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Konstantinos Mouratidis

Konstantinos Mouratidis

Associate Professor

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0662-0158

  • Øster Voldgade 10

    1350 København K

Personal profile

Short presentation

Profile

Kostas Mouratidis is Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on the relationships between urban planning, transport, and human well-being, examining how cities can become more livable, equitable, and sustainable. He is particularly interested in the interaction between the built environment and human behavior, perception, and experience, generating knowledge used in urban and transport planning. Through his research, he has connected the interdisciplinary field of urban and transport planning with the field of subjective well-being.

He is currently working on research topics including: cities and well-being; sustainable mobility; car dependence and post-car urban transitions; walkability; the compact city and the 15-minute city; urban social sustainability; social interaction in urban space; urban vitality; perception and experience of urban space; the links between the built environment and travel behavior; and emerging mobility including autonomous vehicles, virtual mobility, and shared mobility.

His work combines quantitative methods – survey research, GIS, VR, spatial analysis, spatial statistics, advanced statistical analysis, and structural equation modeling – with qualitative approaches, including interviews, focus groups, and thematic analysis. He has also developed and tested theory and models on the built environment and subjective well-being, car dependence, travel and neighborhood satisfaction, and urban form and social relationships. Finally, he has developed methodological approaches for GIS-based analysis of walk-based accessibility and accessibility by public transport in urban regions.

Grants and projects

Kostas Mouratidis leads and contributes to a range of EU-funded and national research projects on urban planning and urban mobility. He is principal investigator for the University of Copenhagen on STEP-UP (Safe, Thriving and Engaged Pedestrians in Urban Public Spaces; Horizon MSCA-DN, 2026-2031) and is also working on the projects ELABORATOR (The European Living Lab on designing sustainable urban mobility towards climate-neutral cities; Horizon, 2023-2026) and I BELONG (interventions in the built environment targeting loneliness in young adults, funded by the Dutch Research Council, 2025-2027). He has previously led projects App Cities, REPLAN, and Compact City or Sprawl focusing on urban planning, sustainable mobility, and quality of life and contributed to the projects SOSLOKAL and WALKMORE focusing on urban social sustainability and walkability respectively.

Policy and media

His research is regularly used in public policy worldwide including quotes in policy documents and publications from the European Union, United Nations, OECD, World Bank, UK Government, Government of Spain, Government of Ireland, Government of Singapore, Government of Finland, Government of New South Wales, Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, City of Beijing, UK Parliament, Norwegian Parliament, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and State of California. His research regularly draws international media coverage, including interviews with OECD, Yale Climate Connections, Fast Company, 3sat, and NRK and press coverage from outlets including Aftenposten, VG, NRK, Jyllands-Posten, Politiken, and Morgenbladet.

Editorial and advisory roles

Kostas Mouratidis serves on the editorial boards of European Transport Studies, Transportation Research Today, and the Nordic Journal of Urban Studies, and reviews for more than twenty international journals, including Cities, Travel Behaviour and Society, Transportation Research Part A and D, Journal of Transport Geography, Sustainable Cities and Society, Transport Policy, Urban Studies, and Landscape and Urban Planning. He is also a grant panel reviewer for funding bodies FWO and IRIS Cofund in Belgium and a grant reviewer for the Swiss National Science Foundation, EU’s CHANSE programme, National Science Center in Poland, FNRS in Belgium, Luxembourg National Research Fund, and the Einstein Foundation Berlin.

Teaching and supervision

He has been teaching courses on urban planning, sustainable transport, urban mobility, as well as GIS and spatial analysis in educational programs on Geography-Geoinformatics and Urban and Regional Planning. He teaches and supervises at all levels including Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD. He has given guest lectures at, among others, University College London, Queen's University Belfast, the University of Oslo, and the University of Auckland, and has examined several PhD theses internationally.

Invited talks

He is a frequent invited speaker at academic and policy venues internationally, having given talks at institutions including Delft University of Technology, Utrecht University, University College London, University of Monterrey, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Norwegian Transport Economics Institute, University of Oslo, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Municipality of Athens, and OECD.

Publications and recognition

He is listed among the world’s Highly Cited Researchers (Clarivate, 2025, top 0.1% globally) and top 2% most-cited scientists of all time on the Stanford/Elsevier list (2025). His research, published in leading urban and transport journals such as Cities, Urban Studies, Land Use Policy, Sustainable Cities and Society, Transportation Research Part A, D & F, Travel Behaviour and Society, Landscape and Urban Planning, Transport Policy, and Journal of Transport Geography, has been cited over 7,000 times (h-index 27, i10-index 33; Google Scholar).

