Using smartphone technologies to investigate the impact of the built urban environment on mental wellbeing in real time: a pilot study
Abstract
Urban living is associated with higher vulnerability to a range of mental health issues, but at present we know very little about the mechanisms that mediate this association. As the number of people moving to cities continues... [ view full abstract ]
Urban living is associated with higher vulnerability to a range of mental health issues, but at present we know very little about the mechanisms that mediate this association. As the number of people moving to cities continues to rise, with 66% of the global population expected to live in urban areas by 2050, it is critical to gain a better understanding of how urban living can affect mental health in the general population. We developed a smartphone app to examine the impact of the built urban environment on mental wellbeing as people go about their daily life. This enabled us to address the following questions: (1) How do different aspects of the built urban environment affect mental wellbeing? (2) How does the impact of the built urban environment on mental wellbeing interact with individual characteristics such as demographics, socioeconomics and personality? The smartphone app used ecological momentary assessment to acquire data from 40 UK-based participants over a period of 7 days. Ecological momentary assessment involves repeated sampling of people’s locations, experiences and behaviours in real time; this minimises recall bias, maximises ecological validity, and provides insight into dynamic changes within real-world environments. We report that (i) specific features of the environment, including green infrastructure and levels of noise, affect mental wellbeing; and (ii) the impact of the environment on mental wellbeing is dependent on personality characteristics such as impulsivity. The impact of the present research will be two-fold: from the perspective of urban planning and design, the data will provide a much-needed evidence base that will inform future investments and policies; from the perspective of public health, the data will help us understand urban determinants of mental wellbeing and inform the development of new interventions aimed at promoting mental health within the urban context.
Authors
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Neil Davidson
(J & L Gibbons)
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Johanna Gibbons
(J & L Gibbons)
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Michael Smythe
(Nomad Projects)
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Andrea Mechelli
(King's College London)
Topic Areas
IV. Behaviors 4.1 Mobilities and health 4.2 Spatial analysis of substance abuse and treatm , IV. Urbanism, Health and Wellbeing 4.1 Built environment 4.2 Pollution: air, noise, etc , V. Health indicators, spatial analysis and mapping: new tools, new methods 5.1 Spatial ana
Session
SPH-UH-01C » Spatializing Urban Health (08:00 - Friday, 1st April, TBA)
Paper
Long_abstract_-_13th_Urban_Health_Conference.docx
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