About the Centre for Urban Wellbeing

With rising levels of regional and spatial inequalities and an increase in interest in urban-rural differences in wellbeing and the future of cities, urban wellbeing is an important research agenda. Understanding and tackling urban wellbeing inequalities is key to this. Urban wellbeing inequalities can take many forms – from basic income inequalities, to health and housing inequalities, to differences in experiences of and access to green spaces and quality urban environments.

Our research centre brings together academics from across the University of Birmingham to tackle global challenges to community health and wellbeing.

Our main research areas are:

• Community Health
• Wellbeing Economies
• Community, Policy and Power
• Imagining Wellbeing
• Sustainable, Liveable and Resilient Cities

More than half the world’s population now live in urban areas, according to UN estimates this is set to grow to two-thirds by 2050. Urban-led change needs to be grounded in understandings of interventions within complex systems. How do we advance a research agenda that addresses the challenges of urban wellbeing and community health?

• Which new research questions need developing and asking?
• What frameworks and concepts can facilitate more systems thinking in urban wellbeing?
• How can new measures be developed to effectively evaluate systemic outcomes?
• Which academic disciplines might, working together, bring new and novel research insights?
• How can academics work collaboratively with policy makers and service providers to co-produce research which is both applicable and impactful on the ground?

The Centre for Urban Wellbeing draws together research across many areas, including physical, social and mental wellbeing, ageing, behaviour change, political and cultural economic theory, environmental and health sciences, digital technologies, historical and literary investigations on embodiment, compassion and care, and urban planning and infrastructures. This multi-disciplinary research provides new insight into the ways in which we live in and interact with our urban environment, and will help ensure that local solutions can be shaped by the best-informed global research and evidence.

Centre for Urban Wellbeing - Virtual Open Door Session 2026

We held our CUWb Open Doors Session on 12th March 2026 showcasing our inclusive collaborations. Our guest speaker, Gary Leeming, Director of Liverpool City Region Civic Data Co-operative presented their work on civic health innovation labs, the process of co-developing the Liverpool Data and AI Charter and work with CUWb theme lead, Dr Gianfranco Polizzi on community-led wellbeing data hubs in Widness.

Co-director Laura Kudrna and long-standing Advisory Board member, Liz Zeidler spoke about the value that CUWb has brought to making new connections with researchers, holding sustainable partnerships in between periods of funding, building trust and visibility, and combining different strengths and perspectives symbiotically.

CUWb theme leads, Susanne Boerner, Afroditi Stathi, Joanne Leach, Laura Kudrna, Koen Bartels, Carl Stevenson, Dorothy Butchard and Gianfranco Polizzi then provided summaries of a wealth of research and engagement activity including:

• new programmes of research on more-than-human wellbeing, community arts practice, workplace wellbeing
• principles and diverse value systems which shape definitions of wellbeing, economic assumptions and urban governance conflicts including housing struggles
• robust trials, interventions and evaluations at the intersections of workplaces, health, built environment and mobility research
• the boundaries of action research and civic organising to bring civic priorities directly to those who seek formal political power
• providing evidence to policy makers on digital and media literacy
• Cultivating seed funding for new empirical studies of chatbots and youth mental health, worldbuilding and wellbeing in videogaming and community arts

Virtual Open Door Session 2026 slides (Powerpoint – 199Mb)

Gary Leeming - Civic Data Cooperative (PDF –1.2Mb)

Imagining Wellbeing Theme (PDF – 2Mb)