Assessing the spatial correlations between prosperity and mental health in Northern Ireland

With civic establishments focusing more on urban growth and international connectivity in light of global economic forces, we also find health and wellbeing introduced as key factor contributing to urban sustainability and international attractiveness. This is particularly evident within the goals of the Local Development Plan for Belfast, Northern Ireland. However, its articulation and strategic application remain obscure. Mental Health more recently finds heightened importance in socio-economic research and civic planning regimes due to its impact on resource allocation and urban experiences. Using available datasets for Northern Ireland via NISRA and other institutions, we aim to find a statistical correlation between mental health (use of antidepressants, availability of health facilities within SOA and Administrative Areas; Drug abuse and Alcoholism; rate of suicide) and infrastructural prosperity (services, connectivity, parklands) at a macro-geographic level for Northern Ireland. This study explores the relationship using standard global ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and for the first time, geographically weighted regression (GWR) applied to examine the spatially determined patterns in Northern Ireland. The main contribution of this study is in the unity of spatial condition of mental health with local regression procedures and offer a specified assessment of mental health in association with infrastructural prosperity spatially.