Mind and urban landscape

The built environment influences people’s mental health (Evans, G., W., 2003). Actually, living in cities activates a dual process, since also our mental state impacts on the health of the cities. Therefore, a designer of public space has the responsibility to think of spaces not only in aesthetic terms, but also to make them capable of responding to the psycho-physical needs of the people who will dwell them. In order to do this, it is necessary to make use of the knowledge of other fields, in particular that of the psychology sphere. Although the number of studies on how much the built environment impacts on people’s mental health has increased in recent years, there still seems to be a gap with design practices aimed to achieve a qualitative level for the city spaces. Perhaps this is also due to the lack of a set of guidelines for designers who can guide the design choices and of real indicators that allow, for instance, to verify the impact of these choices. In this regard, urban psychology can offer a new reading key through the combination of the knowledge of some branches of psychology with the typical ways of designing spaces, with particular attention to those of the city. Through a review of the state of the art, the paper tries to define how urban design can improve people’s mental health in urban spaces, analyzing some characteristics that contribute to recognize an urban space as a place. Methods of study and work are suggested, trying to prefigure future developments so that the figure of the designer of public spaces becomes aware of his role and can impose himself as a pivotal figure in the development of the cities of the future.