Education and prior appointments

Before joining the University of Copenhagen in 2023, Kostas Mouratidis held postdoctoral and research positions at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), where he also completed his PhD in Urban and Regional Planning with a thesis on the role of urban form in subjective well-being. He holds a M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a M.Eng. in Civil Engineering – Urban and Transport Planning from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Research topics

Cities and transport:
- Sustainable mobility
- Travel behavior
- Transport policies and their societal and environmental impacts
- Integrating urban and transport planning
- Urban mobility and well-being & travel satisfaction in cities
- Car dependence in cities and urban regions
- Shared mobility: bike-sharing, car-sharing, e-scooter sharing, ride-hailing
- Autonomous vehicles & autonomous public transport
- Virtual mobility, ICT and urban transport
- Walkability in cities
- Land use and travel behavior

Urban social sustainability:
- Urban planning and quality of life, livable cities, livable neighborhoods
- Cities and subjective well-being, neighborhood satisfaction, housing satisfaction
- Urban vitality
- Social relationships and social cohesion in cities
- Socio-spatial equity, neighborhood effects, assessments of local social sustainability
- Perceptions and experiences in urban spaces
- Pandemic-resilient city planning

Methodological expertise:
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Data analysis (structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, regression models)
- Survey research
- Qualitative interviews & focus groups
- Mixed methods research
- Theory development and testing
- Experiments with Virtual Reality technology

List of projects:

STEP-UP - Safe, Thriving and Engaged Pedestrians in Urban Public Spaces, MSCA DN-JD, 2026-2031  https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101312654/de

ELABORATOR - Τhe European Living Lab on designing sustainable urban mobility towards climate-neutral cities, 2023-2027 https://www.elaborator-project.eu/

I BELONG - Interventions in the Built Environment targeting LOneliness in youNG adults, 2025-2027 https://www.fontys.nl/Onderzoek/De-ondernemende-regio-1/I-BELONG.htm

WALKMORE - Making people walk more in small Norwegian cities, 2020-2024 https://www.toi.no/project-walkmore/

SOSLOKAL – Social sustainability as a new driving force in local community development, 2020-2024 https://www.sunnekommuner.no/kunnskapslaboratoriet/sosial-baerekraft

App Cities: New urban technologies, daily travel, and quality of life, 2019-2023 https://www.facebook.com/appcities/

REPLAN – Replanning neighborhoods: The influence of the built environment on quality of life in Thessaloniki and Oslo, 2020-2022 https://www.facebook.com/cities.greece

ECASS - European Cities Against School Segregation, 2019-2022 https://www.ecass.eu/

UrbanPGS - The importance of private green spaces for urban planning. A case study from Oslo, 2017-2019

Compact city or sprawl? The role of urban form in subjective well-being, 2015-2018

 

Academic profile:

Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.no/citations?user=a2OY72QAAAAJ&hl=en

Web of Science profile: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/R-1256-2019

ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kostas-Mouratidis-4

LinkedIn profile: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/kostas-mouratidis

University of Copenhagen profile: https://researchprofiles.ku.dk/en/persons/konstantinos-mouratidis
 
