Urban environment, mindfulness meditation and mental health: a bibliometric review

According to the “Urban Health Rome Declaration” at European meeting “G7 Health” that defines the strategic aspects and actions to improve Urban, Environmental and Public Mental Health into the cities, and referring to the Agenda 2030 in which the 11th SDG argue about “Sustainable Cities and Communities. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, one of the most expressive syntheses of the challenging relationship between urban planning and Public Health is stated by WHO (2016): “Health is the precondition of urban sustainable development and the first priority for urban planners”. Referring to the Healthy Cities & Urban Health definitions, we can consider Public Health not merely an aspect of individual health protection and promotion, but a collective condition, strongly influenced by the environmental context and by the strategies implemented by local Governments. The “Health in All Policies” strategy, clearly underlines how health depend by the quality of outdoor and indoor living environments. In this scenario, healthy living and the requirements for healthy places, infrastructure for the public good and Public Health, cycling, walking, disintegrating the role of polluting traffic from the urban environments, social vulnerability and equality are just a few aspects in complex puzzle when designing the urban spaces for healthy, active, walkable cities. The lockdown due to the pandemic has prevented travels, forcing many people to work at home and reducing the possibility of accessing services in the territory. This condition has further highlighted the importance of urban living areas capable of satisfying basic needs within a reasonably easy range of accessibility. The concept of the “15 minutes city” is a useful vision to represent the city of proximity, where it is possible to meet the needs for sustainable, fair, quality, and healthy living. This dimension of proximity can be central to formulating strategies to improve the quality of urban life. A place of proximity, therefore not only defined based on the physical characteristics and people's uses, but also based on the data collected from a public health perspective in which it is also possible to try to test different types of information and build the conditions to suggest suitable policies and projects. Aim of the Workshop - organized by the two EUPHA Section URB+ENV - it would like to be to build the capacity and knowledge between participants about the main topics and urban features capable to have relevant Urban Public and Environmental Health outcomes. Additional scope is to collected case studies and research experiences considered virtuous at the international level, analyzed in detail to highlight the main urban and architectural features of those healthy experiences and the related health outcomes, such as sedentary lifestyle reduction, increase of the attractiveness of places, reduction of air and noise pollution. Key messages • Cities for people, promoting Urban Public Health, Environmental Health and active mobility, require optimization of public spaces for citizens and their activities. • Case studies and research experiences to highlight the main urban and architectural features of those healthy experiences and the related health outcomes, such as sedentary lifestyle reduction.

Mental health in urban environments is often treated from a healthcare provision perspective. Research in recent decades showed that mental illness in cities is a result of dysfunctional coordination between different city systems and structures. Given the nature of the city as a system of systems, this work builds through a participatory method, a general system dynamic model of factors that affect mental health in urban and regional environments. Through this method, we investigated the challenges of the application of such methodology to identify essential factors, feedback loops, and dependencies between systems to move forward in planning for mental health in cities. The outcome is a general model that showed the importance of factors that vary from individuals, families to communities and feedback loops that span multiple systems such as the city physical infrastructures, social environments, schools, labor market, and healthcare provision.

IntroductionMental health issues appear as a growing problem in modern societies and tend to be more frequent in big cities. Where increased evidence exists for positive links between nature and...

Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh, has experienced rapid and unplanned urbanization over the past few decades. This process has brought significant challenges to public health as the urban environment has become a breeding ground for various health risks. Understanding the associations between unplanned urbanization, the urban environment, and public health in Dhaka City is crucial for developing effective interventions and policies. This review paper aims to uncover the associations between unplanned urbanization and health risks in Dhaka City, with a specific focus on the urban environment and its impact on public health. The objectives of this study are to examine the health challenges faced by the city's population, explore the specific urban environmental factors contributing to health risks, analyze the socioeconomic determinants of health in unplanned urban areas, evaluate existing policies and governance structures, identify research and data gaps, and provide recommendations for future interventions. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to gather relevant studies, articles, reports, and policy documents related to unplanned urbanization, the urban environment, and public health in Dhaka City. Various databases and online resources were searched, and the selected literature was critically analyzed to extract key findings and insights. The findings reveal that unplanned urbanization in Dhaka City has led to a range of public health risks, including air pollution, inadequate water and sanitation, poor waste management, overcrowding, slums, and substandard housing conditions. These environmental factors are strongly associated with respiratory diseases, waterborne illnesses, and other adverse health outcomes. Socioeconomic determinants such as poverty, income inequality, and limited access to healthcare further exacerbate the health risks faced by the urban population. Unplanned urbanization in Dhaka City has significant implications for public health. Addressing the associations between unplanned urbanization, the urban environment, and public health requires comprehensive policies and interventions. Improved urban planning, enhanced infrastructure, and better policy governance are essential for mitigating health risks. Furthermore, addressing socioeconomic disparities and ensuring equitable access to healthcare services are crucial components of effective interventions.

Cities around the world face many environmental health challenges including contamination of air, water and soil, traffic congestion and noise, and poor housing conditions exacerbated by unsustainable urban development and climate change. Integrated assessment of these risks offers opportunities for holistic, low carbon solutions in the urban environment that can bring multiple benefits for public health. The Healthy-Polis consortium aims to protect and promote urban health through multi-disciplinary, policy-relevant research on urban environmental health and sustainability. We are doing this by promoting improved methods of health risk assessment, facilitating international collaboration, contributing to the training of research scientists and students, and engaging with key stakeholders in government, local authorities, international organisations, industry and academia. A major focus of the consortium is to promote and support international research projects coordinated between two or more countries. The disciplinary areas represented in the consortium are many and varied, including environmental epidemiology, modelling and exposure assessment, system dynamics, health impact assessment, multi-criteria decision analysis, and other quantitative and qualitative approaches. This Healthy-Polis special issue presents a range of case studies and reviews that illustrate the need for a systems-based understanding of the urban environment.

This literature review examines the relationship between the urban environment and human health, focusing on five key parameters: air pollution, extreme temperatures, noise, green spaces, and urban mobility. A systematic review was conducted using indexed scientific databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed) and technical reports, following predefined search terms and exclusion criteria. A total of 131 publications were selected and analyzed. The study highlights the negative health effects of air pollution, heat, and noise—particularly on the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, and reproductive systems—especially in vulnerable populations including older adults, children, pregnant women, individuals with chronic illnesses, and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. In contrast, green spaces and sustainable mobility have shown beneficial impacts, including improvements in mental health, increased physical activity, and indirect benefits as they contribute to reducing air pollution, urban heat, and noise. Among all parameters, air pollution emerges as the most extensively studied and regulated, while significant research gaps persist in the fields of urban mobility and noise pollution. Furthermore, regulatory development remains limited across all parameters analyzed, highlighting the need for more comprehensive and consistent policy frameworks. Based on the evidence, three key urban strategies are proposed: renaturalizing cities, promoting sustainable mobility, and implementing data-driven management and educational tools. These actions are essential to create healthier, more resilient, and sustainable urban environments.

