Waterscapes for promoting mental health in the general population

Abstract

The WHO estimates that, with the development of urbanization, 25% of the population is suffering from psychological and mental distress. Preliminary evidence has suggested that aquatic environments and riparian areas, i.e., waterscapes, can benefit psychological and mental wellbeing. The aim of this study was to identify the processes of waterscape psychological and mental health promotion through aliterature review. We propose a design framework of waterscapes for achiev-ing psychological and mental health in the general population that often visits waterscapes, which has the function of therapeutic landscapes through values of accessibility, versatility, habitats, and biodiversity. According to theories, waterscapes can improve psychological and mental health to divert negative emotions through mitigation (e.g., reduced urban heat island), instoration (e.g., physical activity and state of nature connectedness), and restoration (e.g., reduced anxiety/atten-tional fatigue). By accessing water (e.g., streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and the coast) and riparian areas, people can get in close contact with nature and spend more time in activities (e.g., walking, exploring, talking, and relaxing). Waterscapes with healing effects can enhance psychological resil-ience to promote people’s psychological and mental health. Future research should focus on ensur-ing an adequate supply of waterscapes and promoting the efficiency of waterscape ecosystem services on mental health. Moreover, fora deep understanding of the complexity of nature–human health associations, it is necessary to explore more consistent evidence for therapeutic waterscapes considering the characteristics and functional mechanisms of waterscape quality, in terms of fresh-ness, luminescence, rippling or fluidity, and cultural value,to benefit public health and biodiversity conservation.