Work

Remembering the West End: social science, mental health and the American urban environment, 1939–1968

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT: Analysing the urban renewal of Boston's West End during the 1950s, we examine how psychiatrists, social scientists and urban planners understood the relationship between the urban environment and mental health. For psychiatrist Erich Lindemann, the West End offered a unique opportunity to study how acute stress and loss affected populations, thus contributing to social psychiatry, which sought to prevent mental illness by addressing factors in the social and physical environment. While Lindemann's project provided a sophisticated response to the often simplistic arguments about the cities and mental health, it also highlighted the challenges of applying social psychiatric theory in practice.

Source: Urban History

DOI: 10.1017/s0963926817000025

Authors: EDMUND RAMSDEN, MATTHEW SMITH

Institutions: Queen Mary University of London, University of Strathclyde

Language: English

Topic: Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550