Jean‑Paul Thibaud reframes the city as a sensory canvas, extending the concept of livability beyond functional utility. Rather than designing only to accommodate movement or productivity, this approach considers how sensory qualities—sight, sound, smell, texture, atmosphere—shape the urban walking experience. Thibaud argues that urban space is layered with corporeal and emotional resonance, where perceptual qualities are as important as spatial geometry. He explores how light patterns, acoustic textures, thermal gradients, seasonal shifts, and variable pacing contribute to the uniqueness of place. Walking becomes a temporal engagement with the environment, where fleeting sensations and unfolding sequences shape memory and belonging. By acknowledging these atmospheric layers, urban planners and architects can cultivate environments that are lived richly. A tree‑lined street, shifting shadows, murmurs of local life, the warmth of brick underfoot—all contribute to a sense of place that logic alone cannot capture. Thibaud’s sensory urbanism invites practitioners to value nuance, rhythm, and experience in city-making. He shows that livable cities are constructed as much with perception as with planning, and that walkability benefits when design attends to the sensorial qualities that move bodies and evoke emotion.
Thibaud, J.‑P. (2001) La ville n’est pas qu’utile. Pour une approche sensorielle de l’espace urbain. Paris: L’Harmattan.
