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Author: Erin Sharp Newton  Photo: Denniz Futalan When cities are destroyed by disasters, when people are displaced, and when divisive uncertainty fractures the landscape of humanity, the human response is fear, desperation, disconnectedness, grief, and trauma. In collective compassion and collaborative commitment, society can invest in strength, spirit, and substance to support the needs of all those facing such traumas. By embedding spaces and systems into our cities that provide refuge, recovery, and healing, we create environments that nurture both individuals and communities.  Photo: Kelly (Pexels) The Urgency of Mental Health in Crisis This year's 2025 World Mental Health Day theme, "Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies," underscores the urgent need to support the mental health and psychosocial well-being of people affected by crises. Natural disasters, conflict, and public health emergencies leave deep emotional + neurological + psychological imprints. At the Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health, we focus on how environments profoundly shape mental health outcomes, particularly in contexts of recovery and resilience. Just as cities can negatively impact mental health and well-being, they can also be intentionally designed to restore safety, foster connection, and nurture psychological resilience.  Photo: Josh Fields Insights from the Centre's Work The Centre's Journal for Urban Design and Mental Health and Sanity + Urbanity Forum are curated to provide valuable insights into urban design and mental health. The work of our large network of people invested in this space reflects a growing recognition that the physical and social fabric of cities plays a central role not only in fostering mental well-being but also in enabling recovery after disruption. The following examples are just some examples that illustrate how researchers, practioners, and stakeholders have approached this challenge. These examples offer evidence, precedent, and reflection on how the built environment can become both a site of vulnerability and a source of healing:
A Call to Collaboration in Crisis As we observe World Mental Health Day 2025, let us reflect on the role of urban environments in shaping mental health outcomes during humanitarian emergencies. It is essential for everyone (including architects, planners, scientists, developers, government officials, health and social care providers, school staff, and community groups) to come together. Through collective, collaborative, compassionate, pro-active and pro-social work, we can ensure the most vulnerable have access to the support they need while protecting the well-being of everyone. If you are looking to contribute to this ongoing dialogue, consider submitting your work to our platforms:
 Photo: Ludwig Kwan Global Resources & History: World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day has been observed on 10 October since 1992, launched by the World Federation for Mental Health in partnership with the WHO, to advance awareness, reduce stigma, and galvanize advocacy for mental health globally.
References Burkly, H. (2019). Washington, D.C., USA: An urban design and mental health case study. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health, 6(13). Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. King, J. (2018). Air pollution, mental health, and implications for urban design: A review. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health, 4(6). Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. https://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/journal-4---air-pollution-and-mental-health.html McCay, L., Suzuki, E., & Chang, A. (2017). Urban design and mental health in Tokyo: A city case study. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health, 3(4). Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. https://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/journal-3---tokyo-case-study.html Palti, I. (Ed.). (2016). Conscious cities. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health, 1. Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. Shafique, T. (2017). Lonelitopia: How urbanism of mass destruction is crushing the American dream. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health, 2. Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. https://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/edition-2.html Ward, K., & Sharp Newton, E. (2018). Applying the concept of Root Shock to urban renewal plans for Charlotte’s Marshall Park. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health, 5. Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. https://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/edition-5.html Gleizes, S. (2016). The digitalization of traumascapes. Journal of Urban Design & Mental Health*1(6). Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health. https://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/journal1-digitaltraumascapes.html About the Author
Annalise V Johns, London-based urban designer brings us the latest discussions from some of the most interesting urban design discussions around London. Want to share what's being discussed in your city? Email us. In the space of a week, both London First and The London Society held talks on growth. The London Society talk included a panel of four: an academic Transport Planner from University College London, an economist from the Greater London Authority, a London Architect and a spokesperson from Shelter, a homeless charity. This panel of experts explored the many aspects of growth that need to be considered to meet the demand of London’s increase in population by 2050. The most eye opening aspect of this discussion was the evidence provided by Shelter regarding the plight of homelessness, and the impact the lack of affordable housing is having on the health of the working poor and displaced in the UK. “1 in 5 English adults (21%) said housing issues had negatively impacted upon their mental health in the last 5 years. 3 in 10 {…} said they had no issues with their mental health previously”. The evidence Shelter put forth showed how “coordinated reform and investment from a government willing to make housing a central priority” could address this. Shelter’s contribution was indeed a disturbing illustration of our staggering crisis of housing and mental health, but also a compelling explanation of how this can be ratified through design and a shift in local economic reform. The London First talk was hosted by VuCity, a new software that has created “an accurate interactive digital city model”. This planning tool enables detailed information relating to individual development proposals to be evaluated in situ before consent is given. The tool, dependent on the accuracy of the information it is fed, is capable of determining impacts such as wind at street level, views from a neighbouring property, daylight shadow diagrams, the list goes on. Currently, the software has been adopted by The City of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Transportation for London. The aim is for adoption across the UK to support local authorities by providing more knowledge of possible impacts, and to test the viability of design quality of developments of all shapes and sizes. On the same day as the London First talk, an APPG (all-party parliamentary group) met to discuss the role of tall buildings, whether they offer a solution or not. High quality design is always emphasised as critical; however the elephant in the room is universal health and it is never placed at the heart of the argument to shape the quality of design. Mise van der Rohe (actually Louis Sullivan) is often quoted “form follows function”, which is the argument that design must relate to its intended function. The reason issues of growth, high density and tall buildings have become so emotive across London and the world, is at the heart of this is our realization that our cities are devoid of a relationship to the majority of those who occupy them. The majority in London specifically, are struggling on £25K as a combined household income, they are working long hours, they are travelling longer distances between work and home, 1 in 3 of them have mental health issues and Shelter’s evidence would suggest 100% of this has some association with housing costs, poor urban quality and uncertainty. “There are millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness” yet this remains in the back drop of arguments over tall buildings and growth. In the LSE’s (London School of Economics) Conference Report: Cities, Health and Well-Being, there is much discussion about using the “LSE Cities’ mapping of health outcomes at a fine grained spatial scale which could contribute to a better understanding of health risks in different areas.” Were this system of mapping layered with the Vu City model this could be a life changing way of bridging the function with the type of form. Public Health England, located in every borough across the country, has all of the up-to-date information on local health. Would it not be simple to combine this information with VuCity and each borough to bridge this gap? It would help if copies of The King’s Fund Housing and Health report 2018, was made available to the APPG, New London Architecture and to the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to inform built environment professionals of what the need looks like to empower them to design accordingly. About the Author
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Sanity and Urbanity
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