Grasping the Multifaceted Nature of Urban Wellbeing: Trends, Insights, and Perspectives from a Literature Review

The connection of people’s wellbeing and quality of life with the urban environments is gaining growing relevance as a research theme worldwide. This paper presents the results of a literature review on urban wellbeing (UWB) and urban quality of life (UQoL) which investigates these fields of study through research questions aimed at generating new insights for their evolution. Four main investigation pathways were followed: i. thematic, aimed at analyzing the literature through AI support in order to individuate the main research topics addressed; ii. semantic, aimed at analyzing the relations among the topics detected in order to let their prevalent connections emerge; iii. methodological, aimed at scouting the integrated use of a. objective/subjective data, b. top-down/bottom-up approaches, and c. quantitative/qualitative research; and iv. geographic, aimed at exploring local differences (thematic, semantic, methodological) across macro-areas worldwide. Results allowed to explore the multidimensional, multilevel and emplaced character of UWB and UQoL, as well as the state of the art of the research with respect to the three methodological criteria adopted, which led to the identification of possible spaces for innovation. An updated investigation framework for pursuing the evolution of these fields of study is outlined, as well as its implications for a more reflexive urban science.