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| Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health | |
|---|---|
| Name | Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health |
| Formation | 2015 |
| Headquarters | London |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Focus | Urban design; mental health |
Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health The Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health is an international non-profit organization focused on the intersection of urban planning, architecture, public health, and mental wellbeing. Founded in London, the organization convenes researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to translate evidence into design guidance for cities. It engages with a wide range of institutions and events to influence built environment practice and mental health policy internationally.
The Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health was established in 2015 with roots in collaborations among institutions such as University College London, King's College London, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, and Harvard University. Early convenings linked think tanks and foundations including The Rockefeller Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nesta, and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Founding partners and advisors included academics from University of Oxford, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and Yale University as well as practitioners from firms like Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, Arup Group, AECOM, and SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill). Initial public events were held alongside conferences such as World Urban Forum, C40 World Mayors Summit, World Economic Forum, UN Habitat Assembly, and TEDGlobal. The Centre's advisory board featured contributors from Royal Institute of British Architects, American Institute of Architects, Royal Town Planning Institute, American Public Health Association, and European Public Health Association.
The Centre aims to integrate evidence from clinical research and urban design by partnering with organizations including World Health Organization, Office for National Statistics, National Health Service (England), Public Health England, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Objectives include informing policy conversations among municipal authorities such as Greater London Authority, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, City of Toronto, and Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority and influencing instruments like the National Planning Policy Framework, New Urban Agenda, and Healthy Cities initiatives. The Centre promotes cross-sector engagement with stakeholders from World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, European Commission, and multilateral development banks.
The Centre publishes policy briefs, design guidance, and evidence syntheses drawing on research from Nature, The Lancet, BMJ, JAMA Psychiatry, and Health Affairs. Its bibliographies cite landmark studies from researchers affiliated with Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Monash University. Topics covered include urban greening and studies referencing Ecologist (magazine), active travel and reports associated with Transport for London, noise exposure research linking to World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, housing and reports by Shelter (UK), and social isolation work connected with Campaign to End Loneliness. The Centre's monographs and toolkits draw on data from UK Biobank, European Social Survey, American Community Survey, National Survey for Wales, and cohort studies such as Framingham Heart Study. It has produced systematic reviews and meta-analyses that reference methodologies from Cochrane Collaboration, PRISMA, and statistical approaches used at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Imperial College London.
Programs include urban pilot projects, design competitions, and continuing professional development courses delivered in partnership with Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of General Practitioners, RIBA, Royal Town Planning Institute, and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Initiatives span green infrastructure pilots aligned with Cities4Forests, active transport schemes linked to Sustrans, community housing projects coordinated with Civic Consulting Alliance, and placemaking labs modelled on practice from Project for Public Spaces. Educational offerings have been run in collaboration with universities such as University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, and Peking University. The Centre has organized speaker series featuring leaders from UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Médecins Sans Frontières, World Psychiatric Association, and International Council on Active Transportation.
The Centre maintains collaborations with municipal governments including City of Vancouver, City of Bogotá, City of Barcelona, City of Amsterdam, and City of Copenhagen and with research networks such as Urban Health Network, International Society for Urban Health, Global Mental Health Movement, and European Network for Health Enhancing Physical Activity. It partners with professional organizations including American Planning Association, Canadian Institute of Planners, Landscape Institute, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, and International Federation of Landscape Architects. Funders and institutional partners have included Wellcome Trust, The Rockefeller Foundation, European Commission Horizon 2020, UK Research and Innovation, National Institutes of Health, and Australian Research Council.
The Centre's work has informed municipal strategies from Greater London Authority manifestos to New York City Department of City Planning guidelines, influenced national policy conversations in United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, and Sweden, and contributed to international frameworks discussed at United Nations General Assembly sessions and World Health Assembly meetings. Its guidance has been cited by professional bodies such as Royal Institute of British Architects and American Institute of Architects and incorporated into urban planning curricula at Delft University of Technology, ETH Zurich, Politecnico di Milano, and Tokyo Institute of Technology. The Centre's interventions have been showcased at exhibitions including Venice Biennale of Architecture, Milan Design Week, London Festival of Architecture, and Biennale of Sao Paulo.
Governance comprises a board of trustees and advisory panels with members drawn from institutions like University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom), Royal Society, and British Academy. Funding sources include philanthropic grants from Wellcome Trust, The Rockefeller Foundation, project funding via European Commission, research councils such as UK Research and Innovation and National Institutes of Health, and commissioned work from municipal clients including City of New York and Greater London Authority. The Centre adheres to governance practices modelled on standards promoted by Charity Commission for England and Wales and reporting frameworks used by International Aid Transparency Initiative.
Category:Non-profit organisations based in London