A Bidirectional Associations between Urban Physical Environment and Mental Health: A theoretical framework

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of the urban physical environment on mental health. A scoping review of reviews and a search of keywords from 109 international literatures from 1985 to 2019 conducted in a relevant database such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, and PubMed and snowballing method in the references list to get a recent paper that related. The relationship developed in the form of a theoretical framework using urban health indicators that identifies a relationship between the urban physical environment and mental health. The framework can be beneficial to the urban planning decision-makers to plan healthier and more sustainable Malaysian cities.Keywords: Urban Physical; Environment; Mental; HealtheISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.2048