Publications in peer-reviewed journals:
  • Mouratidis, K. (2026). Urban planning, the built environment, and subjective well-being: A review of recent research advances. Cities, 178, 107404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2026.107404
  • Mouratidis, K. (2026). Aesthetic preferences for traditional versus contemporary architecture: Cross-national evidence from real-world buildings. Cities, 179, 107410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2026.107410
  • Papagiannakis, A., & Mouratidis, K. (2026). Who Teleworks and Does It Reduce Car Dependency? Longitudinal Evidence from Pandemic-Induced Changes in Travel Behaviour. Built Environment, 52(2), 216-238. Article link.
  • Mouratidis, K., Skov-Petersen, H., & Carstensen, T. A. (2026). On the acceptability of parking policy: Replacing on-street parking with space for street life, cycling, and vegetation in central Copenhagen. Cities, 172, 106836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2026.106836
  • Mouratidis, K. (2026). Automobility, planet, and humans: Pathways linking car use to environmental, societal, and individual well-being. Transport Policy, 178, 103984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.103984
  • Mouratidis, K. (2026). The 15-minute city revisited: A GIS approach to measuring, visualizing, and analyzing accessibility by proximity and by public transport supply. Travel Behaviour and Society, 42, 101151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2025.101151
  • Mouratidis, K., & Delclòs-Alió, X. (2026). Urban vitality versus urban livability: Does vibrancy matter for neighborhood satisfaction and neighborhood happiness? Cities, 168, 106473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.106473
  • Mouratidis, K. (2025). Reducing car dependence: benefits, strategies, unintended consequences, and future directions of post-car urban transitions. Planning Practice & Research, 40 (4), 889-910. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2025.2507325
  • Mouratidis, K., & Peters, S. (2025). Autonomous Vehicles as Public Transport: Perceptions of Risks and Opportunities for Mobility, the Environment, and Society. Journal of Urban Technology, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2025.2509532
  • Mouratidis, K. (2025). Transport and quality of life: The car and its link to subjective well-being, health, and life domains. Transport Policy, 168, 101-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.04.014
  • Hofstad, H., Dahl, C., Følling, K., Mouratidis, K., Olsen, B. O., Sagen, S. B., & Zeiner, H. H. (2025). Community Social Sustainability: Unpacking the Concept for Urban Governance and Planning. Sustainable Development, 33, (3), 3970-3984. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3327
  • Cucca, R., & Mouratidis, K. (2025). School segregation, residential patterns, and the role of school choice in an egalitarian system. The case of Oslo, Norway. Urban Research & Practice, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2025.2479619
  • Mouratidis, K., & Næss, P. (2024). Climate change concern as driver of sustainable mobility and reduced car use. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 134, 104345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104345
  • Mouratidis, K. (2024). Time to challenge the 15-minute city: Seven pitfalls for sustainability, equity, livability, and spatial analysis. Cities, 153, 105274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.105274
  • Stefánsdóttir, H., Mouratidis, K., Rynning, M. K., & Meyer, S. F. (2024). Perceived walkability and daily walking behaviour in a “small city context”–The case of Norway. Journal of Transport Geography, 121, 104014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.104014
  • Mouratidis, K., Hofstad, H., Zeiner, H. H., Sagen, S. B., Dahl, C., Følling, K. E., & Olsen, B. O. (2024). Assessing urban social sustainability with the Place Standard Tool: Measurement, findings, and guidance. Cities, 148, 104902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.104902
  • Mouratidis, K., De Vos, J., Yiannakou, A., & Politis, I. (2023). Sustainable transport modes, travel satisfaction, and emotions: Evidence from car-dependent compact cities. Travel Behaviour and Society, 33, 100613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2023.100613
  • Mouratidis, K., & Andersen, B. (2023). What makes people stay longer in the densifying city? Exploring the neighbourhood environment and social ties. Housing Studies, 39 (9), 2399-2420. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2023.2185593.
  • Mouratidis, K. (2022). Bike-sharing, car-sharing, e-scooters, and Uber: Who are the shared mobility users and where do they live? Sustainable Cities and Society. 104161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.104161
  • Mouratidis, K., & Yiannakou, A. (2022). What makes cities livable? Determinants of neighborhood satisfaction and neighborhood happiness in different contexts. Land Use Policy, 112, 105855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105855
  • Mouratidis, K. (2022). COVID-19 and the compact city: Implications for well-being and sustainable urban planning. Science of The Total Environment, 811, 152332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152332
  • Mouratidis, K., & Peters, S. (2022). COVID-19 impact on teleactivities: Role of built environment and implications for mobility. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 158, 251-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2022.03.007
  • Mouratidis, K., & Yiannakou. A., (2022). COVID-19 and urban planning: Built environment, health, and well-being in Greek cities before and during the pandemic. Cities, 121, 103491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103491
  • Mouratidis, K. (2021). How COVID-19 reshaped quality of life in cities: A synthesis and implications for urban planning. Land Use Policy, 111, 105772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105772
  • Mouratidis, K. (2021). Urban planning and quality of life: A review of pathways linking the built environment to subjective well-being. Cities, 115, 103229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103229
  • De Vos, J., Mouratidis, K., Cheng, L., & Kamruzzaman, M. (2021). Does a residential relocation enable satisfying travel? Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 153, 188-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2021.09.006
  • Mouratidis, K., & Papagiannakis, A. (2021). COVID-19, internet, and mobility: The rise of telework, telehealth, e-learning, and e-shopping. Sustainable Cities and Society, 74, 103182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103182
  • Mouratidis, K., Peters, S., & van Wee, B. (2021). Transportation technologies, sharing economy, and teleactivities: Implications for built environment and travel. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 92, 102716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.102716
  • Mouratidis, K., & Cobeña Serrano, V. (2021). Autonomous buses: Intentions to use, passenger experiences, and suggestions for improvement. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 76, 321-335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.12.007
  • Mouratidis, K., & Poortinga, W. (2020). Built environment, urban vitality and social cohesion: Do vibrant neighborhoods foster strong communities? Landscape and Urban Planning, 204, 103951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103951
  • Mouratidis, K. (2020). Book review: Gendering Smart Mobilities, Tanu Priya Uteng, Hilda Rømer Christensen, Lena Levin (Eds.), Routledge, London (2020). Journal of Transport Geography, 87, 102801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102801
  • Mouratidis, K. (2020). Commute satisfaction, neighborhood satisfaction, and housing satisfaction as predictors of subjective well-being and indicators of urban livability. Travel Behaviour and Society, 21, 265-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2020.07.006
  • Mouratidis, K. (2020). Neighborhood characteristics, neighborhood satisfaction, and well-being: The links with neighborhood deprivation. Land Use Policy, 99, 104886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104886
  • Mouratidis, K., & Hassan, R. (2020). Contemporary versus traditional styles in architecture and public space: A virtual reality study with 360-degree videos. Cities, 97, 102499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102499
  • Mouratidis, K., Ettema, D., & Næss, P. (2019). Urban form, travel behavior, and travel satisfaction. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 129, 306-320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.002  
  • Mouratidis, K. (2019). Built environment and leisure satisfaction: The role of commute time, social interaction, and active travel. Journal of Transport Geography, 80, 102491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.102491  
  • Mouratidis, K. (2019). The impact of urban tree cover on perceived safety. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 44, 126434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126434   
  • Mouratidis, K. (2019). Compact city, urban sprawl, and subjective well-being. Cities, 92, 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.04.013
  • Mouratidis, K. (2018). Built environment and social well-being: How does urban form affect social life and personal relationships? Cities, 74, 7-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.10.020
  • Mouratidis, K. (2018). Is compact city livable? The impact of compact versus sprawled neighbourhoods on neighbourhood satisfaction. Urban Studies, 55 (11), 2408-2430. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098017729109
  • Mouratidis, K. (2018). Rethinking how built environments influence subjective well-being: a new conceptual framework. Journal of Urbanism, 11 (1), 24-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2017.1310749

