Revisiting the Virtuous City: Learning from the Past to Improve Modern Urban Mental Health

Abstract

This chapter looks at the evidence on current urban mental health in the context of rapid global change, both environmentally and socially. We summarize relevant epidemiological evidence on urban mental health, looking particularly at studies from Asia, Latin America, and Africa. We then look at two complementary major philosophical ideas from urban thinkers of the past-the Ideal or Utopian City and the Garden City, and discuss how these ideas are relevant for the urban mental health in the twenty-first century. We conclude with the importance of incorporating all human wisdom from the past millennia to deal with the future challenge of creating mentally healthy and sustainable cities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)