International Association for People-Environment Studies (IAPS) Conference 2026
Sustainability as wellbeing:
Towards healthy, green, and equitable communities
29 June - 3 July 2026, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
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Transition towards sustainable lifestyles requires innovative, just, and holistic actions. At this conference, we turned the spotlight on the deep connections between the health of people, communities, and societies, and the health of the planet and its ecosystems, in pursuit of inclusive and equitable solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
The conference programme is available here and the Book of Abstracts can be downloaded here.
Our vision for the conference
Eleanor Ratcliffe and Birgitta Gatersleben
IAPS conferences happen every two years and are major international, interdisciplinary meeting places for people-environment researchers. This is a key opportunity to share cutting-edge research on transactions between people and their physical surroundings, and gain new knowledge about theories, evidence, applications, and methods in this area. We were honoured to be joined by internationally recognised keynote speakers, individually and in a discussion panel format.
Beyond the sharing of knowledge, one of the great strengths of IAPS is its ability to bring people together, for example in our Early Career Researcher Workshop, during the scientific programme, and in conversations over coffee or dinner. Chance meetings at these conferences often become valued friendships and collaborations. Whether this was your first time at IAPS or your twentieth, we hope that you found your community with us in 2026.
We embedded our Guiding Principles of environmental sustainability, knowledge co-production, and equity, diversity and inclusion into the planning and delivery of IAPS 2026. As a result, we hope that you found this a supportive, inclusive, and accessible event that strove to balance environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
Keynote speakers
Professor Jenny Roe
Mary Irene DeShong Professor Emerita of Design and Health, University of Virginia, USA
Jenny is also a Visiting Professor at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, and Honorary Professor at The Research Centre for Urban Studies (RCUS), Heriot Watt University, UK.
An environmental psychologist and former head of Landscape Architecture for an international architectural practice, Professor Jenny Roe writes, lectures, and consults for a wide range of academic and public audiences on human health-centered design for the built environment. She is an expert in restorative environments that support mental health including an important role for public parks and urban green space. Her book on this subject, Restorative Cities: Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing (Roe and McCay, 2021) explores a new way of designing cities that puts mental health at the forefront. A companion book under development will set out an evidence-based approach for designing interiors for mental health, Restorative Architecture, the Science of Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing (Bloomsbury, 2027).
Professor Marketta Kyttä
Professor in Land Use Planning, Aalto University, Finland
Professor Marketta Kyttä has her background in environmental psychology and participatory planning. Her research covers various topics: child- and human-friendly environments; environments that promote wellbeing and health; urban lifestyles; perceived safety; and new methods for public participation. Currently, her multidisciplinary research team concentrates on place-based person—environment research with public participation GIS methodology. The team has worked on numerous real-life public participation projects in cities in Finland. Professor Kyttä’s work aims to integrate the fields of land use and transportation planning without forgetting the human focus.
Dr. Charles Ogunbode
Assistant Professor in Applied Psychology,
University of Nottingham, UK
Dr. Charles Ogunbode completed his PhD in Psychology at the University of St Andrews and specialises in the psychological dimensions of climate change and sustainability. His research explores how emotions, values, and social identities shape the way people respond to environmental issues around the world. Dr Ogunbode has published widely on topics such as environmental experiences and attitudes, climate anxiety, and public understanding of climate justice. He is recognised for his internationally-minded research and for promoting perspectives from the Global South.
Keynote Discussion Panel
We hosted a keynote discussion panel on the topic of healthy, sustainable, and inclusive cities. Chaired by Prof. Birgitta Gatersleben, the panel comprised the speakers below, representing perspectives from research, policy, and practice.
Derviš Hadžimuhamedović
Project Manager at the Department for Sustainable Development of the City of Sarajevo
Derviš Hadžimuhamedović works on advancing green, sustainable, and inclusive urban transformation, with a focus on urban regeneration and the role of public space in shaping more liveable cities. His work connects climate action, data-informed approaches, and citizen participation to support locally grounded change.
Dr. Jonathan Reeves
Principal Research Officer (Health & Wellbeing) WWT - The charity for wetlands and wildlife, UK
Jonathan Reeves studies the social dimensions of wetland restoration — examining how wetlands can be created or restored in both urban and rural settings, and how different forms of wetland nature engagement, such as ‘blue’ social prescribing, can most effectively promote health and wellbeing across all segments of society.
