Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy
With roughly half of the global population living in cities, urban environments become central to public health often perceived as health risk factors. Indeed, mental disorders show higher incidences in urban contexts compared to rural areas. However, shared urban environments also provide a rich po...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112209/full |
| _version_ | 1827986844672851968 |
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| author | Helena Müller Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk Anna Wasmer |
| author_facet | Helena Müller Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk Anna Wasmer |
| author_sort | Helena Müller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With roughly half of the global population living in cities, urban environments become central to public health often perceived as health risk factors. Indeed, mental disorders show higher incidences in urban contexts compared to rural areas. However, shared urban environments also provide a rich potential to act as a resource for mental health and as a platform to increase mental health literacy. Based on the concepts of salutogenesis and restorative environments, we propose a framework for urban design interventions. It outlines (a) an output level, i.e., preventive and discursive potentials of such interventions to act as biopsychosocial resources, and (b) a process level, i.e., mechanisms of inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration of researchers and citizens in the design process. This approach aims at combining evidence-based, salutogenic, psychosocially-supportive design with a focus on mental health. Implementing low-threshold, resource-efficient options in the existing urban context brings this topic to the public space. Implications for the implementation of such interventions for citizens, researchers, and municipality stakeholders are discussed. This illustrates new directions of research for urban person-environment interactions, public health, and beyond. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:37:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f355e2fd40864cec97d14877cc848338 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:37:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f355e2fd40864cec97d14877cc8483382023-03-20T04:38:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-03-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11122091112209Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacyHelena Müller0Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk1Anna Wasmer2Department of Social and Cultural Sciences and Social Work, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, GermanyDepartment of Design, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, GermanyDepartment of Civil Engineering, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, GermanyWith roughly half of the global population living in cities, urban environments become central to public health often perceived as health risk factors. Indeed, mental disorders show higher incidences in urban contexts compared to rural areas. However, shared urban environments also provide a rich potential to act as a resource for mental health and as a platform to increase mental health literacy. Based on the concepts of salutogenesis and restorative environments, we propose a framework for urban design interventions. It outlines (a) an output level, i.e., preventive and discursive potentials of such interventions to act as biopsychosocial resources, and (b) a process level, i.e., mechanisms of inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration of researchers and citizens in the design process. This approach aims at combining evidence-based, salutogenic, psychosocially-supportive design with a focus on mental health. Implementing low-threshold, resource-efficient options in the existing urban context brings this topic to the public space. Implications for the implementation of such interventions for citizens, researchers, and municipality stakeholders are discussed. This illustrates new directions of research for urban person-environment interactions, public health, and beyond.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112209/fullurban environmentrestorative citiesurban mental healthmental health literacysalutogenesispsychosocially-supportive design |
| spellingShingle | Helena Müller Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk Anna Wasmer Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy Frontiers in Psychology urban environment restorative cities urban mental health mental health literacy salutogenesis psychosocially-supportive design |
| title | Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy |
| title_full | Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy |
| title_fullStr | Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy |
| title_short | Small-scale urban design interventions: A framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy |
| title_sort | small scale urban design interventions a framework for deploying cities as resource for mental health and mental health literacy |
| topic | urban environment restorative cities urban mental health mental health literacy salutogenesis psychosocially-supportive design |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112209/full |
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