Urban design practice today is focused on creating robust, resilient, and sustainable cities. “The green city,” and “the biophilic city” are popular and familiar contemporary design frameworks, which promote urban environments with a strong connection to the natural world. Through many years of research and implementation of “green city” ideas, we know that efforts, such as expanding urban plantings, supporting naturalized waterways, and increasing biodiversity within our urban environments are proven ways to create beautiful places with healthier and happier residents. At MYK we believe in creating healthy cities that are green, unpolluted, and resilient, as well as empowering, safe, and congenial. To understand how design can more thoughtfully center human health and wellness, we apply “green city” principles to our projects, while also interpreting user needs through a novel framework – that of “the emotional city.”

“The emotional city” lens reads the city not only as a physical, ecological system, but also as a collective and emotional space driven by the inner lives and needs of its residents. The “emotional city” sees urban spaces as catalysts for shared feeling, where residents can come together to express themselves, care for each other, and heal. Cities are, after all, places in which people gather to joyfully celebrate sports and political wins, grieve shared losses, express awe during fairs and exhibitions, and project fear and rage through protest. Reading and designing projects through “the emotional city” lens asks us how landscape architecture and urban planning can address not only people’s basic physical needs (like safety from natural disasters, thermal comfort, and clean water), but their emotional needs (such as robust community, creative expression, safe spaces for repose, and opportunities for play across age groups). Critically thinking about the non-physical needs of the collective in urban design can be a powerful means through which to expand our toolkit for addressing the many needs of many minds.