Book chapters:

  • Mouratidis, K. Pathways from Compact City to Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Oslo, Norway (2024). In R. Marans & R. Stimson (Eds.), Handbook of Quality of Life Research: Place and Space Perspectives. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789908794.00019
  • Mouratidis, K. (2024). Cities and Happiness: Past, present and future. In H. Brockmann & R. Fernandez-Urbano (Eds.), New Encyclopedia of Happiness and Subjective Well-Being. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800889675.00039

Scientific reports:

  • Hofstad, H., Mouratidis, K., Zeiner, H. H., Følling, K.E., & Olsen, B.O. (2023). Hva er lokal, sosial bærekraft? Erfaringer fra Fredrikstad. (What is local social sustainability? Experiences from Fredriskstad). Oslo: By- og regionforskningsinstituttet NIBR, OsloMet – Storbyuniversitetet. https://oda.oslomet.no/oda-xmlui/handle/11250/3105831
  • Hofstad, H., Mouratidis, K., Sagen, S. B., Dahl, C., & Zeiner, H. H. (2022). Hva er lokal, sosial bærekraft? Erfaringer fra Stavanger. Oslo: By- og regionforskningsinstituttet NIBR, OsloMet – Storbyuniversitetet. https://oda.oslomet.no/oda-xmlui/handle/11250/3016058
  • Mouratidis, K., Rynning, M., Stefansdottir, H., Ingebrigtsen, R., & Meyer, S. (2022). Walking in small cities: Findings from Narvik, Steinkjer and Kongsvinger. Arbeidsdokument 51882. Oslo: Transportøkonomisk institutt (TØI).
  • Hofstad, H., Mouratidis, K., Sagen, S. B., & Zeiner, H. H. (2021). Erfaringer etter gjennomførte hovedaktiviteter i Kristiansand. Oslo: By- og regionforskningsinstituttet NIBR, OsloMet – storbyuniversitetet. https://oda.oslomet.no/oda-xmlui/handle/11250/2835023
  • Mouratidis, K. (2021). Urban mobility and green space in Thessaloniki: Residents’ views. Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. DOI: 10.26262/heal.auth.ir.338785. https://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/338785/

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