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Stress and the City UVic grad and cognitive neuroscientist Robin Mazumder studies how urban design affects our mental well-being. BY MICHAEL KISSINGER, BED ’
ROBIN MAZUMDER in downtown Victoria during a recent visit.
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n his ode to his beloved New York, New York, there’s a reason Frank Sinatra sings “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” Living in a city, especially one that “never sleeps,” can be tough. Not just financially and physically, but psychologically. For all the perks cities have to offer—whether it’s proximity to shopping, public transit, bustling nightlife or an abundance of by-the-slice pizza—they don’t fare nearly as well when it comes to the mental health of their residents. According to the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health in London, UK, city dwellers have a 40 per cent higher risk of depression and over 20 per cent more anxiety than their rural counterparts. And cities are growing. Currently, 50 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas and that number is expected to increase to 68 per cent by 2050. UVic alumnus Robin Mazumder, BSc ’08, thinks a lot about this busy intersection of city living and mental health. The cognitive neuroscientist studies the psychological impact of urban UVIC TORCH AUTUMN
design and says, as populations grow, so does the need for better planned cities. He says his interest in the subject grew out of his clinical work as an occupational therapist while living in Edmonton and Toronto. “I worked with people in urban environments and wondered how that stress affected them, because I certainly felt that myself.” Mazumder recalls a time when he briefly lived in a Toronto high-rise. It was on the corner of Bloor and Yonge, atop a Marriott hotel that included a level designated for apartments. And he hated it. Sure, it was cool to have a nice view of the city, he says, but it was also isolating. Interactions with his neighbours, let alone sightings of them, were few and far between. Plus it was cold. “Not just from the emotion of the landscape,” Mazumder says, “but also [these buildings] create wind tunnels. So you get out of your apartment; you get knocked over. It’s just brutal.” NIK WEST, BA ’
