Schools that heal: design with mental health in mind

Abstract

Under the circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic that students have suffered great levels of isolation and loneliness as most schools are not designed to remain operational during a pandemic and to enforce social distancing, Claire Latané wrote Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind. Since nature can help to mitigate the negative impacts of infectious diseases, a nature-based school design would suit the current pandemic crisis (Khalilnezhad et al. 2021). COVID19 has provided the opportunity for Professor Latané to critique the inequitable system of school design that has lasted for decades. Her book has consistently shown that access to nature, large classroom windows and open campuses reduce stress, anxiety, disorderly conduct and crime and improve academic performance. However, few school designers and decision-makers have applied this research to create healthy school environments.