Despite a growing body of research evidence on the dynamic role urban beauty plays in the economy and social geography of cities, there is a paucity of contemporary literature offering urban practitioners a practical toolkit to quantify and map urban beauty. This PhD presents such a model, the design and construction of an ‘Urban Beauty Composite Index’.

Drawing upon diverse literature on urban beauty in landscape architecture, environmental aesthetics, urban design amongst others, multiple variables were identified and operationalized to inform the composite index. These include amongst others, greenery, public space, and historic fabric.

Two cities, Tel Aviv-Yafo, and Dublin were chosen to validate the research. This validation was done through photographic image rating. The validation results suggest a meaningful relationship between the variables and urban beauty in both cities.

Contact information: Paul Kearns|  054-9578600 | mail: Pauljameskearns@gmail.com