The senses place us in an environment, they impact on individual’s emotional, psychological and bodily well-being. Paying attention to the sensory landscape supports understanding the interplay between people and their surroundings. Incursions into urban space such as the introduction of new pavements, the addition or removal of trees, the sand-blasting of a building façade transforms the sensescapes of a place and the quality of experience. Sensescapes, urban atmospheres or place experiences are increasingly managed and consciously arranged in contemporary cities. Planners, architects, urban designers and other urban professionals play a key role in shaping this process.

In our network these urban professionals called for the need of a sensory think-kit: a device that would help and support assessing the sensory experiences evoked by the material environments to be able to assess the impact of urban change on place-making. A think-kit that would support thinking through different devices to map the senses and foster a deeper participatory consultation process.