Sensory and Embodied Urban Belonging: A Design-Based Study of an Audio Walk for International Students in Copenhagen
Author
Cai, Yiyi
Term
4. semester
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-25
Pages
153
Abstract
This thesis explores how a sense of belonging can grow from the ways people move and use their senses in the city. It focuses on international students in Copenhagen within the setting of Aalborg University Copenhagen. The study examines how everyday movement, perception, and simple acts of paying attention—to sounds, sights, textures, and the body—shape feelings of belonging in an unfamiliar place. The project uses Design-Based Research, an approach that cycles through designing, testing, and reflecting. As part of this process, an audio walk was created: a guided walk delivered through headphones with short prompts. These prompts invite participants to slow down, notice their bodily movement, and attend to the surrounding environment, rather than moving only in task-focused and habitual ways. The findings suggest that belonging can emerge not only from social networks and cultural familiarity, but also from sensory attention, embodied movement, and the relationship between body and place. Rather than proposing a single solution, the thesis shows how design interventions can create supportive conditions in which experiences of belonging may arise.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan en følelse af at høre til kan vokse frem gennem den måde, mennesker bevæger sig på og bruger sanserne i byen. Fokus er på internationale studerende i København i regi af Aalborg Universitet København. Studiet ser på, hvordan hverdagsbevægelser, perception og simpel opmærksomhed på lyde, synsindtryk, berøring og kroppen former oplevelser af tilhør i et ukendt sted. Projektet anvender designbaseret forskning (Design-Based Research), en tilgang med gentagne forløb af design, afprøvning og refleksion. Som led heri blev der udviklet en lydvandring: en guidet gåtur via høretelefoner med korte beskeder. Beskederne inviterer deltagerne til at sænke tempoet, mærke deres kropslige bevægelse og lægge mærke til omgivelserne, i stedet for kun at bevæge sig mål- og opgaveorienteret. Resultaterne peger på, at tilhør ikke kun opstår gennem sociale netværk og kulturel genkendelighed, men også gennem sanseopmærksomhed, kropslig bevægelse og det relationelle møde mellem krop og sted. I stedet for at tilbyde en entydig løsning viser specialet, hvordan designgreb kan skabe betingelser, hvor oplevelser af tilhør kan opstå.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords