After finishing up the submission for my design project just under a week ago, I decided to revisit by previous Architectural Research Methods submission from last year which acted as a proposal for the Student Selected Investigation. My original proposal was to develop a framework through a study to examine the effects of the built environment on mental health. On reflection, I feel that this would be best developed as a case study of central Newcastle which includes in its methodology desktop studies into the built environment of Newcastle, interviews with mental health professionals and questionnaires for the general public to better understand the ways the built environment of Newcastle effects each demographic group.
Having taken into account the comments from the feedback from last years proposal submission I decided to work on the introduction section of the research submission to gather a background knowledge and write a question, aims and objectives for the study.
Research Question
In what ways does the Built Environment of central Newcastle upon Tyne effect the Mental Health and Wellbeing of its users?
Research Aims and Objectives
The aim of my enquiry is to examine the direct and indirect effects that the built environment of central Newcastle has on the wellbeing of its inhabitants, evaluating whether the opportunities exist for urban planning and architectural improvement to effect positive change on mental health across the UK.
This aim will be achieved through a series of objectives:
1. Identify key features of the built environment in central Newcastle (referring to the NE1 and NE2 postcodes), determining the threats and opportunities to inhabitants’ wellbeing
2. Interview mental health professionals to discuss their experience of features of the built environment as a tool to improve mental health
3. Understand how the built environment of central Newcastle can influence the wellbeing of inhabitants and building users through recorded responses of user experiences
4. Develop a framework to strategically analyse the data of the effect of the build environment on wellbeing through the perspective of professionals and inhabitants
5. Supplement existing research on topic providing additional data and recommendations for further study and improved urban and architectural design for cities
Background
With the average human being spending over 90% of their lives indoors (Playle, 2018; National Research Council, 1981) our built environments are an integral part of the physical, emotional and social conditions that ‘are a requisite for good health’ (Stokols, 1992).
Since the 2007 amendments to the Mental Health Act, there has been a drive towards reducing stigma of mental health and wellbeing issues, with educational and contact based strategies used in stigma reduction programs resulting in positive attitudinal and behavioural changes (Dalky, 2011). Alongside government guidance policies such as Public Health England’s Health Matters: Reducing Health Inequalities in Mental Illness, the perception of mental health has changed significantly, resulting in increased awareness of the importance of wellbeing as a part of self-care.
Initiatives such as the Healthy Homes Barometer set out to investigate the link between homes and health throughout Europe, referring to quality of housing stock, workplaces and suburbanisation (Velux, 2018). However, the scheme, and the series of Pan-European surveys it draws from, refer almost exclusively to effects of the built environment on physical health despite approximately one in four people in the UK experiencing problems with their mental health and wellbeing each year (McManus et al., 2009).
Mental health and wellbeing problems are one of the ‘main causes of overall disease burden worldwide’ (Vos et al., 2013) as people with mental illness are at greater risk of poor health and reduced life expectancy compared to the general population (Public Health England, 2018). Research into the direct and indirect effects of the built environment on could advise government guidance and policies on opportunities and challenged faced when trying to improve the built environment to reduce mental health inequalities, and the £105 billion cost that poor mental has economically and socially on society (Public Health England, 2018).
Such guidance would successfully dovetail with the Faculty of Public Health and the Mental Health Foundation which has set out what could be done individually and collectively to enhance the mental health of individuals, families and communities by using a public health approach (Public Health England, 2018) influencing and improving data and statistics regarding Newcastle residents’ wellbeing reports such as the State of the North East 2018: Public Mental Health and Wellbeing to reduce the prevalence of wellbeing and mental health conditions in the North East.
Building an Environment for Health
With the launch of an inquiry into the accessibility of homes, buildings and public space by the Women and Equalities Committee in 2016, questions were raised around the role of ‘designers, architects and built environment specialists in ensuring accessibility and inclusivity’ (Commons Select Committee, 2016). Due to this, an ideal platform has been provided to the issues of provisions, accessibility and inclusivity in the built environment to protect and support people's mental health and wellbeing (Mental Health Foundation, 2016).
Features within the built environment can set barriers for those with alternative needs. The barriers for physical disabilities have now been understood and legislated for through namely the Part M Building Regulations. However, the needs for improved wellbeing are less well understood and so designers, architects and built environment specialists are less likely to implement positive adjustments to facilitate the needs of those with mental health and wellbeing issues.
Despite mental health being seen more recently as a prevalent and ‘relevant burden on the health of populations’ (Melis et al., 2015), the opportunity to counteract this has not yet been utilised by any policies, practices or regulations in the United Kingdom. By encouraging safe and secure built environments that can respond to society’s most vulnerable, the built environment would act as an integral part of preventing the ‘people becoming so unwell they require extensive health and social care services’ (Mental Health Foundation, 2016) or admission to mental health institutions.
The North East of England has many assets including affordable housing, access to outdoor environments and relatively high levels of social cohesion (PHE Health Asset Profiles, 2018) which are regarded as a firm foundation for wellbeing amongst the community. Despite this, the Annual Population Survey, which contains a section assessing adult wellbeing, revealed that when compared to the rest of England, more people in the North East had ‘low life satisfaction scores (5.1% compared with 4.5% in England)’ (Public Health England, 2018). The prevalence of depression, one of the most common mental disorders, is recorded by general practioners in England is 9.1% (NHS Digital, 2016). In Newcastle, the level is relatively high at 17.3%, although it is unclear why these rates should be lower (Public Health England, 2018).
The levels of mental illness and low wellbeing differs amongst varied social groups with the levels in some sections of the population higher than others and still on the rise. The centre of Newcastle creates an interesting sample due to the differing socioeconomic strata inhabiting the two postcodes. With two universities within the NE1 and NE2 postcodes of central Newcastle students who are one of the most vulnerable groups with higher mental illness and low wellbeing rates is students among higher education in the UK (Ansari et al., 2011; Brown, 2016) populate the area more than the suburban postcodes areas covered in the Healthy Homes Barometer (2018).
Therefore, this, along with other social indicators such as income, should be considered in the structuring of research into the city centres’ quality and its effect on wellbeing especially with NHS funding cuts resulting in a decrease in access to psychological support, leaving those with mild to moderate mental health and wellbeing problems not prioritised by service providers. With this in mind, the inclusion of wellbeing provisions in urban design and planning allowing city centres to become an integral way to improve mental wellbeing in these often anxious public areas.
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