By Marilyn, Ph.D. / Special to the OB Rag
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We have heard about the downsides to high density including increased traffic and the lack of parking. But an important factor that has been minimized is the impact of high density on our mental health.
When you see drastic changes that alter the fabric of our communities, it can feel overwhelming and disorienting. There are many reasons Protect Point Loma (www.ProtectPointLoma.com) was formed to protest the building of 1004 Rosecrans. For one, it has not been fully vetted by the professional experts as it relates to the impact on congestion, pollution or safety.
Other new projects in the area like the one on Lytton are larger scale and replace smaller buildings, which can change the neighborhood vibe from friendly to hostile. There does not seem to be anyone looking at the big picture as they approve multiple ADU’s in single family home backyards, huge apartment complexes and the high rises slotted to go in along Pacific Highway.
Don’t forget the large-scale project, Midway rising. If you are thinking, this is just NIMBYism at play, let’s talk statistics. San Diego had only a 1% increase in population from 2024-2025 yet housing saw a 1.7% increase.
When you factor in the average count per household of 2.55, we have more housing per person by 72,740. Many projects state there is “no public input” leaving people to feel silenced and betrayed. New construction seems to pop up overnight, leaving people to question the lack of transparency with our city. All these factors impact our stress levels, anxiety and health.
We are not the first community to worry about this negative relationship between high-density and mental health.
In 2020, Brazilian researchers observed that higher population density was associated with a 21% higher likelihood of elevated depressive symptoms among women and a 21% higher likelihood of suicidal thoughts among men (Werneck & Silva). These findings were regardless of socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise, TV watching and smoking.
Another study out of Hong Kong found that living in low and medium density areas were associated with significantly lower risks of anxiety and stress compared to living in high-density areas (Chan, Wong, Chung and Au-Yung, 2020). Moreover, female, younger adults or those living in income poverty were also at risk of anxiety and stress. These results also highlighted the significant impact of living density on personal anxiety and stress.
When high density developments go up, they are also often taking down trees, golf courses, parks and other green spaces or blocking views of nature. Nature is filled with fractals, repeating patterns that evoke a calming and soothing effect on observers, potentially reducing stress and mental fatigue. Studies have shown that exposure to fractal patterns can decrease stress levels by up to 60%, according to Psychology Today. Try it sometime- stare at a concrete building and then stare at a tree or mountain and notice the difference.
Factors that increase mental health are green spaces and access to nature, walkability and active transportation, social connections and social support and feeling you have agency over your life and what happens to you.
This May, it’s important for all of us to take action to protect ourselves, our communities and our individual and collective mental health.
Marilyn is a resident of Point Loma.
Here’s some advice for 30-something Andrew Evan Terenzio. You need to grow the f**k up. Life is full of setbacks, like when atrocious densification policies finally go to such extremes that even politicos say, “Enough!” Are you upset that YIMBYs are losing ground? Has your life so far been a cakewalk? Is your bedroom full of participation trophies?
Do not think you can intimidate your betters with your sniveling BS. We started fighting the powers-that-be when you were still in diapers. You do not want to go toe-to-toe with us. It will not go well for you.
Thank you, Marilyn, for highlighting an issue that is too rarely talked about. This radical densification is stressful in so many ways. Privacy, parking, noise, traffic, the list goes on. Responsible development is what we need, not complete annihilation of neighborhood character such that no one will want to live there. Thank you again.
Love that someone else is also talking about mental health and these transparency splicing ministerial building codes that are stripping away the rights of home owners and renters who have worked hard to live where they do.
My mental health has absolutely suffered because of these horrendous actions by our Mayor, and the lack of action by the City Council.
It is systemac and institutional abuse. And is wrong.