The UK population is ageing steadily, with over-65s projected to make up a quarter of the population by 2050. While life expectancy in the UK has broadly increased, healthy life expectancy has not kept pace. This means many people are living longer in poor health. Moreover, ageing is not uniform: inequalities in health outcomes and access to services by gender, ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic status shape how people experience later life (UK Parliament Briefing, Sept 2025).
Promoting regular physical activity, alongside a healthy diet, is one of the obvious yet essential ways to achieve and maintain better health, helping to improve quality of life and reduce healthcare costs, as well as address health inequalities across all demographic groups.
The key question for this article is – how can we make exercise more enjoyable and something people want to do?
This is where digital technologies come into play; placemaking, in particular, can support public health through sport and movement by leveraging technology to create more engaging, accessible and inclusive environments. There are examples of place-based technologies that are doing this well already, as I will examine below.
Incentive-based placemaking
‘Incentive theory’ is a psychological theory based on the notion that human behaviour is motivated by a desire for external rewards; money, recognition and promotions are a few examples of positive incentives that may encourage people to work harder and perform better.
It makes sense that this would translate well to physical activity, which we can see in the success of apps like Sweatcoin. The free step counter and activity tracker converts steps into a virtual currency, which can then be spent on a variety of products and services in a dedicated marketplace. This includes fitness gear and classes, as well as the option to donate to charity.
Importantly, the app has proved to have sustainable benefits on physical activity. Research from the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed Sweatcoin users’ physical activity increased by 20% over a six-month period. The report underlines the benefits of the app in allowing people to look back and feel good about their achievements, rather than setting future goals, which if not achieved, can have negative effects on motivation.
This further highlights to me the need to change the rhetoric around exercise and movement. Rather than shaming people into exercise and making them feel bad for not doing so, the emphasis needs to be on the benefits of exercise and how it can improve quality of life. It is also about making exercise seem less of a daunting task and more accessible, which apps like Sweatcoin are doing by not only rewarding long runs but any kind of step-based movement.
Collective movement
It is a common misconception that exercise has to be strenuous to be beneficial. This next project challenges that assumption, instead demonstrating how creativity can promote health and wellbeing in a fun and sociable way.
Compose is an interactive projection that allows people to take part in a collective performance exercise. It works by using a step-on-a-dot interface inviting the public to make music and dance together. There are 37 dots labelled with distinct graphics associated with different musical partitions; different dots are available to play at different times, encouraging different types of movement and exploration across the space.
Moreover, it is about bringing the community together, which is powerful in itself. Not only for community cohesion; research has shown that human behaviours spread socially, including how much people exercise, and that social relationships play an important role in encouraging healthier habits.
Interactive shopping centre artwork, Laval, California. Photo: Daily Tous les Jours
Virtual challenges
Similar to rewards and incentives, challenges can make physical activity more fun and engaging, thus motivating people to move more.
The Conquerer app, for example, has a variety of digital fitness challenges within public spaces, which can be completed by running, walking or cycling in any time-frame, individually or in teams. Some of the virtual challenges on offer include the English Channel, Angkor Wat, Star Trek and Harry Potter, which are all of varying distances and appeal to different interests and goals.
The app is also geared towards organisations looking to boost health and wellness programmes. Companies can create team-building events and workplace competitions, as well as customised challenges with specific milestones and engagements. This harnesses the benefits associated with both incentive-based and collective movement, and is an effective way to promote healthier habits on a mass scale.
Geocaching
Billed as the world’s largest treasure hunt, geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which people use their smartphone GPS to find nearby geocaches. These caches are created and hidden by other users at specific locations, often disguised as everyday objects so that people engage with their surroundings and not just through their phones.
Participants can also include trackables with goals that can be followed as they move from location to location; users are encouraged to log and photograph geocaches so others can see where they end up. It’s a fun activity for individuals and groups alike, including children, and a great way to get people moving outdoors.
AR eyewear for training
Many people like to know how they’re performing when they train, as evidenced by the staggering value of the global fitness-tracker market. which is projected to break the $62bn mark in 2024. Innovation is fast moving beyond the wrist, however, with AR eyewear increasingly making it easier for runners, cyclists and even swimmers to track performance.
Engo glasses, for example, can be connected to a watch or cycling computer so users can see their key performance measures in real-time, in their line of sight, and adjust their performance accordingly.
Similarly, Finis smart goggles have an in-goggle display and activity tracker that provides swimmers with real-time feedback underwater. This can then be reviewed in the accompanying app and synced to other fitness apps such as Strava and Apple Health.
While these products have been designed for athletes and serious racers (with the price tag to match), like fitness watches they will no doubt become more accessible as demand increases and more products come to market. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are available to hire at gyms and swimming pools in future too.
App-based communities
I have touched on the benefits of community when it comes to movement and exercise. Apps and forums are a fundamental component of this, enabling people with similar interests to form communities wherever they are in the world.
Strava is a prime example of this, which is a social network and community hub for athletes – increasingly for runners, which was the must-uploaded sport on the app in 2023.
In addition to the many features to help track and share athletic journeys, the app is a place to connect with other athletes, find motivation and explore new places. Users can also participate in virtual competitions and leaderboards, learn from other experts and follow other runners, including Olympians.
Strava’s 2023 Global Report reveals some interesting insights about what motivates users to exercise. While over half say setting a new goal helps and four in 10 like to plan a workout with friends, community is a key motivator.
Runners (83%) and cyclists (53%) are more likely to get a personal record in a group of two or more than they are going solo. 77% of Gen Z athletes, meanwhile, say they feel more connected to others when seeing their friends’ or family’s activities on Strava.
Further reinforcing the power of digitally enabled community and connection, this demographic was also the leading contributor to the 11% increase in new Strava Clubs last year.
Inclusive design and accessible environments
Digital placemaking has another significant role to play in promoting physical activity; it can help to ensure that public spaces are designed to be accessible to all.
Wayfinding apps and digital kiosks, for example, can be designed to support people to navigate parks and recreational areas – indoor and outside. They can signpost the nearest toilets and amenities, accessible pathways and routes, thus helping people to feel less anxious while out and about, whether walking, wheeling or running.
Visit Ely is using the Place Experience Platform to provide facility information, route guides and directions to both their accessible public on-street digital kiosks and to personal devices.
More broadly, digital technologies are critical to enhancing the perceived safety of places. Various research shows that people feel less safe when alone in outdoor settings after dark. This is particularly true for women and disabled people, as evidenced by ONS research.
Features like smart lighting, contextually sensitive surveillance systems and emergency alerts can help to improve people’s feelings of safety when engaging in outdoor activities.
The City of Edinburgh Council commissioned Calvium to assess and recommend which of its 149 green spaces should receive sensitive lighting to encourage active travel here.
Final thoughts
The majority of us probably won’t ever reach the fitness levels of Olympic athletes, but if we aim to do at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week – as recommended by the UK chief medical officers – then it is important that we make it achievable, enjoyable and motivating.
The above examples demonstrate the power of digital placemaking to encourage people to move more, whether they are motivated by challenge, reward or connection. At the end of the day, if people feel good about what they are doing, they are more likely to do it. Here’s to more movement!
You’ve always been a keen athlete, and are now an accomplished handcyclist based in London, travelling internationally. What is your general experience like when travelling?
