Looking Back, Imagining Forward: Whither Urban Design and Mental Health?

Comprising separate but converging and diverging disciplines, the field at the intersectionof urban design and mental health is a niche area with considerable potential within “Mode 3” research (after “Mode 1” and “Mode 2” as explicated by sociologist Pekka Sulkunen (2008)), characterized by (co-)constructivist approaches and the rise of community-engaged research (CEnR), patient-oriented research (POR), participatory action research (PAR), and research partnership. Hessels and van Lente (2008) summarized trends in knowledge production as a move towards application, transdisciplinarity, heterogenous sites of knowledge production, greater reflexivity and social accountability, and a rethinking of traditional quality control.