The importance of urban planning for mental health and creativity of urban communities

Written by Haiza Putti | Read in Indonesian

Have you ever noticed the different feelings and emotions you feel when you are in different corners in the same city?

Designing a city is not just about building access to good facilities and beautiful buildings. The maturity of the design of a city can actually have an emotional impact on the people, determining their mental health level.

According to Roger Trancik (1986), urban design is an effort to build the structure of urban spaces to create an order of beauty and a sense of comfort. In the design process, the main structure of the city and the characteristics of local wisdom are the main considerations.

Globally, the importance of the field of urban design has been growing over the last three decades. However, it was not until the late 1980s that it received attention in Indonesia. Dodon Tramidi, a lecturer at the Urban and Regional Planning Study Program at Winaya Mukti University, sees that mental health improvement is still not a clear priority for city designers. The planning process should consider the availability of active spaces, prosocial spaces and safe spaces.

Influential aspects of urban design

Trancik explained three main theories that are the key considerations in urban design. First, Figure and Ground Theory, which is an analysis to identify the spatial pattern of the city. The first theory is closely related to the relationship of an object (building) with the surrounding environment. Second, Linkage Theory which analyses the lines that unite all elements in the city, in the form of roads. Third, Place Theory which highlights social relations between people in a city.

Tramidi explained several aspects that can be worked on to improve the welfare of city dwellers. First, using prosocial spaces to encourage positive social interaction between all users. According to him, urban spaces should have facilities that support positive social interactions. Some things need to be avoided, such as monotonous long blocks of plain walls that can make individuals prone to rumination (negative thoughts) and diminish their interest to make social interactions.

Second, access to transportation and connections. Tramidi explained that good transportation helps make mobility as efficient as possible, has easy access to every corner of the city, connects communities and increases opportunities for education, employment, recreation and access to nature. All of them make an important contribution to mental health.

Unfortunately, the transportation infrastructure that we have, such as in the city of Jakarta, is dominated by large roads for cars. Tramidi explained that such infrastructure can divide communities, create noise, increase pollution, increase the level of danger and limit active transport options. Such design also raises the level of stress of commuters, especially car drivers. The lowest stress levels can be found in pedestrians and cyclists.

The design and construction of a city also affects the level of pollution in the air. Pollutants in the air affect mental health. Every 10 g/m3 increases NO2 exposure, which is assumed to double the likelihood of depression. In addition, air pollution is associated with autism spectrum disorders that cause cognitive and psychotic decline.

In order to prevent the increase in air pollutants, a city should have sufficient green spaces and trees to trap heavy metals and other larger particles. An example is the Platanus trees which have been planted for the same purpose in the city of London.

The design of airflow through urban canopy is equally important. It can help disperse air pollutants from areas with high footprints. Implementing low emission zones, rerouting heavy traffic, facilitating active transportation and relocating heavy industries from densely populated urban areas are the next strategies.

The influence of urban design on community welfare

One of the important keys in building good city governance, according to Tramidi, is through the awareness of powerholders to implement good design which is more than just regulations and laws.

“In short, focus on governance; the technical organisations and/or bureaucracies of the government and the state as well as the processes and structures that shape broader relationships of power, domination and authority,” Tramidi said.

"The process of good city design is crucial, given that the majority of cities have a full impact on economic restructuring and where the globalisation process is most felt," he explained.

He added that most of the urban infrastructure creates social and economic inequality as well as divisions and distances. According to him, urban planning should be able to play an important role to support the implementation of nature-based solutions and to manage exchanges and conflicts, as well as how the dimensions of social justice are considered.

Through good urban design, which takes into account the spatial pattern of a city, access to movement and transportation as well as the connectedness between individuals and communities can build a good urban ecosystem. It is the key to mental and physical health as well as the productivity and creativity of the urban community.