Investigating the mental health implications of urban environments with neuroscientific methods and mobile technologies: A systematic literature review

Adrian Buttazzoni; Amanda Parker; Leia Minaker

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102597

Investigating the mental health implications of urban environments with neuroscientific methods and mobile technologies: A systematic literature review

Health Place. 2021 Jul:70:102597. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102597. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Authors

Adrian Buttazzoni¹, Amanda Parker², Leia Minaker³

Affiliations

¹ School of Planning, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Geographies of Health in Place, Planning, and Public Health Lab, University of Waterloo, Canada. Electronic address: anbuttazzoni@uwaterloo.ca.
² Geographies of Health in Place, Planning, and Public Health Lab, University of Waterloo, Canada; School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Canada.
³ School of Planning, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Geographies of Health in Place, Planning, and Public Health Lab, University of Waterloo, Canada; School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Canada.

PMID: 34107446
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102597

Abstract

Urbanization is an ongoing global process that is influencing and shaping individual mental health and well-being. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current literature containing state-of-the-art neuroscientific and mobile technologies that have been used to investigate the mental health implications of urban environments. Searches for peer-reviewed primary research articles were conducted in PubMed and SCOPUS, returning 33,443 papers; 90 empirical articles published from 1981 to 2021 were included in the final synthesis. Central findings suggest virtual reality and mobile electroencephalography to be the most commonly used methods, and demanding mood, affect, and health phenomena or states to be the most common concepts of study in both physical built settings and natural urban spaces. Recommendations for both future practice and study noting particular opportunities for future methodological contributions are discussed.

Keywords: Built environment; Cities; Mental health; Mobile technologies; Neurourbanism; Review.

Publication types

Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Mental Health*