AUTHOR=Candeloro Giulia , Mastrolonardo Luciana , Angrilli Massimo , Crociata Alessandro , Sacco Pier Luigi TITLE=Three waves of extended mind theories and urban planning: the city as a distributed socio-cognitive architecture JOURNAL=Frontiers in Built Environment VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2024 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2024.1446919 DOI=10.3389/fbuil.2024.1446919 ISSN=2297-3362 ABSTRACT=This article explores the intersection between cognition theories and urban planning, conceptualizing the city as a distributed socio-cognitive architecture. It traces the evolution of these theories through three waves—functionalism, social externalism, and radical enactivism —. Correspondingly, the article suggests implications for reorienting urban planning approaches, highlighting participatory design, collaborative placemaking, and the nurturing of place-based affordances. Drawing examples from existing planning literature, it demonstrates resonances with Extended Mind-informed orientations. The conclusion synthesizes these insights, proposing a potentially transformative framework by rethinking planning as more participatory, pluralistic, and cognitively integrative, challenging internalist and technocratic assumptions.