Professor Linda Steg
Professor of Environmental Psychology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Linda Steg studies what motivates people to act sustainably. She regularly serves as an expert consultant for policy makers and practitioners on strategies and conditions for behavioural change, relating to environmental policies and sustainable energy use. She is ranked by Thomson Reuters as one of the “world’s most influential scientific minds” within the category “Social Sciences – General”.
Daniel Iacofano, PhD
President, CEO, and Co-founder, MIG, Inc., USA
Daniel Iacofano has worked with hundreds of communities and organisations worldwide on a great variety of projects - from restoring rivers and managing natural resources to developing downtowns and repurposing public agencies, reflecting Daniel’s desire to connect people with places and each other while enhancing liveability and sustainability.
Get to know Surrey
The University of Surrey was established in 1966. It has an enrolment of over 15,000 students, makes a £1.8 billion contribution to the UK economy, and is a leading university in terms of sustainability, student satisfaction, and graduate employability.
IAPS 2026 was held on our green, biodiverse Stag Hill campus in Guildford, approximately a 30-minute train journey from London.
We hope you enjoyed this opportunity to visit Guildford and the nearby Surrey Hills National Landscape, a protected area of natural beauty known for its trails, woodlands, and grasslands. You can explore the campus and some of our local attractions using the links below.
- Campus map (PDF)
- Take a virtual tour of our campus
- Our Guildford location: Highlights and take a video tour of the town centre
- Visit Surrey: What’s on in and around Guildford
Programme
IAPS 2026 took place on University of Surrey’s Stag Hill campus, about a 25-minute walk from university accommodation on Manor Park. Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the Scientific Programme were held in Rik Medlik and Austin Pearce buildings, situated next to each other. Catering during the day included coffees, teas, cold drinks, and a buffet lunch with vegetarian and vegan options.
The Conference Programme is available here and the IAPS 2026 Book of Abstracts is available here. For sustainability reasons we provided the programme online and not in paper copy.
Instructions for presenters (talks and posters) are available here
Session chairs: Within the individual oral presentation sessions, we typically allocated the last speaker the role of session chair. Guidance for chairs is available here.
Social events
Welcome Reception, Monday 29 June, 18:30-20:00. Included in your registration fee, the Welcome Reception offered drinks and canapés, including vegetarian and vegan options. Click here to see the menu. It was hosted at Guildford Cathedral, approximately a 10-minute walk away from the conference buildings. While the Cathedral is a religious building, the Reception event was entirely secular, and we hope that everyone felt welcome in the space.
Film screening of Wilding, Tuesday 30 June, 18:30-19:45. We offered a screening of the British documentary film Wilding (2023). Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book by the same title, Wilding tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate. The young couple battles entrenched tradition, and dares to place the fate of their farm in the hands of nature.
Campus biodiversity walk, Thursday 2 July, 18:00-19:00. We offered the opportunity to join Iain Main, University of Surrey's Sports Groundsman and Landscape Manager, for a walk and talk session around the beautiful campus.
Conference Dinner, Thursday 2 July, 19:00-22:00. Included in the registration fee, the Conference Dinner was held in our Marquee on Stag Hill campus. We offered a plant-based Indian ‘street food’ style buffet from award-winning local caterer Mandira’s Kitchen. Click here to see the menu.
Awards
During IAPS 2026 we presented the following awards:
IAPS Hall of Fame Award: Prof. David Canter
This year, IAPS was honoured to welcome Professor David Canter into the IAPS Hall of Fame. This award recognises David’s exceptional contribution to environment-behaviour studies and his distinguished legacy in research, teaching, and practice. David Canter was nominated for the IAPS Hall of Fame by Professors Gary W. Evans, Mirilia Bonnes and Ricardo García Mira.
David Canter’s legacy in environment-behaviour studies is both foundational and far-reaching. Over more than half a century, he has shaped the field through pioneering theories and methods for understanding human transactions with built and natural environments, from his early work on office design and architectural psychology to his landmark book The Psychology of Place. He established the MSc in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey, co-founded the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and played a central role in the creation and development of IAPS, while mentoring generations of scholars through his teaching, supervision and international leadership. His influence also extended beyond environmental psychology into investigative and forensic psychology, where he demonstrated the profound importance of place.
IAPS ECR Awards
The winner of the ECR Best Paper Award receives a five-year IAPS membership, a certificate, and €250. The winner(s) of the ECR Excellent Research Proposal(s) receive a two-year IAPS membership, a certificate, and €100.
