The Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health brings together research and ideas from researchers and practitioners working across diverse fields at the nexus of urban design and mental health. It is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health.
2025
EDITOR:  Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo
CO-EDITORS:  Greg Rybarczyk and Nélida Quintero
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Erin Sharp-Newton, Liqing Zhang, Daniel Gan

Volume 10: Uncertainties
Exploring the Uncertainties at the Intersection of Urban Design and Mental Health

Volume 10 of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health examines uncertainties at the intersection of urban design and mental health, asking to what extent empirical evidence can inform design for mental health. It pushes the boundaries of evidence-based design, offering critical perspectives on the tension between research and development and presenting bold, reflective work that seeks to redefine or defend the role of evidence in shaping mentally healthy cities. Original research articles, theoretical essays, case studies, and dialogues explore the interplay between empirical evidence, conceptual frameworks, and design implementation, with contributions that engage theory-practice relationships, challenge conventional evidence hierarchies, and advance both theoretical discourse and evidence-based practice for healthier urban environments.

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2024
EDITOR: Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo
CO-EDITORS: Greg Rybarczyk and Nélida Quintero
SECTION EDITORS: 
​Daniel Gan and  Erin Sharp-Newton

Volume 9: Urban Landscapes for Mental Health
Intersections and Connections between ​Wisdom and Innovation in Design

Volume 9 examines the interaction between established design principles and new, evidence-based methodologies that foster salutogenic urban ecosystems. As rapid societal, technological, and environmental changes impact our cities, citizens and life, rigorous study is essential to navigating the complex intersections of mental health and urban design. To do this, we continue to highlight what has historically proved successful, as well as future innovations that are both data-informed and resilient. AI-driven advancements are transforming our capacity to analyze human responses to the built environment, accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Yet, as we embrace these new frontiers, we must critically evaluate past lessons and history’s warnings, identifying strategies that foster urban well-being. We are delighted to present contributions that illuminate this vital nexus.

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​2023
CO-EDITORS: Daniel Gan and Colin Ellard

Volume 8: Looking Back, Imagining Forward 

Volume 8 was facilitated by the co-editorship of psychologist Colin Ellard and urbanist Daniel Gan.  In this themed issue, fellows and colleagues reflect on the question “Whither Urban Design and Mental Health?” while considering implications of our disciplinary diversity, evolution, and trajectories for the field from diverse positionality, socio-geographic locations and career stages. 

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2021
GUEST EDITORS: Daniel Gan and Zdravko Trivic

Volume 7: Aging City

Volume 7 is guest-edited by Daniel Gan and Zdravko Trivic and focuses on their area of expertise: the aging city. In many cities around the world, populations are growing older. People aged over 65 years old are the fastest-growing population demographic group and the implications of this demographic shift on urban design and planning are still being understood. This themed edition offers new insight.

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2020
​EDITOR: Layla McCay

Volume 6: COVID City

Volume 6 of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health published during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the full extent and nature of the impact of COVID-19 on urban design remains to be understood, this Edition explores the initial impact from a mental health perspective, and brings city insights from Adelaide, Ankara, Delhi, George Town, Montreal, Toronto, Washington and more.

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SEPTEMBER 2018
EDITOR: Layla McCay

Edition 5: Urban Play

Volume 5 of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health explores play: from how the urban environment affects young people's mental health to playing with ideas for the urban environment, with city insight from Brussels Charlotte, Copenhagen, Delhi, New York City, Las Vegas, Londonderry and Qazvin. 

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FEBRUARY 2018
EDITOR: Layla McCay

Volume 4: Alone Together

Volume 4 of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health explores the impact of isolation from different angles from solitary confinement to gated communities, focuses on Hong Kong, and brings in young people's voices to understand the impact of large-scale development on local communities. We also provide a new air pollution review.

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FEBRUARY 2017
EDITOR: ​Layla McCay

Volume 2: Planning and Designing for Urban Mental Health

Volume 2 of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health explores some of the planning and design determinants of mental health that can be addressed by urban planners, architects and other citymakers.

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2016
GUEST EDITOR: Itai Palti

Volume 1: Conscious Cities

Volume 1 of the Journal for Urban Design and Mental Health focuses on the theme of conscious cities. Conscious cities is the concept of urban environments that are responsive to our needs through data analysis and the application of behavioural science in architecture and planning.

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About the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health

The Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health is published online by the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, an international think tank that seeks to answer the question: how can we build better mental health into our cities?

All articles published by the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health are peer-reviewed, indexed and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Get involved:  If you are interested in becoming an editor, peer reviewer or submitting a research paper, analysis paper or case study for a future edition, or if you have other feedback or ideas for the journal, please contact us.
ISSN 2398-4082 (online)