A*Star to study impact of urban environment on mental health

It will examine factors such as design features, density and human behaviours

- Ng Keng Gene

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) will study over three years the impact of the urban environment on mental health, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on June 3.

The study will examine factors such as urban design features, density and human behaviours, Mr Heng said at the opening plenary of the World Cities Summit 2024, held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Mr Heng, who is chairman of the National Research Foundation Board, said insights from the study will “serve to better inform the way we rejuvenate, reinvent and reimagine our city-state”.

The A*Star study, which costs $1 million and was commissioned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Housing Board, will be funded by the Government’s $28 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan.

The five-year plan was launched in December 2020 with an initial sum of $25 billion.

The mental health study was awarded to A*Star in May 2024, and will be carried out by the agency’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said the study will devise a data-driven method to assess how different aspects of the built environment affect the mental well-being of the general population.

Given Singapore’s highly built-up environment, said MND, the country “offers a unique opportunity to conduct mental health research”.