Background: Healthy urban environments require careful planning and a testing of environmental quality that goes beyond statutory requirements. Moreover, it requires the inclusion of resident views, perceptions and experiences that help deepen the understanding of local (public health) problems. To facilitate this, neighbourhoods should be mapped in a way that is relevant to them. One way to do this is participative neighbourhood auditing. This paper provides an insight into availability and characteristics of participatory neighbourhood audit instruments. Methods: A scoping review in scientific and grey literature, consisting of the following steps: literature search, identification and selection of relevant audit instruments, data extraction and data charting (including a work meeting to discuss outputs), reporting. Results: In total, 13 participatory instruments were identified. The role of residents in most instruments was as ‘data collectors’; only few instruments included residents in other audit activities like problem definition or analysis of data. The instruments identified focus mainly on physical, not social, neighbourhood characteristics. Paper forms containing closed-ended questions or scales were the most often applied registration method. Conclusions: The results show that neighbourhood auditing could be improved by including social aspects in the audit tools. They also show that the role of residents in neighbourhood auditing is limited; however, little is known about how their engagement takes place in practice. Developers of new instruments need to balance not only social and physical aspects, but also resident engagement and scientific robustness. Technologies like mobile applications pose new opportunities for participative approaches in neighbourhood auditing.
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This study investigates how destination social responsibility (DSR) improves resident quality of life (QOL) through the lenses of signaling theory and emotional solidarity theory. The study demonstrates the mediating role of resident emotional solidarity toward the destination and the moderating roles of disclosure tone and visual messages. Three experiments indicate that continuous (vs. one-time) DSR positively affects resident emotional solidarity and QOL, whereas emotional solidarity has a mediating role. Emotional solidarity elicited by continuous (vs. one-time) DSR is significantly higher when the disclosure tone of DSR is vivid (vs. pallid). However, when DSR is disclosed using visual messages, emotional solidarity effects of DSR types are not different in vivid tone but have significant differences in pallid tone. This study expands the application of signaling theory and emotional solidarity theory to resident QOL studies and provides suggestions on improving residents’ QOL through DSR.
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Offering physical activities matching with the preferences of residents in long-term care facilities could increase compliance and contribute to client-centered care. A measure to investigate meaningful activities by using a photo-interview has been developed (“MIBBO”). In two pilot studies including 133 residents living on different wards in long-term care facilities, feasibility, most chosen activities, and consistency of preferences were investigated. It was possible to conduct the MIBBO on average in 30 min with the majority (86.4%) of residents. The most frequently chosen activities were: gymnastics and orchestra (each 28%), preparing a meal (31%), walking (outside, 33%), watering plants (38%), and feeding pets (40%). In a retest one week after the initial interview 69.4% agreement of chosen activities was seen. The MIBBO seems a promising measure to help health care professionals in identifying residents’ preferred activities. Future research should focus on the implementation of the tailored activity plan, incorporating it into the daily routine.
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Client: ERA-NET Cofund Smart Cities and Communities, JPI Urban EuropeUrban tourism generates income for cities and create opportunities for its businesses and employment for its residents. However, it can also lead to overcrowding, pollution, noise and numerous other problems, thus reducing quality of life for residents and other local stakeholders and potentially leading to public discontent. This project introduces SCITHOS as a concept that consists of guidelines and tools to help cities find solutions to make the transition towards environmentally and socially responsible urban tourism that simultaneously contributes to long-term prosperity.Within SCTHOS this is done by combining hospitality principles, simulation tools, apps and serious gaming techniques to support policymakers and other stakeholders in generating collaborative deep reflections about barriers to sustainable urban tourism and the need for transition or adaptation strategies. The project supports the assessment of intervention strategies based on an interactive simulation-supported multi-stakeholder approach that triggers social learning and behavior change, while stimulating shared governance and smart citizenship.Guidelines/ tools and the full concept are developed through a series of living labs and field experiments in participating cities. What is more, a Smart City Hospitality network is set up to ensure accessibility to this concept, including all tools and experiences with using them. The final results of the projects are presented 10 and 11 September 2019 in Vienna, as a pre-session to the popular annual Tourism conference (TOURMIS).
The overarching aim of the project is to contribute to the development of a sustainable, inclusive and just EU leisure, tourism and hospitality ecosystems, and will be achieved through three interrelated objectives:Create a body of knowledge and theoretical foundations, related to the application of land, capital and financial resources, to develop resilient and future-proof tourism destinations and tourism and travel businesses;Develop conceptual models that contribute towards collective models of resilience in tourism destinations and tourism and travel businesses and are based on equitable use of labour, land and natural resources and financial capital;Propose, through approved EU funding, interventions and applications towards new models of tourism destination management and corporate governance, that use sustainable parameters of success (regeneration of biodiversity and nature, improved human welfare of residents at destinations, social and environmental returns).The Project will lead to a series of research proposals that allows the consortium partners to address urgent societal challenges in Europe. During the project timeline, partners will disseminate findings and search for engagement by public and private actors. Ongoing collaboration and knowledge exchange with key industry actors will improve the resilience capacity of destinations through education, skill development, and co-creation of knowledge. Building resilience through tourism is not just an opportunity but a necessity in the face of global environmental and social challenges. The project will establish theoretical foundations for transitioning towards more resilient and environmentally and socially just ecosystems in the leisure, tourism, and hospitality sectors, aiming to shift the industry’s priorities from short-term gains to long-term sustainability. The project supports international collaboration by facilitating university staff mobility and involving students with diverse cultural, industry, and academic backgrounds and experiences. The successful application and completion of the project will strengthen the consortium's capacities and facilitate the ongoing international dialogue through the Resilient Tourism Ecosystems Lab (RTEL), consequently leading to future collaborative EU grant applications.
In the small village of Nuenen in the Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh, the legendary artist, resided with his parents for two years in the late 19th century. Today, visitors can literally walk in Vincent’s footsteps and hear stories about that period of his life. There is also a renovated indoor museum in the village showcasing many beautiful and inspiring objects.We carefully studied the visitor experience over two rounds of data collection: one in 2018 and another in 2023 after the museum's renovation. In the second round, 40 students from Breda University of Applied Sciences were invited to spend a day in Nuenen. The participants, aged mostly between 20 and 30 years, came from the Netherlands and 16 other countries. None of them had visited the previous museum setup in Nuenen, although two-thirds had visited at least one other Vincent-centered attraction or had researched Vincent and his life prior to the visit.During their visit, research participants were tracked using Bluetooth beacons (indoors) and GPS tracking (outdoors), while wearing wristbands that measured their level of emotional engagement in real time. They toured the museum and the village and provided feedback on their experience through questionnaires administered before and after the visit.The results of the research showed that visitors were emotionally touched at certain stops of the tour more than others, enjoyed interacting with specific elements in the museum, and spent more time in particular areas of the museum. Most participants could vividly imagine themselves back in the days (narrative transportation), felt closer to Nuenen residents as a result of the visit, and generally found the visit to be quite meaningful. Learning and self-expansion were high, with some visitors even finding the visit transformative, leading to changes in attitude, behavior, and identities. We also found a strong correlation between these measures and the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Recommendations and emotion maps were presented to the museum as they continue to refine their visitor experiences.Research carried out for Van Gogh Village Museum Nunen.
