At the Centre for Urban Mental Health, researchers from different fields use the tools of complexity science to identify new pathways to improve mental health in the city.

Urban living is on the rise: for the first time in history, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas. And this number is expected to rise to 66 percent by 2050. Urban environments are economically attractive and exciting, but can also be more challenging and stressful than rural environments (‘urban stress’).

At the Centre for Urban Mental Health, we use state-of-the art complexity science to understand the dynamics of mental health problems in an urban environment. Why do some groups or individuals thrive in an urban setting, whereas others are more vulnerable and develop mental problems? We pay special attention to common mental health problems: depression, anxiety and addiction.

Want to learn more about how complexity science helps us understand the dynamics of mental health taking shape in an urban environment? In this interview, Peter Sloot, Professor of Complex Adaptive Systems, explains.

In our research, we integrate previously unconnected theories and sources to leverage new points for interventions and policy making at different levels. These will be tested in collaboration with societal partners and have direct relevance for mental health in general, and for Amsterdam in particular.

Want to learn more about how complexity science helps us understand the dynamics of mental health taking shape in an urban environment?

In this interview, Peter Sloot, Professor of Complex Adaptive Systems, explains.

Urban Mental Health (UMH) is one of the Research Priority Areas of the University of Amsterdam. The Centre for Urban Mental Health is embedded within three faculties. It is unified by the emerging knowledge and skills from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Science, together with the Institute for Advanced Study. This collaboration brings together unique multidisciplinary research teams and stakeholders from the Amsterdam region.

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Click to see published work by our UMH network.