2026 Theses Master's

Planning for Love: Urban Form and its Impacts on Modern Dating

Kosoff, Hannah

Modern discussions of dating often attribute growing dissatisfaction with the dating process to cultural shifts and the rise of online platforms. However, little research has examined how the built environment may shape opportunities for romantic connection.

This thesis investigates how urban form influences the dating search process, defined as the ways individuals meet and initiate contact with potential romantic partners. Focusing on Miami, a city with both walkable urban areas and car-dependent suburbs, the study analyzes how residents of different built environments characterize their opportunities to meet potential partners. This study employs a survey of 152 adults under 30, and links survey responses on to neighborhood-level features of the built environment such as walk score and transportation mode.

The research evaluates whether car-centric environments contribute to a mismatch between how people prefer to meet partners and how they actually do, as well as how individuals perceive and experience their dating lives. By examining the relationship between urban design and relationship formation, this study contributes to planning research on social interaction, loneliness, and the role of human-scaled environments in supporting social connection.