Jan Martijn Eekhof

Urban designer and human geographer with a background in Human Geography and Planning (University of Groningen) and Urbanism (Amsterdam Academy of Architecture).

My work and research focus on the relationship between urban space and mental wellbeing, with particular attention to small-scale, everyday places in the city that can support rest, recovery, and regulation.

My PhD research explores how such spaces function as ‘restorative spaces’, and how spatial, sensory, and social conditions relate to the ways these places are experienced and used by different types of users in varying situations.

My approach connects urban design, planning, and environmental psychology, combining design-based research with empirical analysis. It aims to contribute to a more fine-grained and context-sensitive understanding of restoration in urban environments, and to design principles that support calmness and mental resilience in everyday urban life.