WANG Linting, YUAN Yuan, ZHONG Shaoming, WANG Min

Keywords： urban planning and design; healthy city; neuroscience; mental health; people-oriented; vulnerable group

Abstract：

Urbanization in the 21st century has complex effects on residents’ mental health. With the advancement of the “Healthy China” strategy in urban development, optimizing the built environment to enhance mental health has become a key objective. Neuroscience offers scientific support to study individual environmental psychological perception. This paper integrates quantitative and qualitative analysis methods to review the progress of neuroscience-based research on the mental health effects of the built environment worldwide. Using the Web of Science database, a total of 1 465 papers from seven relevant fields, including urban studies, neuroscience, and public health, between 2003 and 2022 were retrieved, containing keywords “built environment”, “neuroscience” and “mental health”. High-frequency keyword time-series analysis was conducted to explore the trend of international research. This paper explores the significant role of neuroscience in advancing research on the mental health effects of the built environment, with a focus on refining effect subjects and deepening the understanding of underlying mechanisms. It further discusses the progress of effect object differentiation research, demonstrating the transformative role of neuroscientific integration in shifting from “environmental differentiation” to “population differentiation” perspectives and elucidating relevant technical methods. Additionally, the paper constructs a future research framework from the perspective of population differentiation to meet the needs of urban planning in China. Through fostering interdisciplinary advancements in both traditional planning and emerging fields, this paper seeks to underpin the establishment of health-oriented urban environments that prioritize inclusivity.

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