Speaker
Description
This study examines the mechanisms of spatial variation in intergenerational mobility (IM) and mental health in United States (US) counties. We explicitly emphasized the effects of four aspects of urban sprawl—density, mix of uses, centering, and accessibility, and natural environment and their interaction with socioeconomic factors. We found that while employment centering negatively affected IM, population centering enhanced IM. Typical livable city indicators of walkability, mixed-use development, and a jobs-housing balance improved IM. Urban sprawl variables also indirectly influenced IM through inequality, segregation, social capital, and unemployment. We also found that the Black population share had the largest indirect and total effects on IM. In terms of health outcomes, results show job sprawl, land mixed use, job mixed layout and jobs-housing balance mainly indicators of work-life balance and quality of life, can effectively reduce the risk of people being depressed. Greenspace can make people relaxed and absorb pollutants, thus can improve mental health, and this effect is more obvious in urban area. The increased concentrations of air pollutants, such as PM2.5, CO and O3, and more precipitation lead to more depression. This study has shown that enhancing IM requires more than reducing segregation and increasing density, and that effective treatment of mental health must incorporate built and natural environments.
