Dear Colleagues,

We live in a rapidly changing world. Visual change only reflects the intrinsic process of the social and economic evolution of ideas, philosophies, and fashions, though the latter is what an ordinary observer notices as the first signal of change. So, the space “becomes” the way we “are”. Additionally, and conversely, the aesthetics of the environment in which we live are probably the most unconsciously influential determinant of our wellbeing. Thus, we would like to describe the beauty and grotesqueness of our cities through the eyes of artists, who “can feel more”. We would like to recognize alterations to our sense of beauty from the cityscapes we experience every day. As the cityscape becomes our dominant visual environment, we should focus on all dimensions of urban aesthetics. How does the appearance of the urban environment shape our attitudes towards our society, its heritage, the surrounding nature, and the technology we use?

This issue should remind us that the spiritual aura radiating from the cityscape is no less important than any elation experienced in museums and art galleries. So, do we care about the appearance of our cities? Are they fresh and healthy? Do they deserve cosmeticizing?

Manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue can be theoretical or applied; can be state-of-the-science reviews or individual case studies; and may refer to details or to the cityscape as a whole. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• The evolving aesthetics of our living environment;
• The perception of aesthetics among different groups in society;
• The meaning of beauty in an urban context;
• The influence of aesthetics on human wellbeing and behaviors;
• Different philosophical approaches to urban aesthetics;
• Heritage preservation in cityscapes;
• Experiments in shaping the image of the future city.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Maciej Lasocki
Dr. Martina Koll-Schretzenmayr
Dr. Antonella Contin
Dr. Claudia Westermann
Dr. Aura Luciana Istrate
Dr. Álvaro Clua Uceda
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• landscapes of urban spaces
• public realm aesthetics
• aesthetics in the urban context
• street art
• aesthetics perception