ASESH SARKAR
Ph.D Scholar IIT Roorkee
PhD Supervisor : Dr.Tina Pujara

Currently, a PhD scholar and a member of “Happiness by Design” Research group, at the Department of Architecture and Planning in IIT Roorkee; his research involves “Urban Built form and  mental Well-being”. He completed his M.Plan in Urban Planning from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi in 2017. He received a B.Arch degree from Piloo Mody College of Architecture Cuttack in 2014. He is an architect-urban planner having professional experience in architectural design, urban design, planning projects and project management. He has an expertise in various analytical tools, interface design and software programs. Not limited by his prime research he also has an interest in the field of informatics and urban planning focusing on citizen science, urban knowledge, ICT, data analysis and how they interact with the built environment. He is a member of Council of Architecture and Institute of town planners, India.

Research- A Framework to Measure the Impacts of Urban Environments on Mental Wellbeing

In 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution Happiness: Towards a Holistic Definition of Development. In 2012 this resolution was followed by a UN High-level meeting called Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Jigme Thinley of Bhutan.  Happiness and wellbeing came into light when we found that there is a tremendous increase in the numbers of mental health-related problems worldwide. A 2017 study estimates that 792 million people lived with a mental health disorder which is slightly more than one in ten people globally. The growing numbers have sought urgent attention from all the disciplines and to contribute to overcome this global issue. Studies show that there is a direct link between a mental health-related problem with people living in cities. Existing research confirms that urbanization is one of the main health-relevant changes humanity is facing in our time and will be facing in the coming decades. Seeing the Indian scenario where urbanization is at peak level, there is an urgent need to adopt efficient solutions, for new and existing urban areas, that will mitigate environmental, social, and economic impacts to achieve a balance between diverse dimensions of sustainability. 

Globally there are separate built environment assessment tools, tools to assess mental health outcome and healthy built environment assessment tools focussing on both physical and mental health. Still, there are no tools or framework to measure the impact of urban environments on mental wellbeing, especially in the Indian context. Due to the difference in the physical and social environment, the existing urban environment assessment tools cannot be validated, or neither these tools will allow soliciting the hidden knowledge of the wider community and their key concerns. 

This research aims to investigate which urban environment domains/indicators are affecting the mental wellbeing; leading to the development of a comprehensive urban environmental assessment framework for Indian urban local bodies (ULB) considering the local contexts.  This research involves the use of more than one qualitative or quantitative method to explore and examine a particular topic or phenomenon. Urban Environment Mental Wellbeing Framework (UEMWF) will consist of two parts: (a) Systematic observation or audit tools; and, (b) Interview or self-administered questionnaires. Area of study is Bidhannagar, or Salt Lake is a city in Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal under Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Salt Lake City is one of the few rare realized modernist ideal cities at its Scale. The Scale of study would be 3 Neighbourhoods of Salt Lake City, Kolkata. Urban Environment Mental Wellbeing Framework (UEMWF) can assist ULBs in identifying the strengths and gaps in their community-built environments and help them to take necessary actions to reduce the negative impact on the mental wellbeing.