A manifesto for conscious cities: should streets be sensitive to our mental needs?

Rapid developments in behavioural science and data technology offer the prospect of urban streetscapes helping to alleviate ailments such as stress, anxiety and boredom - and even reducing the likelihood of crowd trouble

Picture yourself on a habitual walk through town, perhaps to work or a local grocery store. Consider how much thought has gone into planning the streets and spaces you pass on this journey to maximise its efficiency. For transit, a successful street is above all one that saves us time - or, in other words, exists less.

As a result, we have created a shared urban environment that is, on the whole, oblivious or "numb" to necessities other than movement. Yet increasingly, research in the behavioural sciences is exposing the undesirable effects of this order of priorities, while highlighting a range of psychological issues linked to different urban conditions.