"Human-centered urban planning is key in supporting a healthy living environment"

Astrid Kemperman is a full Professor of Urban Planning & Healthy Living at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Her research and education focuses on urban planning and management to transform the conditions of the physical and social environment in which people live, work, travel, and play. People’s access to facilities and services, and their ability to develop healthy lifestyles and strong social networks are strongly affected by their environment. Thus, planning outcomes are key factors determining health, well-being, and quality of life of people in cities. Recent digital technological innovations can also be a key enabler to further promote strong beneficial connections between the physical and social environment and people’s activity patterns resulting in greater health and well-being. Yet, this same new technology also raises many new questions for urban planning, for example, how to combine physical and digital infrastructures to benefit disadvantaged groups in society. Her research agenda develops along three distinct, but interrelated themes:

1. Active living environments
2. Connected communities
3. Responsible tourism

Astrid’s research is supported by scientific European and national grants, as well as through cooperative grants with policymakers and industry partners. Examples of her research include the C-Space project on the development of a smart tourist recommender system; the SOULMATE project aiming to secure mobility of the aging population by offering augmented reality training experiences; the GOAL project with a focus on gamification to achieve overweight prevention and active lifestyle; and the HealthyW8 project integrating lifestyle, environmental, and psychological aspects to develop a holistic healthy lifestyle recommender system and an emotions-aware human digital twin.

Astrid Kemperman has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals (>90 scientific publications and >100 conference papers). She is an associate editor of Annals of Tourism Research and serves as a Curator for the Annals Curated Collection: Discrete Choice Experiments in Tourism. She is also an editorial board member of the European Journal of Tourism Research and Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights and has acted as a reviewer for many other journals. She is a regular visiting research fellow at the University of Queensland Business School in Australia, where she collaborates on research on livable and sustainable tourism environments.

Professor Kemperman obtained her PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology. She was an assistant and associate professor at the Urban Planning Group before being promoted to full professor.

She teaches a variety of courses on urban planning and methodology at the bachelor, master, and engineering doctorate levels including ‘Smart healthy urban environments’ and ‘Big data for urban and transportation analysis’. She supervises a team of PhDs & EngDs in the research domain of smart healthy living.

Professor Kemperman has been actively involved in administration as a member and chair of a variety of committees at the departmental and university level. Currently, she is the Scientific Director of the Engineering Doctorate (EngD) program Smart Buildings & Cities, and Chair of the unit Urban Systems & Real Estate