scholarly journals The Psychological Effects of Urban Design

Topophilia ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Jonathan Monfries
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Winston Churchill

Regardless if we are aware of it or not, our mental wellbeing is being directly affected by our surroundings - the built environment. Certain styles of buildings, the layout of streets, and the provision of green spaces are altering our psychology subconsciously. There are several ways in which cities can encourage better mental wellbeing by considering better urban design. During an age where it is becoming increasingly important to comprehend the impacts of poor mental health, an opportunity utilizing urban planning can help contribute to a healthier mental state overall. This paper seeks to present the various ways cities can utilize urban design to help improve the mental health of its citizens, and a case study from Tokyo, Japan is analyzed. The paper is written from an urban planning perspective; however, it also includes a brief introduction to the psychological background on how exactly our minds are affected by the built environment. “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”- Winston Churchill

scholarly journals Positive Psychology for Mental Wellbeing of UK Therapeutic Students: Relationships with Engagement, Motivation, Resilience and Self-Compassion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Kotera ◽  
Pauline Green ◽  
David Sheffield
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Occupational Therapy Students ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis study aimed to examine the relationships between mental wellbeing and positive psychological constructs in therapeutic students (psychotherapy and occupational therapy students). The number of therapeutic students has increased recently; however, they suffer from poor mental health, which may be improved by potentiating their positive psychological constructs, bypassing mental health shame. Therapeutic students (n = 145) completed measures regarding positive psychological constructs, namely mental wellbeing, engagement, motivation, resilience, and self-compassion. Resilience and self-compassion predicted mental wellbeing, explaining a large effect. Self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between resilience and mental wellbeing. This study highlights the importance of positive psychological constructs, especially resilience and self-compassion, for mental wellbeing of therapeutic students.

scholarly journals Mental health and caregiving experiences of family carers supporting people with psychosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sin ◽  
J. Elkes ◽  
R. Batchelor ◽  
C. Henderson ◽  
S. Gillard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
General Population ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Negative Experience

Abstract Aims Family carers supporting an individual with psychosis often experience poorer mental health, however, little is known about specific risk factors among these carers. We investigated the associations between demographic, caregiving characteristics and mental health outcomes in family carers supporting an individual with psychosis and compared carers' outcomes with general population norms. Methods We analysed baseline data from the COPe-support randomised controlled trial of online psychoeducation and peer support for adult carers supporting an individual with psychosis between 2018 and 2020. We collected carers' demographic and health outcome data, including wellbeing using Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS as primary outcome), quality of life using EQ-5D-5L and caregiving experience assessed with Experience of Caregiving Inventory. We tested associations between carers' demographic and caregiving characteristics for each outcome in turn and meta-analysed carers' WEMWBS and EQ-5D-5L with Health Survey England (HSE) general population data from 2016 and 2017, respectively. Results The 407 carers of people with psychosis had a mean WEMWBS score of 42.2 (s.d. 9.21) and their overall weighted pooled WEMWBS score was 7.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) −8.6 to −6.0, p < 0.01) lower than the HSE general population sample, indicating carers have poorer mental wellbeing by more than double the minimum clinically important difference of 3 points on WEMWBS. Among all caring relationships, partners had poorer wellbeing compared to parents with lower WEMWBS score (−6.8, −16.9 to 3.3, p = 0.03). Single carers had significantly poorer wellbeing (−3.6, −5.6 to −1.5, p < 0.01) and a more negative caregiving experience than those who were cohabiting. Spending more than 35 h per week caregiving increased carers' negative experience significantly (p = 0.01). Conclusion Carers of people with psychosis have poorer mental health than non-carers. Partners, lone carers and those spending more than 35 h per week on caring were found to be most at risk of poor mental health. Based on the results, we advocate that the details of carers for individuals with psychosis should be added to the existing carers or severe mental illness registers at all general practitioner surgeries and for their wellbeing screened routinely. Future large-scale prospective studies are needed to develop a predictive model to determine risk factors, hence to aid early identification of carers' support needs. Such understandings are also useful to inform tailored intervention development.

scholarly journals Young Parents’ Experiences of Pregnancy and Parenting During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Moltrecht ◽  
Louise J. Dalton ◽  
Jeffrey R. Hanna ◽  
Clare Law ◽  
Elizabeth Rapa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Perinatal Care ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Young Parents ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Parents Experiences

Abstract Young parents (aged 16-24 years) in the perinatal period are at an increased risk of poor mental health especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to multiple risk factors including social and economic instability. COVID-19 related restrictions had profound implications for the delivery of perinatal care services and other support structures for young parents. Investigating young parents’ experiences during the pandemic, including their perceived challenges and needs, is important to inform good practice and provide appropriate support for young parents. Qualitative interviews were conducted with young parents (n=21) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom from February – May 2021. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Three key themes were identified to describe parents’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents reported specific COVID-19 related anxieties and stressors, including worries around contracting the virus and increased feelings of distress due to uncertainty created by the implications of the pandemic. Parents described feeling alone both at home and during antenatal appointments and highlighted the absence of social support as a major area of concern. Also, parents felt their perinatal care had been disrupted by the pandemic and experienced difficulties accessing care online or over the phone. This study highlights the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young parents, including their mental wellbeing and the perinatal support they were able to access. Insights from this study can inform the support and services offered to families going forward. Specifically, the findings emphasise the importance of (a) supporting both parents during perinatal appointments, (b) providing parents with mental health support early on and (c) finding ways to facilitate communication pathways between professionals and parents.

