This paper examines the way in which the changes of the urban physical environment creates a high level of mental disorder among the urban population. The rapid urbanisation process in a recent year adds urgency to this issue. Drawing on a scoping review of studies of the wider relationship between the urban physical environment and mental disorder, the relevant information from 109 articles published between 1985 to 2019 was synthesised. Through this process, a theoretical framework using urban health indicators that identifies the effects of changes to the urban physical environment on mental disorder was developed. The framework can be beneficial to improve the environmental planning quality towards a healthier urban environment in addressing emerging challenges of urbanisation.Keywords: Urbanisation; Urban Physical; Environment; Mental Disorder; FrameworkeISSN: 2514-7528 © 2020 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI:  https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v5i16.351

As the number of people moving to urban areas increases by the year, it also increases the prevalence of mental health problems worldwide. Low-income groups in urban areas have had to choose to live in low-cost housing due to the higher cost of living. This study aims to understand the effect of living in lowcost housing. The objectives are to study and analyse mental health conditions for the low-income group living in low-cost housing in an urban area. This study was conducted at the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The questionnaire used is an adaptation of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and the sample selection used homogenous sampling. The site selection is based on the housing scheme's characteristics: location, density, property age, and surrounding land use. The data collected were analysed using correlation analysis to determine the relationship between urban low-cost housing living and mental health. The results have shown that 57.8 per cent of the respondents have depression, 65.7 per cent have anxiety, and 55.9 per cent have stress with various severity. The findings show that low-cost housing associated with poorer mental health is caused by several factors.

Urban living has rapidly become a highly important due to the increasing rate of mental health problems worldwide. Most people in the urban area live in high-density residential due to limited spaces, land, and higher cost of living. The objectives are to study how urban high-density living environments can affect mental health and the contributing factors to mental health problems. This study was carried out at low-cost flats in Pudu, located in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The findings show that urban high-density living environments can become a contributing factor to mental health problems in various ways. Keywords: Urban environment; density; mental; health eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i15.2462.

Mental health issues have many causes, including the changing and unpredictable elements of the urban physical setting. Thus, this research is crucial to understand the mental health challenges of the urban population in Malaysia. Therefore, the objective of this research is to assess the magnitude of mental health outcomes and associated factors of the urban physical setting among the urban population. A study was carried out at two low-cost flats in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, with a sample size of 102 respondents. The findings show that there is a correlation between the urban physical environment setting, particularly green spaces with mental disorders (depression, anxiety, and stress).    Keywords: urban planning; environment; mental; health.    eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.    DOI:

The health impacts of the development and environment have been widely assessed, but little is known about the impact of physical characteristics of urban planning on people's mental well-being. Thus, this research is crucial to understand the mental health challenges of urban population in Malaysia. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of urban planning on mental health, particularly the attributes of urban planning, density and land use, as well as their potential relation to psychological stress, depression and anxiety. The study was carried out at low-cost flats at Pantai Dalam in Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Besides the secondary data collection and site observation, a survey in a form of questionnaire that used Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was distributed. The findings showed that density and land use contributed to mental disorders. The research findings can be applied by government agencies, professionals and private sectors to plan healthier urban physical environment. This research will add to the growing literature that suggests the importance of the built environment in shaping mental health.