SAYNA ANAND
Ph.D Scholar IIT Roorkee
PhD Supervisor : Dr.Tina Pujara

Sayna Anand is currently pursuing her PhD and is a member of “Happiness by Design” research Group at IIT, Roorkee (Department of Architecture and Planning). She is also a member of IUDI(Institute of Urban Designers India). After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, she worked as an architect in Jaipur at SS+PD, But the urge of getting closer to the people and their surroundings led her to pursue a Masters degree in urban design (SSAA, Gurugram), which became the basis for further research on linking ‘Urban Design and Mental Health’. She has been a part of public participation programme in Gurugram involving various urban villages, stakeholders and housing societies of the city as an academic exercise. She has been honored with a silver medal for her excellence in academics in M.Arch(UD). She believes urban design is an important tool to bring a change which can lead to happier cities and environments. She has published a research paper on “City of happy captives “in 2018 for the journal of ‘Centre of Urban Design and Mental health’. She is continuing her research on related topics to bring a positive transformation of spaces in cities as an urban designer.The current research is focussed on ‘Street design for psychological well being’.

Research- Street design and Urban Anxiety – Research on aspects  of street design affecting the anxiety levels of the adult population.

The research focuses on understanding the urban design aspects of streets affecting the psychological wellbeing of the people. Streets form a major part of our urban area and as per a research it has low restorative properties for mental wellbeing . The issues like high noise and unsafe traffic conditions causing increase in depression and anxiety among the citizens. Factors such as shade from the harsh sun, safety, noise buffer and a place to rest or eat are some of the significant  factors in impacting our psychology on streets. The  travel to our work or for any other purpose is through streets surrounding us which make us  go through various emotions on the way which are guided either by our experience or environment or what we know about it from various sources . Each perception guides our next  move. Perceiving the environment is based on how it is designed and what we see around .The urban studies are exposed to the impact of the environment on us physically but the psychological impact is less explored path in the field.This endeavour of research on urban design and psychological well being will give another dimension to the profession which is yet unexplored. The idea revolves around preparing  guidelines for the aspect of psychological well being which can be incorporated in the design of our city streets.

The study is trying to highlight everyday experiences on streets which are part of our daily routine and how it impacts anxiety levels of the people. As per the studies urban areas are more prone to mood and anxiety disorders than in rural areas. It’s an effort to add an aspect of design for the mental health of the people in the field of urban planning and design. I believe our memories from experience we go through daily, guides our behaviour which affects not only our mental health but our reactions to surroundings and people around us. Population under study is the adult working population which as per mental health survey in India  are the worst affected by psychological issues especially in urban areas. Thus it’s a contribution towards this interdisciplinary field which will help in enhancing liveability in our cities