Dr Kate McLean-MacKenzie is on a mission to map the world’s “smellscapes”.
Based at the University of Kent, she argues smell is the forgotten sense of communication.
While images and sounds are easily shared, smells are rarely recorded or discussed.
That gap led her to begin mapping urban scents more than a decade ago.
Her work involves “smell walks”, where participants log what they smell, how strong it is, and how it feels.
They also record memories or emotions linked to each scent.
McLean-MacKenzie turns this data into visual maps and narrative descriptions.
The results are subjective, focusing on human stories rather than scientific precision.
Since 2011, she has mapped more than 40 locations worldwide.
These include cities such as Paris, Kolkata, Glasgow, Kyiv, and Amsterdam.
The maps capture fleeting moments, shaped by wind, weather, and daily life.
She compares them to impressionist paintings, fixed to a specific time and place.
McLean-MacKenzie hopes the atlas will become a historical record as cities change.
She also wants people to walk more attentively and engage with all their senses.
Her work highlights how smell varies across cultures, even during shared events like Christmas.
Ultimately, she says, noticing smells can build empathy and curiosity about how others experience the world.