The expansion, densification and proliferation of urban areas around the world is currently occurring at a rate that is unprecedented in human history. It is predicted that global urban land cover will triple between 2000 and 2030, with some regions (including biodiversity hotspots) experiencing a ninefold increase in urban land cover over the same time period (Seto, G€ uneralp & Hutyra 2012). Accompanying the expansion of urban landscapes, it is anticipated that the human population living in cities and towns globally will increase from 3 5 to 5 billion people within the next 20 years (Fragkias et al. 2013). Thus, the demands of an expanding and urbanizing human population are one of the pressing ecological problems our world is facing (Sanderson et al. 2002), alongside, and in combination with, global climate change and changes to biodiversity at local and global scales (Pimm et al. 2014). Yet, urban environments also present a unique opportunity to expand our fundamental knowledge related to ecology and evolution due to the presence of intense and often novel selection pressures. In the inaugural issue of this journal, Calow (1987) defined functional ecology as the sum of three interactive processes: (i) those occurring between organisms and their environment, (ii) biotic interactions between organisms and (iii) adaptive processes driven by natural selection. The same three processes were highlighted 1 year earlier by Jared Diamond in Nature, when he called for biologists to pay more attention to the potential of using the unprecedented environmental conditions that exist within towns and cities to develop and test evolutionary and ecological theory (Diamond 1986). There is thus a natural synergy between functional ecology and urban ecology, as exemplified by some of the classic papers that have appeared in this journal, such as Rydell (1992) who demonstrated that the form of echolocation system determined the impact of light pollution on bat foraging behaviour. The potential of combining functional ecological research with urban ecology is, however, a long way from being fully realized. This is in part explained by the youth of urban ecology as a discipline. Scientific enquiry into the ecological consequences of urban environments has been underway for over half a century, although most of the momentum emerged after the mid 1990s (McDonnell 2011; Wu 2014). Thus, the focus of much urban research to date has involved describing patterns along environmental gradients (Gagn e 2013; McDonnell & Hahs 2013) rather than investigating the mechanistic processes that lie at the heart of functional ecology. To be effective in addressing the global challenges of urbanization, a much better understanding of how the urban environment affects the ecology and evolution of organisms needs to be developed (Grimm et al. 2008; Marzluff 2012; Gil & Brumm 2014; McDonnell & Hahs 2015). The purpose of this special feature is to draw attention to the plethora of opportunities that await researchers investigating the ecology and evolution of organisms in urban environments. The combination of environmental stressors and conditions within urban areas provides a novel opportunity to test and expand our theories related to ecology and evolution of organisms, and some intriguing insights are already beginning to emerge. For example, the detailed understanding of the molecular, genetic and developmental mechanisms of beak evolution that has arisen from studying Galapagos finches has been significantly advanced by studying beak evolution in the house finch Carpodacus mexicanus in response to novel urban food sources and its consequences for acoustic communication (Badyaev 2010, 2014). Thus, urban ecology has the potential to extend our understanding of extremely well-studied ecological and evolutionary problems.

This research examines the relationship between urban environmental degradation and community mental health disorders, focusing on the interdependence between the two. Environmental degradation, which includes air pollution, decreasing quality of green spaces, and increasing deterioration of city infrastructure, has been shown to contribute to a decline in the quality of life in urban environments. The impact on people's mental health, such as anxiety, stress, and depression, becomes more significant as environmental conditions worsen. Air quality degradation and lack of open space often affect psychological well-being, increase levels of discomfort, and worsen mental health conditions, especially among people living in more vulnerable areas. This research methodology uses a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional and longitudinal design to analyze the relationship between environmental degradation and mental health. The sampling technique used was stratified random sampling, where the population was divided based on the level of environmental degradation (high, medium, low) in major cities in South Sulawesi. The sample included approximately 500 respondents for the cross-sectional design and 200 respondents for the longitudinal design. Mental health was measured using standardized psychological questionnaires to evaluate levels of anxiety, stress, and depression, while environmental conditions were measured using parameters of air pollution, quality of green open spaces, and infrastructure degradation. The findings suggest that integrated environmental improvements, such as green open space management and pollution control, can improve the physical and psychological conditions of urban residents. This study recommends the design of more environmentally friendly urban policies to improve the quality of life and psychological well-being of city residents.

