How do urban environments affect young people’s mental health? A novel conceptual framework to bridge public health, planning, and neurourbanism

Conceptual frameworks based on research from public health, planning, and neurourbanism can be used to promote the mental well-being of young people living in citiesMental illness among young people is a growing concern in many places around the world. Some research indicates a link between urban living and higher risk of serious mental illness. This study examined three areas of research – public health, planning, and neurourbanism – to better understand urban influences on young people’s mental health. Neurourbanism is “a multidisciplinary study of the effect of urban environments on mental health and brain activity.” This line of research aims to connect public mental health to urban planning for the purpose of creating environments that promote the mental well-being of people living in cities.

Information gathered from the selected areas of research was used to develop two novel conceptual frameworks focusing on the relationship between urban environments and young people’s mental health. The frameworks provide a summary of key features, approaches, and ideas associated with each field. The frameworks also reflect the understanding that the relationship between the urban environment and young people’s mental health is dynamic, socio-relational, and multilevel. One framework is research-oriented (i.e., designed primarily for researchers); the other, practice-oriented (i.e., designed primarily for city planning practitioners).

Each framework outlines the unique roles and opportunities of public health, planning, and neurourbanism in promoting young people’s mental health. Each framework also outlines areas where the three fields overlap and where they might collaborate. Attention to the overlapping areas can be helpful in developing initiatives where practice and research become “complementary endeavors”. The frameworks expand on a socioecological model developed by Bronfenbrenner, which highlights how various systems interact and impact human development outcomes. These systems range from the microsystem of the individual through multiple interpersonal and environmental mesosystems to the macrosystem of society. The frameworks developed through this study include the addition of a digital and social media contextual level to the socioecological model. Each framework reflects ways in which places are physically and socially constructed. They indicate that young people living in an urban environment experience not only the physical dimensions of the city, but also the social forces and processes of meaning-making (how they interpret or understand spaces). This understanding calls for a more precise examination into the positive psychological effects of natural environment spaces, as natural features are “important determinants of young people’s mental health.”

Neurourbanism, as a field, currently exists primarily as a research-oriented endeavor. When paired with public health and planning, it can make an important contribution to the design of “more just and humane cities, which improve health outcomes and equity for increasingly diverse populations.”