SANITY AND URBANITY BLOG
If you are an academic, urban designer, planner, health professional or citymaker, and would like to submit a blog, please see submission guidelines.
Dr Hongwei Dong, Associate Professor in city and regional planning at California State University, Fresno, shares his latest research on mental health and wellbeing in Beijing. A study by China's CDC shows that more than 100 million people in China have mental health problems and more than 16 million have severe mental illness. At the same time, China is experiencing fast urbanization and more than 100 Chinese cities now have more than 1 million residents. Can we promote people’s mental wellbeing through better design of our urban neighborhoods? In order to answer this question, our research team conducted a case study in Beijing, the capital city in China. The results of this study are published in Landscape and Urban Planning. The survey Our study focuses on 16 typical Beijing neighborhoods that were identified by senior urban planners from Beijing Municipal Government. Survey questionnaires were brought to the 16 neighborhoods at the end of 2015. Survey participants described their mental wellbeing and evaluated both the built and social environments of their neighborhoods. The survey results suggest that mental wellbeing varies widely in the studied neighborhoods (the neighborhood that reported the best mental wellbeing scored about 50% higher than the lowest). Residents living in neighborhoods that are further away from the city center tended to have slightly better mental wellbeing. So what explains such variation? To answer this question, we measured and tested a series of factors that potentially influence people’s mental wellbeing: 1) Perceived neighborhood built environment, such as availability of green space, walkability, neighborhood safety, neighborhood accessibility to a variety of destinations, and easiness of driving and parking 2) Perceived neighborhood social cohesion which is measured based on whether and how people get along and help each other in a neighborhood 3) Observed neighborhood built environment such as land use density, mixed land use, and distance to the nearest park 4) a series of personal characteristics such as physical health, age, education, family structure, home and vehicle ownership, etc. Neighbourhood social environment is most associated with mental wellbeing It turns out that neighborhood social environment exerts a stronger influence on people’s mental wellbeing than neighborhood physical environment. People who reported better interpersonal relationships in their neighborhoods tended to have better mental wellbeing. Such a positive association, however, was weaker in newer neighborhoods that were built after 2000. We suspect that this is likely because social interactions and mutual assistance are declining when housing is being commercialized in newer neighborhoods. It could also be due to the fact that it takes time to form a close-knit neighborhood. Living near a park was the main physical environment association with mental wellbeing A few physical environment factors can also lead to better mental wellbeing. Consistent with previous findings, living close to a park helps to promote mental health. Land use density and mixed use, however, did not seem to have an impact on residents’ mental wellbeing, after taking into account of other variables. Satisfaction with neighborhood built environment had only a marginal positive effect on mental wellbeing. On the other hand, when asked if neighborhood built environment is important or very important, a majority of respondents said yes. This study found that neighborhood physical environment is important for residents, but has a minor role in determining their mental wellbeing. This finding is puzzling for us and may require more research. The question of cars Lastly, the study reveals a challenge that Beijing’s urban designers and planners have to face: with a quick increase of vehicle ownership, should neighborhoods be designed to be conducive for the use of private cars? Our study finds that residents who own cars tend to feel better when they live in neighborhoods that are conducive for driving and parking but vice versa for residents who don’t own cars. Designers and planners have to decide how to make a balance between walkability and easiness of driving in a neighborhood. Read the full research paper Note: Access to this journal paper requires payment Dong, H., & B. Qin. 2017. Exploring the Link between Neighborhood Environment and Mental Wellbeing: A Case Study in Beijing, China. Landscape and Urban Planning, 164: 71-80. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.04.005 About the Author
11 Comments
Dr B A Arvind
11/3/2018 01:44:56 am
I am associate professor in the department of Epidemiology at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India. Abstract of your article interested me as i exploring the issues of urban mental health in Indian context. Access to full article would be useful to understand urban mental health issues in greater detail. hence requesting you to share the complete article, which will be useful for my review.
Reply
Mato Ray
3/29/2022 01:37:45 am
I'm just too happy that everything is in place for me now. I would gladly recommend the use of spell to any one going through marriage problems and want to put an end to it by emailing Dr Emu through emutemple@gmail.com and that was where I got the help to restore my marriage. Whatsapp +2347012841542
Reply
Shannon Mattingly
4/4/2022 06:24:11 am
I live in USA, ohio, I have to give this miraculous testimony, which is so unbelievable until now. I had a problem with my Ex husband 2 years ago, which lead to our break up. I was not myself again, i felt so empty inside me, my love and financial situation became worst, until a close friend of mine told me about a spell caster who helped her in the same problem too her name is Dr Unity I emailed the spell caster and i told her my problem and i did what she asked of me, to cut the long story short. Before i knew what was happening , less than two days my husband gave me a call and told me that he was coming back to me i was so happy to have him back to me. The most interesting part of the story is that am pregnant. Thanks to Dr Unity for saving my marriage and for also saving others own too. Continue your good work Dr Unity.. If you are interested to contact the great spell caster.Here his contact...WhatsApp: +2348055361568 ,
Reply
Caillo Lisa
6/4/2021 01:46:30 pm
This is another testimony on how Chief Dr Lucky cured my HIV disease. Do you need a cure for your HIV disease? Do you want to be cured from your cancer disease? Or you want to be free from any type of disease. Kindly visit his website https://chiefdrluckyherbaltherapy.wordpress.com/ , he just cured my HIV disease and I’m very grateful to him, he is the only herbalist that can cure you.
