Our built environment doesn't have to be so depressing

"Our built environment contributes to a mental health crisis. We're not living in a natural outcome of human needs and behavior. The built environment as we know it-buildings and the spaces between-does direct damage to our minds. Land use planning has had devastating impacts on Americans: economically, socially, and culturally. But I'm not a doomer and I know these things are fixable. Not overnight reversible, but certainly fixable."

"Typical land use rules are written, updated, and enforced at the local government level. But as you might expect, agencies copied each other over the years because why wouldn't they. Years ago, when I learned some photography techniques that were new to me, I made cheat sheets for other photographers. Much of what I've learned as an adult (podcasting, publishing, public speaking, etc.) has been taught by generous people who themselves had learned tips and tricks."

"Planning departments at city and county levels weren't setting out to guide development in a way that would purposefully harm people. Quite the opposite. If a new Sears distribution center was coming to town, they'd want to map out a plan to accommodate all the new employees and subsequent traffic. In the middle of the 20th century, planners were still very much concerned about separating dirty and/or dangerous land uses from residential areas."

Modern land use practices and the built environment have contributed to a mental health crisis by producing environments that are not natural outcomes of human needs and behavior. Zoning and development rules separated work, school, shopping, entertainment, and residential areas, spreading people and activities across the landscape. Local planning agencies copied regulatory templates from one another, embedding dispersed, car-dependent patterns into law. Mid-20th century planning aimed to segregate dirty or dangerous uses from homes, but the resulting incentives for spread created economic, social, and cultural harms. The damage to communities is profound but reversible through deliberate planning and policy changes over time.

Read at Fast Company