Mental health experts have given the thumbs down to the BMC’s plan to exploit Aarey colony for commercial use. In a city where more than three people take their lives daily, open spaces and greenery are a critical necessity that the government cannot deny its citizens, they say.
The National Crime Records Bureau said in 2013, 1,322 suicides were registered in Mumbai, the fourth highest figure among cities in India. Doctors say stress levels are spurred by the “claustrophobic life” that Mumbaikars lead, both indoors and outdoors. Numerous studies have linked open spaces directly to the psychological well-being of not just an individual but an entire city.
A paper presented by the School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, in 2013 on the relationship between ‘Open space attributes and mental health in Perth’, observed how 80% of residents of neighbourhoods with high quality public open space had low psycho-social distress than those in areas with low quality open space. Psychiatrists back home cannot agree more.
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Experts say the need for open spaces is more pronounced for children and their overall physical and mental development. “Studies have reported that introducing and encouraging children to use open and green space have proven to be effective in producing lasting and multi-generational impact,” says Das.
Child specialists are on the same page and feel open spaces play a unique role in developing a child’s social, emotional and cognitive skills. “It is proven that any child who spends more than two hours on a gadget does not perform very well in school. But, as doctors when we advise parents to take their children to the outdoors, the reply often is where to take them? So we need to look at creating more greenery and not hacking them,” said paediatrician Dr Deepak Urga, who consults at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra.
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