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Marco Lucisano
Divisionschef Samhällsbyggnad
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Brain health at the heart of the cities of the future
Sweden's long-term competitiveness is determined not only by capital and technology — but also by people's cognitive capacity.
In the emerging Brain Economy movement, our brain health is described as a critical raw material in the modern economy.
Could that perspective change how we build our cities?
AI is taking over routine tasks and transforming how value is created in the economy. An increasing share of growth depends on people's ability to think, learn and make sound decisions.
But what happens if the very cognitive capacity the economy relies on is simultaneously weakening?
This question is central to what is known as the Brain Economy — how people's focus, creativity and cognitive endurance shape the modern economy. The movement has rapidly gained international attention in policy and research circles.
RISE at the European Brain Economy Summit
RISE is one of the co-organisers of the Brain Economy Summit in Brussels on 5 May 2026. There, we will be hosting a seminar on how the brain functions in and is affected by the built environment.
"At its core, Brain Economy is about how we can change the global economy to boost people's brain power," says Australian physician Harris Eyre, who has been a driving force in developing the concept.
In early 2026, he presented the Brain Capital Index, which shows that the world's collective brain capital rose until 2010 — and has since begun to decline (see separate fact box).
The combination of data technology and neuroscience makes it possible to see how the body and brain respond to a designed or built environment
People's behaviours, needs and emotions at the centre of urban development
Mental health is about giving people the opportunity to live according to their natural behaviours, needs and emotions in the offices, schools, healthcare facilities and city centres where they live and work.
This is where the global discussion about Brain Capital meets Swedish urban planning and built environment.
"For me, it's about designing for desired effect. It's a humanistic way of looking at it. How can we design schools for learning, hospitals for healing, workplaces for creativity, and parks for safety and relaxation?" says Marco Lucisano, Senior Vice President Built Environment at RISE.
This is, of course, not a new idea. Architects have always wanted to create environments that are beautiful, inclusive and functional.
But the possibilities for systematically measuring the effects have been limited.
"When people are asked how they experience an environment, their answers are always influenced by culture and norms. What is new is that we can now start to measure more directly. The combination of data technology and neuroscience makes it possible to see how the body and brain respond to a designed or built environment," says Marco Lucisano.
It is at the intersection of architecture and brain research that what is known as neuroarchitecture is emerging.
RISE is investing in measurement equipment and expertise to study how built environments affect the body, and is developing methods to integrate neuroscience into urban planning. In parallel, RISE collaborates with internationally leading institutions such as University College London, and runs projects with companies and property developers seeking to design environments with brain capital in mind.
We must start treating brain capital as infrastructure — something that deserves as much attention and investment as roads, bridges and data centres
Building knowledge about brain-smart environments
The research and its application are still at an early stage, and ongoing projects are helping to build knowledge about how brain-smart environments can be realised in practice.
There are no ready-made standard solutions yet.
At the same time, the economic rationale is already clear — and the theoretical reach is enormous.
"There are studies that show what poor quality costs. What does mental illness cost? What does it cost when young people don't thrive at school? That has already been quantified in monetary terms. It then becomes relevant to ask whether it might have been smarter to build better schools from the start," says Marco Lucisano.
This also implies a shift in how investments are valued.
"It may cost more initially. But if an environment reduces sick leave, improves learning or increases productivity over time, the calculation changes," says Marco Lucisano.
For private and public property developers, this is therefore not merely about "soft values", but also about long-term returns and risk reduction.
And ultimately about competitiveness: if environments affect learning, health and productivity, they also affect a country's economic capacity.
Brain capital: infrastructure as vital as roads, bridges and data centres
For Harris Eyre, it is fundamentally about how we value the brain.
"We must start treating brain capital as infrastructure — something that deserves as much attention and investment as roads, bridges and data centres," he says.
Eyre wants to see the Nordic countries — which he believes have a unique capacity to mobilise large public capital resources — step forward as pioneers within the Brain Economy.
"It must be a coordinated systems change. Just as with the climate transition, doing one thing is not enough — many things must happen simultaneously," he says.
Reversing the decline and building brain capital is both a public health and an economic imperative.
"When we dramatically improve how we prevent and treat brain-related conditions, we see an enormous effect on people's productivity. At the same time, the burden on health and social systems is reduced and business performance improves," says Marco Lucisano.
Global index of brain health on a downward trajectory since 2010
Harris Eyre and his colleagues presented the Brain Capital Index in early 2026. The index combines mental and neurological health, educational attainment and innovation capacity. According to the index, global brain capital rose from the mid-1990s until around 2010.
Since then, the index points to a decline.
"It is problematic. We see people severely affected by mental illnesses and neurological disorders. It is also bad for businesses and national economies — profitability falls, productivity declines and prospects for growth deteriorate," says Harris Eyre.
Why the index is falling remains unclear. But Eyre points to what he calls "mental pollution" as one of the explanations.
"It could be screen addiction, disinformation, ultra-processed food, air pollution. We don't know. It is most likely not a single factor, but several that lie behind the decline," he says.
