Field Experiments on Health and the Built Environment in Urban Settings: A Scoping Review

AI Summary

Field experiments are rare in urban planning and design despite potential to inform how urban transformations improve health and wellbeing.
Most field experiments reviewed assessed urban green features and predominantly measured mental wellbeing using self-reported and physiological measures.
Few studies tested direct environmental interventions; expanding experiments to other built environment changes, including tactical urbanism, is needed.

Curr Environ Health Rep. 2026 May 19;13(1):22. doi: 10.1007/s40572-026-00539-5.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Science has long examined how the built environment impacts health and wellbeing, yet most research has relied on observational and longitudinal studies. Much less attention has been paid to field experiments as a method to understand how environmental conditions may impact health. Although formal field experiments are common in public health, environmental psychology and related fields, they remain rare in urban planning and design despite their potential to inform how urban transformations may improve health and wellbeing. This scoping review examines how field experiments have been used to assess the health and wellbeing impacts of the built environment.

RECENT FINDINGS: Following an extensive keyword search, we identified studies published between 2015 and 2025 that employed a field experimental design in an urban or peri-urban context and directly assessed health-related outcomes associated with built environment characteristics or interventions. A total of 26 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analysed according to their topical focus, methodological design, assessed health outcomes, and reported challenges and limitations. Most studies focused on the health and wellbeing impacts of exposure to urban green features, accounting for over two thirds of reviewed studies. Mental health and wellbeing outcomes were assessed more frequently than physical health outcomes, often through a combination of self-reported and objective physiological measures. Only a limited number of studies involved direct interventions or transformations of the built environment, while most compared existing environmental conditions. The limited number of field experiments addressing issues beyond urban green features suggests there is considerable opportunity to expand the use of field experiments to assess the health impacts of other types of built environment interventions, particularly in the context of the growing popularity of tactical urbanism and temporary urban transformations.

PMID:42154374 | DOI:10.1007/s40572-026-00539-5

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