- Winner of the IAPS ECR Best Paper Award 2026: Ki Tong, University of Edinburgh (“Beyond the physical garden: A bottom-up approach to designing socio-ecological nature interventions in care homes”).
- Winner of the IAPS ECR Excellent Research Proposal 2026: Jimin Choi, Swansea University (“Urban mobility transition in the era of radical populism”)
Best Poster Awards
These awards are sponsored by the British Psychological Society’s Environmental Psychology Section. The winner of the Best Poster Prize receives a certificate and a £50 retail voucher, and the winner(s) of the Runners‑up Prizes receives a certificate and a £25 retail voucher.
- Winner of the Best Poster Award 2026: Charlotte Emig, Technical University Munich (“Where humans meet nature: Biodiversity and crowding effects on psychological restoration in natural environments”)
Runners-up for Best Poster Award 2026
- Dr. Amy Isham, Swansea University (“Nature Nurture: Using participatory Ripple Effects Mapping to capture change in people and place from a community conservation and wellbeing programme”)
- Rhoslyn Davies, University of Surrey (“Environmental ambassadors or stewards? Examining identity change through wildlife travel experiences”).
Guiding Principles
We committed to making IAPS 2026 as inclusive, accessible, sustainable, and co-produced as possible. To support this, we adopted a set of Guiding Principles to enable us to embed considerations and actions related to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), Knowledge Co-Production (KCP) and Environmental Sustainability (ES) into IAPS conference decision-making and delivery.
- EDI initiatives are vital in helping create diverse and inclusive environments, where everyone feels safe, welcome and able to participate
- KCP approaches are important for facilitating meaningful inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives, including the redistribution of power across roles, career stages and sectors
- ES considerations are crucial for ensuring that activities related to people-environment research and practice are of minimal environmental impact (or at least reduced, as compared to ‘business-as-usual'
Why do we have Guiding Principles?
Academic conferences can offer valuable career development opportunities, but they can also have a significant environmental impact (e.g., Bjørkdahl & Duharte 2022; Higham & Font, 2020), and create systemic challenges for many scholars (e.g., Cohen et al 2019). These realities can create tensions for conference organisers and attendees, and this is something we addressed in the planning and delivery of IAPS 2026.
Our approach was based on the ACCESS Guiding Principles (Barr et al., 2023), which is a framework that advocates for an integrated approach to considering issues related to EDI, KCP and ES. However, the approach is not prescriptive, as there will sometimes be trade-offs between these principles, especially when there are external constraints (e.g., on time or resources). Instead, we encouraged all those involved in organising IAPS 2026 to engage in open dialogue and reflexive, contextual decision-making to co-agree how best to enact all three principles in their area of work.
The Guiding Principles Committee
Our Guiding Principles committee acted as an advisory group for everyone involved with planning IAPS 2026. The Chair was Anna Bornioli, supported by Sarah Golding, Tamala Anderson, Hebba Haddad, Michael Hassell and Birgitta Gatersleben.
Members of the Guiding Principles committee sat on all other organising committees for IAPS 2026. This facilitated timely communication and helped ensure the Guiding Principles were considered within all areas of activity.
Areas of Focus
As conference planning progressed, we focused our efforts on key activity areas in conference organisation. Our goal was to help reduce the environmental impact of the conference, engage with multiple perspectives in the planning and execution of the event, and ensure the event felt as welcoming as possible for everyone who attended.
Priority areas of focus included:
- Working with the Communications subcommittee to consider the environmental impact and accessibility features of the conference website
- Working with the Operational subcommittee to consider lower-carbon catering options and accessibility of conference meeting rooms.
Attending the conference
All attendees at IAPS 2026 presented or were otherwise involved in co-creation of the scientific programme.
Due to capacity constraints, attendance was limited to those contributing directly to the programme and/or event organisation.
The registration fee included entry to the conference and all day-catering during the event, the Welcome Reception, and the Conference Dinner. If you participated in the Early Career Researchers Workshop, the registration fee also covered this.
Refunds for cancellation were available until 31 March 2026.
Attendance
IAPS conferences are major international venues for disseminating research on people-environment studies, and for building connections within this vibrant, interdisciplinary community. In developing IAPS 2026, we drew on our Guiding Principles of environmental sustainability, knowledge co-production, and equity, diversity & inclusion, along with wider social and economic sustainability.
