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Stress and the city: Urban decay | URBANmedias | Scoop.it

From www.nature.com - October 13, 2012 3:34 PM

Scientists are testing the idea that the stress of modern city life is a breeding ground for psychosis.

Global urbanization is making the question an urgent one, writes Alison Abbott. She reports that "a few scientists are tackling the question head on, using functional brain imaging and digital monitoring to see how people living in cities and rural areas differ in the way that their brains process stressful situations."

".. if scientists can work out what aspects of the city are the most stressful," says Abbott, "the findings might even help to improve the design of urban areas."

"'Everyone wants the city to be beautiful but no-one knows what that means,' says Meyer-Lindenberg. Wider streets? Taller buildings? More trees? 'Architects theorize a lot, but this type of project could deliver a scientific basis for a city code.'”

Via ddrrnt

[CITIES] World's Future Prosperity linked to Disaster RESILIENSE, says New Report - UNISDR | URBANmedias | Scoop.it

From www.unisdr.org - October 3, 2012 2:30 AM

A new report by UN-Habitat links the world's future prosperity to the ability of cities to reduce risk and build resilience to adverse forces of nature.

Titled State of the World's Cities 2012/2013 - the Prosperity of Cities, the report identifies soaring unemployment, food shortages and rising prices, strains on financial institutions, insecurity and political instability as challenges to the conventional notion of cities as the home of prosperity.

The wasteful expansion of cities in "endless peripheries" leads to additional risks associated with the provision of water, physical infrastructure, transport and energy, and affects industrial production, local economies, assets and livelihoods, according to the report. (...)

Margareta Wahlström, who heads the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, supports UN-Habitat's approach, which takes equity and good governance into account when assessing a city's prosperity - these elements also help bolster disaster resilience.

"The findings from our own studies on cities show that low socio-economic development need not necessarily limit all resilience-building activities, especially when the central government and multilateral agencies work together to ensure the right people come together to take action," said Wahlström, referring to UNISDR's newest report, "Making Cities Resilient 2012 -- My city is getting ready! A global snapshot of how local governments reduce disaster risk," which was launched in tandem with the UN-Habitat report.

Via ddrrnt

Stress and the city: Urban decay

[CITIES] World's Future Prosperity linked to Disaster RESILIENSE, says New Report - UNISDR