Heightened feelings of exclusion contribute to young people’s growing detachment from urban green spaces
Our research studies how 16-25-year-old Londoners’ perceptions of parks management practices affect their use of these public spaces. Our aim was to address a knowledge deficit regarding the role of spending time in green space and young people’s mental wellbeing. For policymakers and practitioners aiming to manage parks as health infrastructure, this information is essential, given this cohort is at a critical developmental stage for building mental health resilience.
Where to walk when we are old: experiments in Taiwan and the USA
Our study highlights the importance of green spaces in urban areas for enhancing the well-being of older adults. It reveals significant benefits of nature walks over urban street walks and underscores the need for gender-sensitive urban design.
• Green spaces improve mood and perceived restorativeness.
• Women benefit more from nature walks, especially in urban streets.
• People from different cultures may benefit from nearby nature slightly differently.
How can we reconnect mental and urban health?
Our study found that community place-based initiatives involving the public and private sectors can provide public spaces, such as public parks and communal gardens, that are appropriate for reconnecting mental and urban health using the concept of co-benefit endorsed by the World Health Organization in 2011. We examined this concept in large projects in Seoul and Singapore to show the advantage of intersectoral collaboration for reconnecting mental and urban health initiatives by urban planning.
Understanding community perspectives on livability metrics
Livability is a people-oriented concept, and accurately measuring it requires a contextual understanding of what local stakeholders deem essential for making communities livable. Despite extensive research on livability indicators, most studies have taken a top-down approach, with few considering the input of the communities.
Aesthetic elements our urban environments and their potential links to wellbeing
We live increasingly in cities, which paradoxically has positive and negative impacts on wellbeing. We review evidence for implementing aesthetics, as a factor that is considered when looking at the urban built environment, and its links to wellbeing. We summarise existing findings and provide a dataset to guide future research and urban planning.
Implementing agoraphobia-responsive urban design
Discover how integrating agoraphobia-responsive elements into urban design and planning can transform public spaces into safer, more inclusive environments. This study reveals practical strategies that enhance psychological comfort and accessibility in city landscapes.
Visualizing neighbourhood health disparities: spatial epidemiology to map social vulnerability and mortality in an Italian city
We propose a replicable spatial framework applied at the small geographic scale in Pisa, Italy, to address a methodological gap. We find that both CVI and density predict excess mortality, providing an essential tool for health equity planning.
Understanding neuro-urbanism: Enhancing city spaces for better mental well-being
Discover how neuroscientific methods reveal the impact of urban environments on mental well-being. Our study provides insights to help city planners design spaces that enhance mood and cognitive health, making cities better for everyone.
Healing the city: a diagnostic approach to decoding stress in urban public spaces
This newly developed methodological approach aims to identify the underlying causes of stress in urban environments. To this end, it analyses a broad spectrum of perception-related factors from various fields to capture the full complexity of human perception in a more holistic manner. The evaluation of five case studies using the so-called ‘Stressor Matrices’ serves as the basis for deriving initial hypotheses about the triggers of urban stress.
Co-creating public play spaces with autistic children; a co-design method from Barcelona, Spain
Our study explored the preferences, needs, and challenges faced by autistic children when engaging with public playgrounds. Drawing on these insights, we developed a set of evidence-based design guidelines to support neurodiverse-inclusive playgrounds through an autism-friendly, attuned co-creation methodology.