The number of people worldwide living with dementia and cognitive impairment is increasing, mainly due to people living longer, so we want to figure out how where we live affects dementia and brain health as we get older. Some research suggests that where we live might influence our brain health. For example, poor air quality in towns and cities, can lead to a decline in brain health. As more of us now live in towns and cities, it is important that the environment where we live is scientifically designed and improved to maximise our brain health. The complex social and physical environments where we live make some people more vulnerable than others to developing cognitive impairment. In other words, the factors that account for who is most likely to develop cognitive ill-health due to the environment has less to do with ‘how’ we live and more to do with ‘where’ we live. We do not know how these factors interact to make urban environments a problem for brain health, nor which are the best policies and interventions for promoting healthy ageing and brain health for our poorest communities. The SPACE (Supportive Environments for Physical and Social Activity, Healthy Ageing and Cognitive Health) project (https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/space/) uses various analytical approaches to investigate the impacts, and possible mechanistic pathways, of urban environments on healthy ageing and the cognitive health, through the novel integration of multi-omics, behaviours, environmental exposures and urban environment. SPACE uses data from NICOLA (Northern Ireland Cohort of Longitudinal Ageing) which is part of the US-HRS (Health and Retirement Study) international family of studies. The data and approaches showcased in this workshop are therefore applicable to those working in other longitudinal ageing cohorts such as TILDA, SHARE and ELSA. Workshop format (60 mins): Five panel members each present their perspective on the use and experience of different analytical approaches on the topic (8 mins each). The 5 analytical approaches include: 1. Using Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) to inform the development of Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) 2. Mediation analysis 3. Compositional analysis 4. Application of the Syndemic Theory and analysis of synergy 5. Mendelian randomisation Each panellist will provide a short presentation introducing the analytical approach, rationale for its use, a worked example related to urban environment and cognitive health, and the pros and cons of the approach. This is then followed by 20 minutes of discussion with the audience on the different approaches. At the end of the workshop, participants will have: - Introductory knowledge regarding a range of novel analytical approaches relevant to exploring the urban environmental exposome and cognitive health - An understanding of factors to consider when choosing analytical approaches - New insights into how these analytical approaches can address novel research questions related to urban environmental exposome and cognitive health Key messages • Preventing dementia and cognitive decline is a global health priority. Effective prevention strategies are overdue. • Different analytical approaches can provide novel perspectives and insights on the urban environmental exposome and cognitive health.

Cities are increasingly facing environmental health challenges linked to pollution, noise, and a lack of green space. In the context of climate change, it is vital to adapt urban environments to prevent the deterioration of urban environmental health conditions. While urban environmental health indicators (such as viability, livability, and sustainability) offer a valuable conceptual framework, we argue that these indicators must be contextualised to more accurately reflect local realities. This paper proposes that participatory processes are essential for capturing place-based parameters, understood as context-sensitive expressions of urban environmental health indicators grounded in residents’ lived experience. Accordingly, assessing urban environmental health requires a participatory and grounded production of urban knowledge. Drawing on an empirical study conducted in Paris during the recent bioclimatic planning process, we examine how residents perceive environmental health issues in their city. We develop a place-based model of urban environmental health using grounded theory to illustrate how environmental health concerns manifest locally within the broader climate adaptation agenda.

Background: CITI-SENSE is a four year Collaborative Project partly funded by the EU FP7-ENV-2012 under grant agreement 308524, which commenced in October 2012. Nine different cities (Barcelona, Belgrade, Edinburgh, Haifa, Ljubljana, Oslo, Ostrava, Vienna and Vitoria) will gather sensor-enabled health-relevant information on outdoor urban spaces and indoor school environments. Aims: The overall aim of CITISENSE is to create citizen observatories, and to empower citizens with the means to communicate directly with authorities and policy-makers regarding contemporary urban environmental health issues. In Barcelona, we will focus on urban air pollution. Methods: Mobile and static sensor nodes will be strategically deployed around the city of Barcelona. Dynamic land-use regression modeling will be performed to create a near-real-time map layer of urban environmental health indicators, including CO2, NO2, NOX, PM, and noise. Citizens will be engaged to identify and evaluate contemporary environmental health issues. Results: 20 personal/mobile sensors and 40 geographical/static sensors will be deployed in Barcelona city. The mobile sensors will be carried by interest user-groups such as bicyclists and asthmatics. The static sensors will facilitate land-use-regression modeling, occurring hourly and complementing existing air monitoring network information, to produce advice for citizens via mobile software apps. The city council, environmentalists, bicycle advocates and hospital outpatient groups will assist the development of the final products. Conclusions: The CITI-SENSE Barcelona case study will develop citizen observatories to improve the quality of life in urban environments, facilitating the detection of air pollution and noise level limit breaches that may negatively impact citizens’ health and quality of life on a daily basis.

