Urban Mental Health
Nature in urban areas provides important opportunities for recreation and delivers a wide range of physical, social, and psychological health benefits (Bratman et al. 2019; Li et al. 2025). The Urban Mental Health Model was developed to address a critical gap in assessing how changes in urban greening may influence population-level mental health outcomes and reduce the societal costs associated with mental disorders. The model estimates the number of preventable cases (and optionally, cost) of mental health conditions associated with changes in nature exposure, using NDVI as a proxy. It applies an exposure–response relationship to quantify how increases in nearby vegetation (measured as the average NDVI within a user-defined radius) can reduce mental health risk across a population. Alongside other Urban InVEST models, such as Urban Cooling, Urban Flood Risk Mitigation, Urban Nature Access, and Urban Stormwater Retention, this model expands the Urban InVEST suite by providing spatially explicit estimates of mental health-related benefits, thereby supporting more targeted, equitable, and cost-effective urban greening strategies.
User Guide:
Urban Mental Health — InVEST® documentation
To use this model, download the InVEST Workbench
Key References:
Bratman, G.N., Anderson, C.B., Berman, M.G., et al. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5:eaax0903. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0903
Christensen, M.K., Lim, C.C.W., Saha, S., et al. (2020). The cost of mental disorders: a systematic review. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29:e161. https://doi.org/10.1017/S204579602000075X
Giannico, O.V., Sardone, R., Bisceglia, L., et al. (2024). The mortality impacts of greening Italy. Nature Communications, 15:10452. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54388-7
Labib, S.M., Huck, J.J., Lindley, S. (2021). Modelling and mapping eye-level greenness visibility exposure using multi-source data at high spatial resolutions. Science of The Total Environment, 755:143050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143050
Li, Y., Mao, Y., Mandle, L., et al. (2025). Acute mental health benefits of urban nature. Nature Cities, 2:720-731. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00286-y
Liu, Z., Chen, X., Cui, H., et al. (2023). Green space exposure on depression and anxiety outcomes: A meta-analysis. Environmental Research, 231:116303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116303
Rojas-Rueda, D., Nieuwenhuijsen, M.J., Gascon, M., et al. (2019). Green spaces and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. The Lancet Planetary Health, 3:e469-e477. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30215-3
Zare Sakhvidi, M., Browning, M., Samuelsson, K., et al. (2025). Methodological guidance for selecting buffers in greenspace-health studies. The Lancet Planetary Health, 9:e101370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101370
Zhang, J., & Yu, K.F. (1998). What’s the Relative Risk? A Method of Correcting the Odds Ratio in Cohort Studies of Common Outcomes. JAMA, 280:1690-1691. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.280.19.1690