Designing for Recovery: The Role of Multisensory Environments in Promoting Mental Health
This project, How sensory elements-visual, auditory, and olfactory-can enhance the therapeutic benefits of London's urban green spaces, is funded by the UKRI-funded RECLAIM Network Plus (grant EP/W034034/1) and runs from 01 May 2025 to 31 July 2025. The project is led by Shimeng Hao, a visiting scholar at University College London, in collaboration with London South Bank University.
Urban green spaces – parks, gardens, tree-lined streets, and small pocket parks – are increasingly recognised as essential to public health and well-being. They offer opportunities for stress relief, social interaction, and physical activity. Yet, many city residents, particularly those living in high-density neighbourhoods, still experience significant stress and mental fatigue, and not all green spaces are equally restorative.
This project asks a simple but powerful question: how can we design green spaces that do more than just look nice – spaces that actively support mental recovery? Our focus is on multi-sensory design – recognising that the way people experience green space is shaped not just by what they see, but also by what they hear (birdsong, water, urban noise) and what they smell (flowers, grass, soil).
The main goal of this project is to identify which sensory elements – visual, auditory, and olfactory – have the greatest impact on stress reduction, mental energy restoration, and overall well-being. By building an evidence base, we hope to offer practical design recommendations for planners, landscape architects, and local councils.
Specifically, the project aims to:
- Develop a research framework to systematically assess sensory qualities in urban green spaces, including tools for visual analysis, soundscape recording, and plant scent documentation.
- Conduct fieldwork across a variety of London green spaces – from large urban parks to small pocket gardens – to collect real-world sensory data.
- Analyse findings to identify which combinations of sensory elements are most effective in creating restorative environments.
- Translate evidence into action by producing design recommendations and sharing them with urban planners and policymakers.
The evidence generated will help create a set of multi-sensory design guidelines for future green space planning. These guidelines will be especially valuable for cities facing densification and limited space for new parks, as they can inform interventions that maximise mental health benefits even in small urban pockets.
The project also aims to bridge the gap between academic research and urban practice by engaging with local authorities, urban designers, and community groups. Our recommendations will be shared through a final report, blog posts, and presentations within the RECLAIM Network, encouraging other researchers and practitioners to adopt sensory-inclusive approaches in their own projects.
Ultimately, this project contributes to building healthier, more inclusive, and more resilient cities by ensuring that green spaces are designed not just as decorative elements, but as active tools for mental well-being.
We would like to thank the UKRI-funded RECLAIM Network Plus for supporting this project (EP/W034034/1).
Dr. Shimeng Hao, UCL, BUCEA
Prof. Hua Zhong, LSBU
Dr. Rui Tang, UCL