scholarly journals Assessing Nature-Based Recreation to Support Urban Green Infrastructure Planning in Trento (Italy)

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Cortinovis ◽  
Grazia Zulian ◽  
Davide Geneletti
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure ◽  
The City

Nature-based recreation is among the most relevant ecosystem services supplied by urban green infrastructure, affecting citizens’ physical and mental wellbeing. Providing adequate green spaces for nature-based recreation is among the main goals of urban planning, but commonly-used indicators offer a partial view on the issue. Innovative methods and approaches, such as the ESTIMAP-recreation model, appear as promising ways to increase the quality of information available for decision-makers by considering both the range of green spaces that provide the service and the locally-specific demand. The article presents an application of the ESTIMAP-recreation model to the city of Trento (Italy), aimed at testing its adaptation to the local context and the potential improvements brought to urban planning. The comparison of the results with traditional indicators based on the availability and accessibility to urban parks shows significant differences in terms of priority of intervention across the city, with implications on planning decisions. The application demonstrates that innovative methods can enhance the understanding of nature-based recreation in cities beyond the focus on urban parks, revealing a wide portfolio of actions that planners can put in place to promote nature-based recreation through a multifunctional green infrastructure.

scholarly journals Poor mental health of livestock farmers in Africa: a mixed methods case study from Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Sena Nuvey ◽  
Katharina Kreppel ◽  
Priscilla Awo Nortey ◽  
Adolphina Addo-Lartey ◽  
Bismark Sarfo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mixed Methods Case Study ◽  
Livestock Farmers

Case Study From the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 201-208
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
The United Kingdom

For most people, well-being is understood and experienced at a local scale. Their community or city is where housing, green spaces, social cohesion, mental health, and many other vital elements of well-being play out in daily life. Local governments and other stakeholders also tend to be the most willing and able to try innovative approaches. Local wins, in turn, inform and inspire action in other areas and often build to national change....

Association Between Built Space and Cognition in Humans: A Scoping Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (01) ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Prachi Dave ◽  
S. Sudha ◽  
Vijaya Raghavan ◽  
P. Poornachandrika
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Cognitive Disorders ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Neighbourhood Environment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Attention Restoration ◽  
Boolean Search

Background: Various built environment characteristics have been shown to have varied effects on mental health. There is evidence for a positive relationship between certain BE characteristics and mental disorders. The talk on cognition is inevitable in any argument on mental health. This review looks at various BE characteristics and cognition and their interrelationship. Materials and Methods: A Boolean search of PubMed articles with keywords like ‘built environment’, ‘built spaces’, ‘green spaces’, greenspace,’neighbourhood environment’ and ‘attention’, ‘concentration’, ‘cognition’, ‘cognitive function’ and ‘cognitive disorders’ was carried out and relevant articles were chosen by two individual investigators. Results: 26 articles were chosen for the study, of which 22 were cross-sectional, 1 longitudinal, 1 cohort, 1 retrospective and 1 prospective study. Conclusion: There is a lot of evidence for the positive correlation between green spaces and cognitive performance. Greenness, biodiversity, walkability has been investigated to show a beneficial effect on cognition, especially attention restoration. Longitudinal studies that include persons with comorbidities will help as better evidences for the above positive correlation.

scholarly journals Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4148
Author(s):  
Diana Dushkova ◽  
Maria Ignatieva ◽  
Michael Hughes ◽  
Anastasia Konstantinova ◽  
Viacheslav Vasenev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Limited Access ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Significant challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that features of a modern, sustainable and resilient city should not only relate to fulfilling economic and social urban strategies, but also to functional urban design, in particular, related to urban blue and green infrastructure (BGI). Using results from a web-based questionnaire survey conducted May–July 2020 in Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia), this paper provides insights regarding citizens’ needs for and values of urban BGI as well as their changes during and after the COVID-19 restrictions. Survey data collected during the lockdown period have captured information about people’s ability to access green and blue spaces within urban BGI, inequalities in access, feelings, and values as well as needs and perceived pathways of future development of urban natural environment. In both cities, lockdowns limited access of people to green spaces which affected their mental and physical health. Survey results revealed that the quality, functionality, and location of open green spaces illustrated a disparity in distribution, meaning that in many cases several communities from particular neighborhoods suffered from limited access to BGI. Furthermore, in addition to analyzing perceptions and values of urban nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, some suggestions for improvement of urban BGI based on the survey responses are provided.

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