Around 400 delegates attended the conference, which was an in-person event.
During the planning of IAPS 2026 we heard that many people value having time at conferences for breaks, networking, and discussion, alongside the presentation of scientific content. This is something that we took into consideration, as much as possible, in the programme design and schedule.
Accessibility and Facilities
We aimed to make your experience at IAPS 2026 as supportive and accessible as possible by proactively considering a range of needs and working to support these at the event.
Here are some resources that you may have found useful.
- Accessibility information for University of Surrey
- Accessibility information for Guildford Cathedral
- University of Surrey campus map
- How to connect to University of Surrey WiFi
- Food & drink at our Stag Hill campus
Getting to Surrey
Where possible, we encouraged you to consider lower-carbon modes of travel to Guildford. To support this, we collated information below about routes that minimise the need to fly, drawing on suggestions from the British Ecological Society. There are also travel hierarchies that can help with exploring options for lower carbon travel options.
However, we recognised that some attendees, especially those from outside of Europe, may need to fly to the UK so we included some information about public transport options to Guildford from local airports. We also acknowledged that public transport and lower carbon travel options are not always the most appropriate choices for everyone.
Early Career Researchers
The workshop was held on Monday 29 June 2026, before the Opening Ceremony, the programme is here.
The workshop was designed for early career researchers (ECRs) doing their PhD and for those finishing up their MSc dissertation on topics relating to people-environment studies. The aim was to provide each student with the opportunity to present an overview of their work (either completed or planned studies). This was followed by the opportunity for an in-depth discussion and comments from mentors with knowledge in areas of the student’s work (topic or methods), and to answer questions from fellow peers.
Students were expected to attend and engage in the full schedule of the ECR Workshop. It was designed to be a supportive environment to help students clarify, communicate, learn, and engage with others about their work, and about their peers’ work. It provided an opportunity to mix with peers and mentors before the rest of the conference began.
Accepted participants for the ECR Workshop were asked to complete a short paper. The workshop was included as part of the conference registration fee.
If you have any questions about the ECR Workshop, please email iaps2026ECR@surrey.ac.uk.
ECR Workshop awards
IAPS ECR Workshops are run by the IAPS conference organisers, with awards provided by the IAPS organisation. The mentors will take into consideration the submitted paper, the presentation, and the discussion when considering who should receive an award.
The winner of the ECR Best Paper Award receives a five-year IAPS membership, a certificate, and €250. The winner(s) of the ECR Best Research Proposals receive a two-year IAPS membership, a certificate, and €100. Up to three awards may be given, and this varies per IAPS conference depending on numbers and themes.
About us
IAPS 2026 was hosted by the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey. The School is home to over 50 research-active staff and a large cohort of PhD and Clinical Psychology Doctoral students, working with a range of partners to produce psychological research with significant positive effects on society.
People-environment studies at Surrey
Surrey’s Environmental Psychology Research Group (EPRG) is renowned internationally for its expertise and long tradition in people-environment studies. The EPRG established the world’s first MSc in Environmental Psychology in 1973 and has taken a leading role in developing the Environmental Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. Surrey students and alumni lead the active, Early Career Researcher-focused British Environmental Psychology Society (BrEPS), and several of our staff and alumni are involved in IAPS as current or former Board members. University of Surrey co-leads major research and knowledge exchange programmes such as the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) and Advancing Capacity for Climate and Environment Social Science (ACCESS).
IAPS 2026 was also supported by Surrey’s pan-University Institute for Sustainability (IfS), which harnesses the power of collaboration across all disciplines (within and beyond Surrey) to drive the transition to a sustainable world of long-term wellbeing for all. The IfS is a synthesis platform, holistically bringing together education and research for action via systems thinking and disruptive innovation. The IfS partners with real-world champions in the public, private and third sectors to showcase how change can happen, and commits to achieving its purpose in a way that protects and enhances the health of social and environmental systems.
Local Organising Committee
The organisation for IAPS 2026 was divided into committees, led by Eleanor Ratcliffe (Conference Co-Chair, and Chair of the Operations & Delivery and Communications & Engagement committees), Birgitta Gatersleben (Conference Co-Chair, and Chair of the Scientific Committee), Sarah Payne (Early Career Researcher Workshop Chair), and Anna Bornioli (Guiding Principles Chair). We are grateful for the assistance of the colleagues below, within and outside of Surrey, who participated in these committees.
