Keywords: Mental health, urban design, built environment, perceived, social, ageing population
The World Health Organization (2022) reported that a billion people in the world are diagnosed with mental health
disorders. Recent statistics describe that 4 in 10 Dutch adults sometimes or regularly feel lonely (Centraal Bureau
voor de Statistiek, 2022a). Meanwhile, the Dutch population is ageing, and the number of one-person households is
growing rapidly. Eindhoven is a city in the Netherlands, with a strategy for urban densification by 2030, to deal with
its projected population increase of 18.9% by 2035. Therefore, the further densification of the city requires a delicate
approach which also protects the mental health of older adults. This systematic review aims to synthesize findings from
existing studies, on how the several indicators of the built, social and perceived environment play a role in protecting
and improving urban mental health of older adults (55+). Moreover, this review contains a policy analysis, to compare
existing policy documents on three scales: international, national, and municipal. Finally, the outcome of the spatial
analysis forms the basis for the intervention locations for the design. The majority of selected studies support the idea
that the social environment has a significant positive impact on the mental health of older adults in cities. Conclusions
regarding the effect of built environment attributes on mental well-being were mixed and an inverted U-shaped relationship between mental health and land use mix (proximity to public transportation, and street network density was
suggested. However, these relationships were most profoundly driven by perceived environment attributes, such as
noise and air pollution, crowdedness, and sense of safety. The systematic review confirms the positive relation between
proximity to green spaces, walkability and accessibility, and mental health of older adults. The literature review and the
policy analysis both highlight the importance of creating a supportive, safe, healthy, green, and inclusive environment.
Further research needs to be performed on comparing and contrasting needs between different age categories within
the older demographic, to further specify and tailor the design recommendations per category. These recommendations
can be implemented in design challenges in the future.
https://research.tue.nl/files/306713476/Selanno_1253379_ABP_Wesemael_v_MSc_thesis.pdf