Screaming sirens, overcrowding, traffic; life in the city isn’t always relaxing.

These stressors aren’t simply inconvenient or irritating, though; research has suggested that urban living has a significant impact on mental health.

One meta-analysis found that those living in cities were 21% more likely to experience an anxiety disorder – mood disorders were even higher, at 39%. People who grew up in a city are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as those who grew up in the countryside, with a

2005 study

suggesting this link may even be causal.

The issue is hotly debated. For example, it’s often believed that open plan offices promote pro-social working and avoid the drab monotony of cubicle working, but other studies claim that it can instead be bad for productivity and wellbeing.

Also neglected environments can contribute to mental ill-health – dilapidated neighbourhoods and abandoned shops or houses can make us feel unsafe, with run-down environments found to contribute to anxiety and persistent low mood.





Though high-rise housing with larger rooms, sense of “urban privacy” gave rise to various social and mental ills: increased crime, suicide rates and behavioural problems.

Shopping centres, offten considered to be vast, unhealthy behemoths designed to disorient and dazzle us into spending money we don’t have, shopping malls could, in fact, be beneficial to individual and societal wellbeing.

One team of researchers argues shopping centres may possess “mentally restorative qualities” that could rival even natural settings. Again it suggests that healthy factors – greenery, a focus on safety, good maintenance, a sense of openness – could significantly reduce stress, no matter how buildings themselves are designed or interpreted.

Layla McCay, director of the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, says these debates are complex and dependent on a number of nuanced factors.

The think tank was set up to encourage more rigorous evaluation on the way we design our cities, and what impact it can have on mental wellbeing.