Mental health: the Cinderella of urban design (and ways in which she should go to the ball)
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MENTAL HEALTH: THE CINDERELLA OF URBAN DESIGN DR LAYLA MCCAY DIRECTOR URBANDESIGNMENTALHEALTH.COM @urbandesignmh LONDON NOVEMBER 2015
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Transcript of Mental health: the Cinderella of urban design (and ways in which she should go to the ball)
MENTAL HEALTH:
THE CINDERELLA OF URBAN DESIGN
DR LAYLA MCCAY
DIRECTOR
URBANDESIGNMENTALHEALTH.COM
@urbandesignmh
LONDON
NOVEMBER 2015
Why is mental health the Cinderella
of urban design?
• Stigma
• Self-fulfilling prophecy
of low priority
• Complexity
“It took decades to integrate
knowledge about the biomedical
effects of the cityscape into (my)
profession. But when it comes to
mental health, we haven’t a clue.’
– Urban Planner, Basel, Switzerland
UD/MH is a think tank asking: how
can we build better mental health
into our cities?
• Make the case for urban design for
mental health
• Empower action
• Host dialogues
• Participate in panels
• Run consultations
• Prompt and publish new research and op-
eds (Sanity & Urbanity, journal)
• Produce research summaries and
guidelines
• Curate research
• Showcase innovation
• Use social media and web channels
Share knowledge
Increase knowledge
Motivate action
Increase cross-sector discussion
UD/MH
7 OPPORTUNITIES THAT CURRENTLY
INSPIRE UD/MH
Conscious Cities
(using data to improve mental
health) WE KNOW
People’s mental health and wellbeing is affected by the built environment – and we can measure it
WE DON’T KNOW
How cities can cost-effectively measure, identify and act on local urban design opportunities
Urban Mind Project
Exposure to Nature
WE KNOW:
Nature exposure can
improve mental health
including depression,
stress, ADHD and more.
WE DON’T KNOW
Specific impacts of
‘dose’ -
type/duration/etc for
exposures.
Urban design has a key role in
older people’s mental health
WE KNOW
Urban design can help
reduce dementia-
related problems, plus
anxiety and depression
in older people .
WE DON’T KNOW
How to build cities that
are optimised for older
people and those with
dementia.
Transportation
WE KNOW:
Stressful commutes can increase anger, anxiety, hostility; decrease sleep and social opportunity; other commutes can be relaxing, active and rejuvenating.
WE DON’T KNOW
How to change culture and optimise urban transport design for better mental health.
From the hospital to the street
WE KNOW
Significant investments are being made in research to design healthcare facilities in ways that improve mental health.
WE DON’T KNOW
How to extrapolate these findings to the wider built environment.
Sensory input from the built
environment
WE KNOW
Sound, art, and the use of colour can impact on anxiety, anger, stress, mood and sleep.
WE DON’T KNOW
How to use sound, colour, and other sensory inputs in urban design to improve mental health.
Urban design to heal
traumascapes WE KNOW
• People often have
negative
psychological
reactions to settings
they associate with
trauma.
WE DON’T KNOW
• How to leverage
urban design to
reduce trauma.
How can we take Cinderella to the
ball?
• Research/ask people about how you can
integrate mental health into your urban design
projects and policies
• Encourage others to take mental health into
consideration in their projects
• Share and build knowledge, interest and the will
to act
• Talk, write, and showcase your research, projects
and ideas
• Get involved in a community of practice
• Help develop and use good practical
recommendations
To learn more:
Visit www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com
Contact [email protected] or @urbandesignmh
Read (op-eds) We should think more about the link between urban design and mental health
Psychogeography: exploring the brain's reactions to urban design
The importance of urban design in helping heal traumascapes
Urban design and mental health: there's an app for that