Urban green spaces are essential for promoting public health by encouraging physical activity, reducing stress, and enhancing overall well-being. However, the perception and utilization of these spaces vary based on socio-demographic factors and urban planning characteristics. This study investigates public perception of urban green spaces and their perceived health benefits, emphasizing their psychological, physical, and social impacts. The study involved 240 respondents who assessed the availability and quality of green spaces as well as the social and psychological aspects of their use. The survey was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that environmental awareness (β = 0.404, p < 0.001) and social interaction (β = 0.391, p < 0.001) are significant predictors of the frequency of visiting green spaces, while their availability and quality do not have a significant impact. These findings highlight the critical role of environmental education and community awareness initiatives in maximizing the health benefits derived from urban green spaces. Frequency of use is positively associated with both mental (β = 0.272, p = 0.002) and physical health (β = 0.409, p < 0.001). Surprisingly, social interaction demonstrates a negative impact on mental health (β = −0.166, p = 0.002), which requires further study. The obtained results highlight the need for an integrated approach to studying the relationship between the urban environment and population health.

To enhance the precision of evaluating the impact of urban environments on resident health, this study introduces a novel fuzzy intelligent computing model designed to address health risk concerns using multi-media environmental monitoring data. Three cities were selected for the study: Beijing (B City), Kunming (K City), and Wuxi (W City), representing high, low, and moderate pollution levels, respectively. The study employs a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) as the chosen fuzzy intelligent computing model, synthesizing multi-media environmental monitoring data for the purpose of urban health risk assessment. (1) The model reliably estimates health risks across diverse cities and environmental conditions. (2) There is a positive correlation between PM2.5 concentrations and health risks, though the impact of noise levels varies by city. In cities B, K, and W, the respective correlation coefficients are 0.65, 0.55, and 0.7. (3) The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values for cities B, K, and W, are 0.0132, 0.0125, and 0.0118, respectively, indicating that the model has high accuracy. The R2 values for the three cities are 0.8963, 0.9127, and 0.9254, respectively, demonstrating the model's high explanatory power. The residual values for the three cities are 0.0087, 0.0075, and 0.0069, respectively, indicating small residuals and demonstrating robustness and adaptability. (4) The model's p-values for the Indoor Air Quality Index (IAQI), Thermal Comfort Index (TCI), and Noise Pollution Index (NPI) all satisfy p < 0.05 for the three cities, affirming the model's credibility in estimating health risks under varied urban environments. These results showcase the model's ability to adapt to diverse geographical conditions and aid in the accurate assessment of existing risks in urban settings. This study significantly advances environmental health risk assessment by integrating multidimensional data, enhancing the formulation of comprehensive environmental protection and health management strategies, and providing scientific support for sustainable urban planning.

Objective: Previous quantitative research has suggested that there is a link between housing, the urban environment, and mental health. However, methodological and design issues make it difficult to disentangle the...

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between air quality and respiratory health in urban environments Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study on air quality and respiratory health in urban Brazil found that higher pollution levels were associated with increased respiratory diseases like asthma and COPD. Lower-income communities faced greater health risks due to poor air quality. The findings stress the importance of regulations and interventions to improve air quality and protect respiratory health in urban areas of Brazil. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Environmental justice theory, the exposure-response theory &amp; the social determinants of health theory may be used to anchor future studies on air quality and respiratory health in urban environments. Researchers should employ a combination of observational studies, longitudinal cohorts, and intervention trials to assess the impact of air quality on respiratory health outcomes in urban populations. Governments and policymakers should prioritize investments in clean energy technologies, sustainable transportation systems, and green infrastructure to minimize sources of air pollution and promote respiratory health in urban environments.