{"id":81617,"date":"2025-08-19T16:37:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/81617\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:37:10","slug":"how-where-you-live-could-improve-your-mental-health-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/81617\/","title":{"rendered":"How where you live could improve your mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

In terms of wider mental health, though, the role of our neighbourhoods is less clear, although it is generally understood there are elements that successful communities share.<\/p>\n

One of the key elements is placing pedestrian activity at the heart of neighbourhood life, whether that\u2019s the ability to walk to school, the shops or leisure pursuits such as dining out or going to a park. In recent years, this has led to the popularity of the 15-minute city movement<\/a>, an idea that has been around for more than a century which gained new traction in 2016 when French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno popularised it in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.<\/p>\n

\"While<\/p>\n

While it is close to the city, Brunswick\u2019s tree-lined streets in inner Melbourne maintain a leafy connection. Credit: Bonnie Savage<\/p>\n

While the movement has attracted controversy, architects and mental health researchers insist the notion of minimising time spent in solo environments such as cars and larger, detached housing while maximising opportunities for engagement are sound pathways for happier neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

Many people now also understand the importance of a connection to nature to nurture wellbeing, particularly parks and bushland, but tree-lined streets, laneway gardens or even verge gardens can serve a similar purpose. Initiatives like Sydney\u2019s GreenWay linking the Cooks River at Earlwood to Parramatta River at Iron Cove combine green corridors with universally accessible cycleways and footpaths to create practical routes and connections with nature.<\/p>\n

University of Wollongong senior lecturer in nursing Christopher Patterson says the evidence for the benefits of green spaces in all shapes and forms is clear, and they should be prioritised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith increased urbanisation and density, their utility needs to be at the forefront \u2013 for wellbeing, and broader sustainability,\u201d he says. \u201cAccessibility is key, really. They should promote equitable access and be designed to promote activity, social connection and environmental features like green shade, biodiversity and even relief from urban noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Amanda Alderton, a vice chancellor\u2019s postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at Melbourne\u2019s RMIT University, says creating easy access to a range of \u201cthird spaces\u201d \u2013 not work and not home<\/a> \u2013 from parks and plazas to cafes and libraries through wide, well-maintained footpaths is an easy win for planners.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking it safe and easy and attractive to get outside and move is important,\u201d she says. \u201cFootpaths and cycle paths need to be well maintained and useable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Architect<\/p>\n

Architect Adam Haddow says walkability is an essential part of any high-functioning neighbourhood.Credit: Nick Moir<\/p>\n

Former national president-elect of the Australian Institute of Architects Adam Haddow says it boils down to one idea: simplicity of movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not rocket science,\u201d he says. \u201cHow do we simplify people\u2019s lives? Can we simplify people\u2019s lives? I live 500 metres from my office, I finish work and I go to the supermarket and go home. It all happens in five minutes. But I know that is not necessarily easy for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to innovations like Sydney\u2019s Metro M1 rail line, which celebrated its first birthday this week<\/a>, as an example of infrastructure that gets people where they need to go quickly, and with a minimum of fuss.<\/p>\n

For Sean Carter, keeping it simple is also about the style of housing. Freestanding houses on large blocks are not conducive to connection, he says, neither in terms of neighbours and people passing on the street nor the ability to quickly get to shops, parks and various activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been the great failing of the suburbs, unlike an area like Ashfield [in Sydney] where tighter houses push more people together. Fine grain suburbs (where a range of smaller buildings are placed closer together) can make for stronger neighbourhoods \u2013 a lot of terrace housing is finer grain.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while planners have pursued the larger block to create an idea of suburban bliss, Carter argues the model for good neighbourhoods already existed, even if it was almost accidental.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou realise how radical in a contemporary planning sense the Victorians were,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was really around the strategy of not wasting land, but it made fantastic streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

Indeed, this has been reflected in lists like Time Out\u2019s annual World\u2019s Coolest Neighbourhoods, which are judged on criteria including community life, walkability, street life and cultural attractions.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Brunswick East and Windsor in Melbourne and Marrickville, Enmore and Chippendale in Sydney have made the top 10. Each is characterised by vibrant main streets with extended use into the evening, good public transport with proximity to the city \u2013 and a celebration of diversity that fosters inclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe balanced-diet analogy speaks to the need for a little bit of everything,\u201d says Haddow. \u201cWe want people from different walks of life. We don\u2019t want places filled just with wealthy people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Haslam, a professor of social and organisational psychology at the University of Queensland, says feeling like you belong in your neighbourhood is crucial to ensuring any sense of isolation is diminished.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe phrase we use to describe that process is identity impresarioship,\u201d he says. \u201cYou want designers and builders to be identity impresarios that create buildings and structures that allow people to live out these shared identities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says neighbourhoods that support mental health don\u2019t have to be architectural wonders to be successful.<\/p>\n

His mother-in-law knew everyone in the area she grew up and \u201cliked the vibrancy of it and she liked the disorder of it. She had zero interest in architecture and design; she just wanted to be able to find her way through her community and say hello to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her experience taps into another essential element: a sense of ownership. Haslam says it\u2019s a point sometimes lost on planners.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling at home in a space is incredibly important.\u201d<\/p>\n

UNSW professor of planning Susan Thompson says that is unlikely to happen where people don\u2019t enjoy secured tenancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are unable to afford renting and you have to move every six months, that is not going to be conducive to embedding a sense of belonging or attachment to a place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Haslam says the ultimate sense of belonging and connection comes from knowing you have influence and ownership in the neighbourhood you call home.<\/p>\n

\u201cCo-design and people\u2019s ability to have input into the process is critical,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is not just about doing a survey and asking people what they want; it is about engaging with groups of people who are going to use that space.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those communities and governing bodies prepared to make that leap, Haslam says the pay-offs extend beyond creating desirable places to live.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at a conference in London a couple of weeks ago about neighbourhood policing. The realities in communities where people are connected is that they have much lower levels of mental distress, they have less crime, they have much more thriving structures and they are places where people want to live and work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are not able to create meaningful connections and feel a part of it, it is going to be bad for you and the people in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox<\/a> every Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In terms of wider mental health, though, the role of our neighbourhoods is less clear, although it is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-81617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}