Towards the Neuroinclusive City: A Critical Examination of Neuro-Urban Geographies with Young Londoners

A growing global Neurodiversity Movement has increased collective consciousness among neurodivergent urban youth, who experience built environments distinctly from neurotypical people. However, such experiences have received scant attention in urban geography, planning and cognate fields. This research readdresses this oversight by

engaging young people in Hackney and Waltham Forest, both aiming to become neuroinclusive, 'mind-friendly' London boroughs following the London Assembly's recent calls for a citywide neurodiversity strategy. It investigates the principal question of how a more neurodiverse understanding of urban experience can develop inclusive

concepts and planning practices of benefit not only to neurodivergent young people but also the wider communities in which they live. Data collected via participatory diaries of young Londoners' everyday urban experiences, alongside site visits to pioneering projects using neuroinclusive planning principles will inform

development of an online survey. This will examine a wide range of young Londoners' experiences to advance critical understanding of the neuroinclusive city and its potential. Engaging a growing policy agenda for 'child-friendly' cities, within which geographers emphasise young people's affective, sensory and experiential lives, alongside

methodological practices centred on the politics of empathy, this project will make important contributions across interdisciplinary urban scholarship and policy communities.