Reply
Michael DeBruin
8/27/2021 06:04:50 am
My wish right now is that God should continue to bless Dr Emu for his good works towards the life of those people who are heart broken. My name is Michael DeBruin and I am from the USA, it's been a while since my lover's attitude changed from being the caring type she has been to me, but later turned out not to be caring at all. But not long, I later discovered that my lover was having an affair with someone else. and also she told me she doesn't need me after all we pass through then a friend told me about a spell caster. that with the spell I will get back my woman, I took his cell number then called him and also what's-app him which he reply to me and I did some sacrifices to the spell man and he bought the items for me which he used for the sacrifices and later called me that before 48 hours my love will come back to me and now we are more in love with each other than ever. you can reach him on WhatsApp +2347012841542 or reach him via mail ; emutemple@gmail.com , my lover returned back and broke up with the other guy she was having a relationship with... Thank you Dr Emu.
Reply
Wilson Fox
6/9/2022 01:55:57 am
I suffered from what they called peripheral artery disease (PAD). I have been suffering for years, Me and my wife searched for a medical cure, and then we came across a testimony of a man who suffered the same and was cured by Dr Chief Lucky. So my wife and I contacted Dr Chief Lucky via an email and thank God he replied. I explained what was wrong and he sent me herbal medicines that helped heal me completely. I am happy to say that herbal medicine is the ultimate and Dr Chief Lucky I am grateful. You can contact him on his email: chiefdrlucky@gmail.com or whatsapp: +2348132777335, Facebook page http://facebook.com/chiefdrlucky or website https://chiefdrlucky.com/. Dr Chief Lucky said that he also specializes in the following diseases: LUPUS, ALS, CANCER, HPV, HERPES, DIABETES, COPD, HEPATITIS B, HIV AIDS, And more.
Reply
Mark William
7/18/2022 09:52:33 pm
Hello everyone out there, I'm here to give my testimony about a herbalist doctor who helped me. I was infected with HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS in 2011, I went to many hospitals to heal myself but there was no solution, so I was thinking how I can get a solution so that my body can be well. One day I was in the river thinking about where I can go to get a solution. so a lady walked towards me telling me why I'm so sad and I open everything by telling her my problem, she told me she could help me, she introduced me to a doctor who uses herbal medicines to cure the SIMPLEX HERPES VIRUS and gave me your email, so I sent you an email. He told me everything I had to do and also gave me instructions to take, which I followed correctly. Before I knew what was happening after two weeks, the SIMPLEX HERPES VIRUS that was disappeared in my body. therefore, if you also have a broken heart and need help, you can also send an email to {dr.joshuaherbalhome6@gmail.com} or whatsapp him on +2347048515927 Contact him today and he will have a testimony ... Good luck!
Reply
Laura Hobson
12/20/2022 10:51:58 am
I was really stressed by Acid reflux issues with my newborn and had consulted Chief Dr Lucky. He gave us a thorough consultation and the medicines were equally effective. In a couple of weeks there was big improvement in my son and we are very pleased with the progress. We cannot thank Chief Dr Lucky enough. Highly recommended.
Reply
Manuel Franco
3/27/2023 06:38:13 am
Reply
Amelia Jackson
4/19/2023 12:48:36 pm
Bought different drugs from different hospitals all to no avail till Dr Ogudugu came to my rescue, I'm finally free from genital warts. E-mail: greatogudugu@gmail.com , WhatsApp: +2348063739701 ,
Reply
Mavis Wanczyk
7/16/2023 11:01:35 pm
Being the winner of a multi-million dollar lottery certainly will be a life-changing event for almost every single lottery winner. My name is Mavis Wanczyk from Chicopee, Massachusetts, the famous PowerBall lottery winner of $758 million (£591m). I know many people would wonder how I had won the lottery. Would you believe me if I told you that I did it with spell casting? I met this famous spell caster known as Doctor Odunga and he was the one who did it for me. As shocking as it was to me, my famous comment to the press was “ I’m going to go and hide in my bed.” Never did I believe that Doctor Odunga made me wealthy overnight. If you want to have your chance of winning and becoming very wealthy just like me, contact Doctor Odunga at odungaspelltemple@gmail.com OR WHATS-APP HIM at +2348167159012 and you will be lucky. My advise is when you win, do not fail to appreciate his good work too. Thanks for reading and hope to see you at the top
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Sanity and Urbanity:
|