Urban Health in Transition: Built and Open Environments as Bio-Behavioral Infrastructures of Well-Being

Urbanization has fundamentally transformed the relationships among human health, spatial environments, and ecological systems. In contemporary cities, which simultaneously produce stress through pollution and density, while enabling wellbeing via green, cultural, artistic, and inclusive spaces, health outcomes emerge not only from environmental exposures but from the dynamic interplay between built form, natural systems, and bio-behavioral processes that shape everyday life. Building on recent advances in the understanding of extended human-environment interactions, Urban Health can be reframed as a complex and adaptive socio-ecological construct, in which architecture, landscape, and cultural environments function as mediators of well-being.Moving beyond deterministic models, urban space can be understood as a constructed field of experiences, where the quality of design, spatial composition, natural spaces, spaces for art and culture, and sensory environments influence mental and physical well-being and social responses. This systemic perspective aligns with the One Health paradigm, recognizing the interdependence between human health, ecosystem integrity, and biodiversity within co-evolving urban systems.This Research Topic addresses the need to overcome fragmented approaches to Urban Health by advancing an integrated, bio-behavioral, and socio-ecological framework. While growing evidence demonstrates the influence of built and natural environments on well-being, current research often separates spatial, environmental, and biological dimensions, limiting the understanding of their interactions.The goal is to develop holistic and transdisciplinary models that connect spatial design, ecological systems, and human behaviors within a unified perspective. Particular emphasis is given to urban environments as immersive exposure systems, where aesthetic, spatial, cultural, and natural conditions collectively shape health outcomes. This includes emerging interpretations of cumulative experiential exposure and the role of design in influencing perception, behavior, and everyday practices.To achieve this, the Research Topic promotes contributions that integrate spatial analysis, environmental data, and health indicators, while advancing new methodologies and metrics capable of capturing relationships between spatial quality, bio-behavioral responses, and well-being. By doing so, it aims to support innovative strategies for enhancing health, resilience, and ecological coherence in complex urban contexts.This Research Topic explores Urban Health as an integrative, bio-behavioral, and socio-ecological process shaped by the interplay between built environments, natural systems, and experiential factors. We welcome contributions addressing themes such as:• urban environments as bio-behavioral infrastructures• socio-ecological networks and nature-based solutions• One Health approaches in urban contexts• relationships between spatial quality, perception, and health outcomes• aesthetic, sensory, and experiential dimensions of urban environments• design strategies fostering well-being, resilience, and social cohesion• urban games and interactive practices as tools for shaping perception and collective experience• equity and access to healthy environmentsWe encourage submissions including Original Research, Review articles, Perspectives, and Methods papers, with interdisciplinary approaches bridging architecture, urban planning, public health, medicine, neurosciences, psychology, environmental sciences, cultural economics, social and behavioural sciences. Contributions integrating spatial, environmental, and health data, as well as innovative frameworks, participatory approaches, game-based methodologies, and design-oriented strategies, are particularly welcome. Topic editors: Massimo Angrilli, Alessandro Crociata, Pier Luigi Sacco, Valentina Ciuffreda, Lorenzo Morelli, Valentina Rotondi Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84229/urban-health-in-transition-built-and-open-environments-as-bio-behavioral-infrastructures-of-well-being