars and modern shopping centres (Karachi), and the quality of leisure environments for young people in urban parks (Mashhad). Together these studies showed that satisfaction depends on far more than physical form, pointing to the influence of comfort, safety, service quality, and the psychological and visual qualities of space. Volume 1 gathered more than 61,000 views across 5 articles.Volume 2 (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/71082/assessment-of-users-satisfaction-in-public-spaces-volume-2) broadened the scope from measurement toward inclusivity, resilience, and identity. Its 9 articles examined spatial accessibility and social cohesion in neighbourhood parks (Coastal Karnataka), the well-being of migrant and local older adults in public open spaces (Dongguan), resilience and pandemic preparedness in a care facility (Stockholm), heritage-led urban regeneration and community-preferred governance (Dubai and Sharjah), the balance of tradition and modernity in souqs and malls (Bahrain), user perceptions of green infrastructure (Karachi), neo-vernacular architecture and cultural sustainability (Lagos), the effect of landscape design on emotional loneliness, and the influence of place types on social relationships under COVID-19 and disability. Volume 2 has already gathered more than 27,000 views.Building on this momentum, Volume 3 invites research that advances the assessment of users' satisfaction by combining objective attributes with lived experience, and by extending the series into fast-moving areas of the field. We especially welcome work on participatory and community-driven design, on the integration of smart technologies and digital tools in public spaces, on climate-responsive and environmentally sustainable planning, and on inclusive, accessible environments that serve diverse and ageing populations. As public life keeps changing, understanding what makes public spaces satisfying, healthy, and resilient remains essential to nurturing citizens' well-being and a sense of belonging.Research themes welcomed by this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:• User experience and well-being in public spaces;• Urban design strategies for inclusivity and resilience;• Smart technologies and digital integration in public spaces;• Community-driven urban interventions and participatory design;• Environmental and climate-responsive urban planning;• The role of communal spaces in high-density living environments;• Vertical urbanism and its impact on social engagement;• Integrating nature and biophilic elements in shared spaces;• Post-pandemic shifts in the perception and usage of semi-public or public spaces;• Strategies for designing inclusive and accessible public spaces;• Exploring the impact of extreme weather conditions on urban public space usage;• Comfort and quality of public spaces.Keywords: Urban public spaces, Users' satisfaction, Participatory design, Quality of public spaces, Public spaces for a changing public life, User experience and well-being in public spaces Topic editors: Waqas Ahmed Mahar, PAU CHUNG LENG, Mohamed Elhadi Matallah, Asifa Iqbal Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/87110/assessment-of-users-satisfaction-in-public-spaces-volume-3