"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"

Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
(used with permission)



"If you don't like the news .... go out and make some of your own !!"

Wes "Scoop" Nisker, Newscaster



INTRODUCTION

Government is a slow and tedious process. While it often includes citizen and neighborhood involvement, non-governmental, private organizations have created movements and interesting groups which can create positive change in our cities and towns.

I am fascinated by the way groups are created and how they influence public decision making. This blog merely recognizes them and forwards the description of these groups from their own websites.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

UD/MH

Location: International

Website: urbandesignmentalhealth.com

The Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health (UD/MH) is a start-up think tank focused on answering one question: how can we design better mental health into our cities?

More people are living and working in urban environments than ever before - and these environments affect how we feel. Urban design by architects, transport designers, city planners, developers, interior designers, urban gardeners, street artists, and many more impact our mental health as we move around our built environments.

The Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health: Reviews the breadth of research on urban design and mental health, summarizes, and identifies gaps.

Catalyzes interdisciplinary dialogue on urban design and mental health in cities around the world.

Showcases successful projects and innovative ideas,

Develops practical, evidence-based recommendations to improve mental health and reduce mental illness through urban design.

Mission:

To help inform, motivate and empower policymakers, designers, planners, and public health professionals to build better mental health into their cities through smarter urban design.

Vision:

To be a central repository and global go-to resource for policymakers, architects, transport planners, urban planners, developers, designers, engineers, geographers, and others who want to design better mental health into cities, and drive integration of mental health into urban design as standard.

Approach:

Share knowledge -

UD/MH brings together useful research, ideas, experiences and intelligence from across the world and shares it on our platforms to increase its reach and make it more accessible to academics and diverse city makers. We also publish external op-eds and participate in conferences and other events to share knowledge and inspire new audiences into action.

Increase knowledge -

There is still much we need to learn about how urban design can improve mental health. UD/MH encourages research and sharing of ideas and experience by providing global platforms for publication - the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, and our Sanity and Urbanity blog.

We also encourage investment in research focused on this field.

Improve cross-sector communication -

We convene cross-sector dialogues in cities around the world, bringing together experts from architecture, urban planning, transport, geography, public health, psychiatry, and many more to identify opportunities and discuss potential collaborations.

Empower practical action

UD/MH works closely with those involved in policy-making and on-the-ground citymaking to understand the barriers to integrating better mental health into urban design, and tries to help address these barriers by inputting to consultations and producing practical, evidence-based advice.

UD/MH launched in July 2015.
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