How the city hurts your brain By Jonah Lehrer (Boston Globe)

[YankeyMCC]

(snip)
THE CITY HAS always been an engine of intellectual life, from the 18th-century coffeehouses of London, where citizens gathered to discuss chemistry and radical politics, to the Left Bank bars of modern Paris, where Pablo Picasso held forth on modern art. Without the metropolis, we might not have had the great art of Shakespeare or James Joyce; even Einstein was inspired by commuter trains.


And yet, city life isn't easy. The same London cafes that stimulated Ben Franklin also helped spread cholera; Picasso eventually bought an estate in quiet Provence. While the modern city might be a haven for playwrights, poets, and physicists, it's also a deeply unnatural and overwhelming place.
(snip)

(snip)
One of the main forces at work is a stark lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. Studies have demonstrated, for instance, that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and that women living in public housing are better able to focus when their apartment overlooks a grassy courtyard. Even these fleeting glimpses of nature improve brain performance, it seems, because they provide a mental break from the urban roil.
(snip)

(snip)
The reason such seemingly trivial mental tasks leave us depleted is that they exploit one of the crucial weak spots of the brain. A city is so overstuffed with stimuli that we need to constantly redirect our attention so that we aren't distracted by irrelevant things, like a flashing neon sign or the cellphone conversation of a nearby passenger on the bus. This sort of controlled perception -- we are telling the mind what to pay attention to -- takes energy and effort. The mind is like a powerful supercomputer, but the act of paying attention consumes much of its processing power.
(snip)

(snip)
Related research has demonstrated that increased "cognitive load" -- like the mental demands of being in a city -- makes people more likely to choose chocolate cake instead of fruit salad, or indulge in a unhealthy snack. This is the one-two punch of city life: It subverts our ability to resist temptation even as it surrounds us with it, from fast-food outlets to fancy clothing stores. The end result is too many calories and too much credit card debt.
(snip)

much more at link:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/how_the_city_hurts_your_brain/

I love living in an urban environment, but I think the points of the piece are interesting and important. Although I love living where I do, I regularly 'rechange' by getting out into the wilds (not just a park, I use the term wilds purposely) and I think it's clear our urban areas can be better designed, evolve with us, and it shows the importance of preserving some wild places outside the cities for people to get away to (as just one reason).

[crispini]

1. Interesting article.

Thanks for posting.

[TZ]

2. one of the great things about where I live

is the understanding of this principle...the greenery around here is very nice..much nicer than most urban areas I think.
I remember when one of my cousins from Colorado visited us here in the metro DC area and couldn't stop talking about how "green" it is here...

[MorningGlow]

3. I only lasted two years in Boston

Could only stomach NYC for a few days at a time. I'm hypersensitive to too much stimuli; the good thing is I recognized this in myself and retreated to a region with a slower pace and more greenery than people. Everybody's different, however.

[Maine-ah]

4. I agree with you MG

I lived in Ft. Lauderdale for 2 years. Hated it. Same goes for NY, Boston....can't stand cities. I like my woods, and the closest city to me is 7 miles away which consists of a population of about 7500.

[MorningGlow]

5. We live in a small village right now (pop. about 2,000)

And Mr. MG is going insane. "Too many people too close!" he cries.
:rofl:

I don't mind it overmuch, as the yards are big and the houses huge, old, and creaky, but at times even I miss our last house, surrounded by pines on a seasonal road with eight neighbors not very close.

[YankeyMCC]

6. Like I said in the OP

I like living in an urban environment but there is a limit. I live in Boston metro and I think Boston is a bit exceptional (yes I'm biased :) ) partly because it is so easy to get from here to wild areas on short notice.

I don't think I could last very long in a larger urban setting like NYC or LA

[MorningGlow]

9. "Getting away" wasn't enough for me, I'm afraid

Even with all the greenery in Boston proper, I still got fritzy and actually became physically sick from the nonstop barrage of stress. But again, that's just me. Everyone's MMV.

[skygazer]

7. Interesting

I've never seriously contemplated living within a city - I like to be close enough to visit but I need my space and solitude.

I'm glad lots of people like them though - otherwise they'd all be out here. :P

[Dangerously Amused]

8. I've often wondered about the effect of a lack of nature on the brain/psyche.

I'm glad someone is studying this; the results make sense.