Understanding inhabitant’s experiences of neighbourhoods to support their health and well-being

What is this call about?

The topic funds research on how inhabitants experience their neighbourhoods and how these experiences affect their health and well-being. Projects are expected to provide recommendations to local authorities and the artistic, cultural and heritage sector, including on guiding the green transition of neighbourhoods.

What does this call fund?

Scope

The topic belongs to the call "Beautiful, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods for communities". It funds research into how inhabitants react to and identify with their neighbourhoods, and how these sensory and emotional experiences affect their physical and mental health and overall well-being. The topic also investigates how such experiences can be improved through the New European Bauhaus in the context of the green transition.

What proposals are expected to do

• Involve a diversity of people and groups in the research, including people in vulnerable or marginalised situations, such as women, children, young people, older adults, people with physical and psychological functional variations and their carers, LGBTIQA+ people, migrants and refugees.
• Assess how experiences and impacts differ between sociodemographic groups and between neighbourhoods with different characteristics, for example geography (urban, peri-urban, rural, coastal, insular), quality and perceived beauty of the built environment, social and demographic make-up, reputation, and access to natural, cultural and artistic spaces.
• Provide consistent and comparable data across project sites and populations, using among other tools the NEB self-assessment method.
• Validate the findings in at least three neighbourhoods (urban, peri-urban and rural) in at least three different Member States and/or Associated Countries.
• Give evidence-based recommendations to local authorities and to the artistic, cultural and heritage sector on improving inhabitants' experiences and sense of belonging, supporting their health and well-being, and guiding the green transition of neighbourhoods.

Expected outcomes

• Robust evidence on how inhabitants experience their neighbourhood and how this affects their health and well-being.
• Research that informs policies, strategies, neighbourhood planning and procurement for the green transition of neighbourhoods, including their nature-positive transformation and climate resilience.

Approach

Projects are expected to follow a participatory and transdisciplinary approach. The topic requires an effective contribution from social sciences and humanities disciplines and experts. Proposals are expected to set aside at least 0.8% of their budget for engaging with the New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact, to share results and contribute to impact assessment.

When is the deadline?

1 December 2026 (26 days)

1 December 2026 (single-stage submission).