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From University of Surrey Eleanor Ratcliffe1, 2, 3 Birgitta Gatersleben1, 2, 4 Tom Roberts1, 2, 5 Sarah Payne1, 5 Melissa Marselle 2, 3 Sarah Golding1, 4 Trevor Hood1, 3 Kirstie Hatcher1, 3 Susie Thompson1 Tamala Anderson3, 4 Michael Hassell4 Matteo Giusti2 Catherine Hunt1 Karen Frost1, 3
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From external organisations Sadhana Jagannath, Imperial College London2, 3, 4, 5 Anna Bornioli, ISGlobal1, 2, 4, 5 Daniel Iacofano, MIG, Inc 2, 3 Charles Musselwhite, Aberystwyth University2, 3 Hebba Haddad, University of East London2, 4 Kayleigh Wyles, University of Plymouth2 Ian Walker, Swansea University2 Amy Isham, Swansea University2 Chris Jones, University of Portsmouth2 Clara Weber, Zurich University of Applied Sciences2, 5 |
1 Operations & Delivery Committee, 2 Scientific Committee, 3 Communications & Engagement Committee, 4 Guiding Principles Committee, 5 Early Career Researchers Workshop Committee and Mentors
Our Scientific Committee has been supported by valued peer reviewers, whose names are listed here.
We very much appreciate the kind support of Surrey’s School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, and Institute for Sustainability; the ESRC-funded ACCESS Network; and the British Psychological Society’s Environmental Psychology Section. We also thank the ECR Workshop Mentors, and our Volunteer Facilitators, for their time and effort in supporting the conference.
Contact us
Please email iaps2026@surrey.ac.uk. This mailbox is monitored every few days, we aim to respond as soon as we can.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
The University of Surrey is registered as a Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (our notification number is Z6346945), and we are committed to ensuring that the data we process is handled in accordance with data protection legislation.
We have a Data Protection Officer who can be contacted via dataprotection@surrey.ac.uk
One of our responsibilities is to tell you about the different ways we collect and use your personal data. This statement provides details about these uses. In addition to this statement, you may be given further information about the uses of your personal data when you use certain services offered by the University of Surrey.
IAPS 2026 is hosted by the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey.
What information do we collect from you?
By registering for the conference, we will collect the following personal data:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your organisation and role / position
- Your country of residence.
Why do we collect this information?
We have collected your personal data in order to:
- Contact you about your registration
- Monitor the types and locations of organisations that apply for the conference, and the relevant roles/positions within them
We take our obligations for data handling seriously and it is therefore important for you to know the lawful basis for us processing your information.
We process your data because you haven give us your consent to do so, specifically by agreeing to be contacted by the conference team.
If at any point after you have provided us with your personal data you decide you do not wish to be contacted or would like to update your details, please contact iaps2026@surrey.ac.uk
What do we do with your information?
We collect the data about you from the registration form. The data is kept in a database and used to achieve the purposes stated above.
The University processes personal data and special category data in accordance with data protection legislation and Our Data Policy Statement (PDF) (incorporating Information Security Policy).
How long do we keep your information?
The University collects only the data we need, and we keep the data up to date and only for as long as it is needed. Your data will be kept for five years and then destroyed.
Who do we share your information with?
We will not share your information with anyone outside of the Conference team.
What rights do you have in relation to the way we process your data?
As an individual whose data we process (a data subject), you have certain rights in relation to the processing. Find detailed information about your rights as a data subject.
You have the right to:
- Withdraw your consent for us to process your personal data where we have relied on that consent as our basis for processing your data.
- Ask us to confirm that your personal data is being processed, gain access (i.e. have a copy) of that data, and be provided with supplemental information about the processing.
- Request that we rectify any inaccuracies where the data we hold on you is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Have your data erased by us, although in certain circumstances we may not be able to do this. The circumstances where this applies can be found in the guide to data subject rights information.
- Restrict the processing of your personal data in certain ways.
- Obtain your personal data for reuse.
- Object to certain processing of your personal data
- You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing including profiling where this decision produces legal affects or significantly affects you.
If you would like to exercise any of your rights please visit the University’s make a privacy request page.
Make a complaint
If you have any concerns about the way that we have handled your personal data please email the Data Protection team as we would like to have the opportunity to resolve your concerns.
If you’re still unhappy, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (an independent body set up to advise on information rights for the UK) about the way in which we process your personal data.
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