The mental health among girls and young women is getting worse. In the report “Danskernes Sundhed” The National Institute of public Health found that about a third of girls and young women reportedly had bad mental health. We know that mental health promotion should not be limited to just one sector, and that working across sectors and promoting mental health in many arenas are important. Because working with mental health promotion in many arenas, is at the cornerstone of addressing the alarming prevalence, urban planning might play a role in mental health promotion. Therefore, the National Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with Henning Larsen Architects, set out to investigate how urban environments can promote mental health of young girls and women in large Scandinavian cities.
Purpose
Can urban areas help improve mental health, especially among girls and young women? In this project, the National Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with Henning Larsen Architects, will investigate how urban planning might be used to foster mental health promotion in urban areas. While the association between urban planning and physical health is well-established, the connection between how we plan cities and mental health, and especially among girls and young women, is less explored.
The aim of URBAN MIND is to:
1. Define urban mental health
2. Investigate possibilities for using design of the urban environment to promote mental
health with a focus on young girls and women living in large Scandinavian cities
3. Develop new urban concepts that will create restorative effects on mental health and
promote well-being, with a focus on neighborhood scale
Method
Though a multifaceted approach, encompassing both a review of the literature, workshops and walk-and-talks with girls and young women, as well as a continuous guidance from an expert panel, consisting both of representatives from the target population and experts in mental health promotion, this project will foster a better understanding of how urban environments can promote mental health of young girls and women and help architects built better.
Project period
Q4 2022 - Q3 2023
Collaboration and funding
Henning Larsen Architects (partner) and Rambøll fonden (grantor)