Urban Mental Health

Over the past fifty years we have seen an enormous demographic shift in the number of people migrating to urban areas, proliferated by factors such as industrialisation and globalisation. Urban migration has led to numerous societal stressors such as pollution, overcrowding, unemployment, and resource, which in turn has contributed to psychiatric disorders within urban spaces. Rates of mental illness, addictions, and violence are higher in urban areas and changes in social network systems and support have increased levels of social isolation and lack of social support.

Part of the Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series, Urban Mental Health brings together international perspectives on urbanisation, its impacts on mental health, the nature of the built environment, and the dynamic nature of social engagement. Containing 24 chapters on key topics such as research challenges, adolescent mental health, and suicides in cities, this resource provides a refreshing look at the challenges faced by clinicians and mental health care professionals today. Emphasis is placed on findings from low- and middle-income countries where expansion is rapid and resources limited bridging the gap in research findings.

Dinesh Bhugra, Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity, Health Service & Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK,Antonio Ventriglio, Psychiatrist, Department of Mental Health, and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Italy,Joao Castaldelli-Maia, Psychiatrist, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil,Layla McCay, Director, Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health,

Professor Dinesh Bhugra is Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. President of the World Psychiatric Association for a three year term, 2014-2017. Non-Executive Director Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust (special interest in BAME needs and cultural mediation).


Dr Antonio Ventriglio is a psychiatrist working at the Department of Mental Health, and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.


Dr Joao Castaldelli-Maia Editor is a psychiatrist at the University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Layla McCay is Director of the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health. A psychiatrist and international public health/health systems specialist, she holds a medical degree from the University of Glasgow and trained at the Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry in London. She has since held policy roles at the UK Department of Health, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, and at several global health charities and think tanks based in Washington, Tokyo, Hong Kong and London, with teams across Africa and Asia. She has held academic positions at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Hong Kong University, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and at TED. Layla is Managing Editor of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, and writes on health matters for a diversity of publications from The Lancet, to New Statesman, National Geographic, and South China Morning Post.

Section 1
1. Introduction, Dinesh Bhugra, Antonio Ventriglio, and Joao Castaldelli-Maia
2. Sociology and the Study of Cities, Anthony M. Orum
3. Urban design and mental health, Layla McCay
4. Globalisation and Urbanization, Debby Darmansjah,Gurvinder Kalra, Dinesh Bhugra
5. Internal Migration and internal boundaries, Antonio Ventriglio and Dinesh Bhugra
6. Why urban environments matter for refugee mental health, Peter Schofield
7. Urbanization and mental health, M. G. Carta and Dinesh Bhugra
8. Urbanization and marginalization, Michael Krausz, V. Strehlau, Fiona Choi, Kerry L. Jang
9. Neuroscience of mental illness in the city, Jan Golembiewski
10. The Psychogenic City, Francesca Solmi and James B. Kirkbride
11. Cross- Cultural Contact: psychosis and the city in modern life, Shuo Zhang, Vishal Bhavsar, and Dinesh Bhugra
Section 2
12. Research challenges, Todd Litman
13. Urban design for adolescent mental health, Jenny Roe and Alice Roe
14. What has changed in the reported children s behavioral problems in Mexico City over a 13-year perioda
15. Common mental disorders in cities, Santosh Chaturvedi and Narayana Manjunatha,
16. Suicide in cities, Kairi Kolves, Victoria Ross, Diego de Leo
17. Sex in the city, Dinesh Bhugra, Antonio Ventriglio
18. Gender and Sexual Minorities: Mental Health Issues in Urban Settings, Richard Bradlow, Neha Singh, Suraj Beloskar, Gurvinder Kalra
19. A Tale of Two Cities: Urban Mental Health in Vancouver, Canada and New York City, U.S.A., Kerry L. Jang, Michael Krausz, Christopher Van Veen, and Michael Jae Song
Section 3
20. A case study: urban design for mental health in Tokyo, Layla McCay, Emily Suzuki and Anna Chang
21. Urban Mental Health Strategies, Tod Litman
22. Re-Conceptualising Urban Spaces: Towards Recovery and Reintegration of Women Living with Mental Disorders, Shubhada Maitra
23. Work, worklessness and mental health., Jed Boardman and Tom K. J. Craig
24. Conclusions, Dinesh Bhugra, Antonio Ventriglio, Joao Castaldelli-Maia, and Layla McCay