The role of emotion in urban development decision-making: A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of decision-makers

Abstract

People's feelings about their neighbourhoods are important for health, but they may be undervalued in urban development decision-making. This study explores how decision-makers understand and respond to residents' emotions. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on a secondary dataset consisting of 123 interviews with influential professionals in urban development decision-making. We developed three themes and one subtheme: ‘(mis)understanding residents’ emotions', ‘neglecting the health impact of positive emotions’, ‘avoidance of emotion in community engagement’ and ‘sanitized emotions’. We recommend decision-makers engage directly with residents' emotions during urban development processes to ensure healthier place-making.