This research demonstrates how neglected urban alleyways can become therapeutic spaces, suggesting innovative mcrodesign interventions to improve mental health.
Hong Kong’s mental health index has languished below the passing mark for five years, a direct casualty of its oppressive hyper-density. With land scarce as gold, building new facilities is not an option. This research turns to the city’s forgotten gaps—its back alleys. We ask: can these neglected spaces be transformed into healing environments? Through typological analysis, case studies, and meticulous on-site surveys, we identify six alley prototypes and develop a suite of targeted mcrodesign interventions. This framework—applied to two distinct case sites—demonstrates how alleys can be systematically repurposed into a network of therapeutic spaces, offering a scalable ‘social prescription’ for urban wellbeing.
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Tian et al. (2025) studied this question.
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