Writer: Nuttawut Kulkaew

Editor: Wittaya Wonglor

Urbanization not only determines our lives but also influences our well-being through aspects like design. 72% of people on the planet will likely live in cities by 2050. So urban mental health deserves more attention.

Urban environmental problems, disasters, and wars affect food, water, and energy security as well as resource management. Widespread social and cultural also harm mental health. Urban tension, conflict, and insecurity stem from urbanization because living in cities is challenging. Residents have fast-paced, chaotic, and high-conflict lifestyles. Stress, anxiety, despair, loneliness, and isolation result, particularly among vulnerable populations, including children, women, the elderly, and the homeless.

48.9% of rural areas report mental health cases. 80.6% of cases of mental illness are in big cities. As many as 43% of unemployed Americans had poor mental health in 2021, but only 27% of those in work. Violence victims had an 18.1% higher prevalence of depression than the overall population.

Cities must provide good health for their inhabitants and be ready to adapt to changes. Resilient cities can prevent stress, panic, anxiety, and fear that spark unrest.

Managing economic issues is another crucial concern because they affect mental health too, especially amid large-scale migration. Poverty, unemployment, crime, and quality of life all impact on mental health.

Implications for the future:

- Mental health will become an increasingly important issue in city planning and management.

- Access to mental health services will become one of the future indicators of a city's success.

- Social inequality should be a priority for all sectors to open social space to prevent other resulting issues.

Reference:

- Impact of Urbanisation on Mental Health: A Critical Appraisal https://scientonline.org/open-access/impact-of-urbanisation-on-mental-health-a-critical-appraisal.pdf

- Stress and the City: The Impacts of City Living and Urbanization on Mental Health https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1892/

- How urbanization affects residents’ health risks: evidence from China https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-022-24767-y

- Crime victims suffer much higher rates of depression and anxiety https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/crime-victims-suffer-much-higher-23415076

- The effect of neighbourhood and spatial crime rates on mental wellbeing https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00181-022-02256-y

- The impact of unemployment on your mental health and wellbeing https://www.ixionholdings.com/the-impact-of-unemployment-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing/

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