Three ways to start building socially connected communities

This post is written by Risa Wilkerson, Executive Director of Healthy Places by Design.

• The problem: Social isolation is a major issue.

• Why it matters: There are negative impacts on health and well-being.

• The solution: Socially connected communities help people thrive.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought the health impacts of social isolation into full view, both in the United States and globally. People of all ages, demographics, and identities are experiencing social isolation. But this problem predates Covid-19. In 2018, more than half of U.S. adults said they had no one or only one person in their lives in whom they could confide. And that was before the pandemic.

"Social isolation disproportionately affects groups of people and communities who are commonly oppressed or excluded."

Social isolation, defined as a lack of social connections, is a serious public health problem equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having an alcohol problem. It is linked to depression, poor sleep, accelerated cognitive decline, and impaired immunity, and increases the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, and premature death. On the other hand, strong social connections and networks can boost a person’s lifespan by 50 per cent.

Typically, social isolation has been addressed as a personal problem or lifestyle choice, when in fact it is rooted in community design, social norms, and systemic injustices. Thus, it disproportionately affects groups of people and communities who are commonly oppressed or excluded.

Reducing isolation

In the United States, for example, redlining—the discriminatory practice of denying housing loans based on residents’ race—isolated entire neighbourhoods. Anti-loitering laws, also racially motivated, have kept people out of public spaces. And people who live in unsafe, typically under-resourced areas are more likely to stay inside instead of mingling with their neighbours in public spaces.

Increasingly, communities around the world are working to reverse social isolation by building social connectedness and well-being. In socially connected communities, people know and trust each other, feel welcomed and represented, and are motivated and supported to be civically engaged.

"Everyone needs safe, affordable housing that includes spaces designed for gathering and that encourage diversity."

Creating socially connected communities requires more than short-term programs that bring people face to face. It’s about stronger and inclusive social policies, structures, norms, and public spaces that help people connect in more meaningful ways.

What’s needed is a “social in everything” approach that embeds social well-being into the fabric of public policymaking and programming.

Three areas for getting started are public spaces, housing, and transportation:

Design, maintain, and activate inclusive public spaces. This means co-creating with the community safe places for people of all ages, races and ethnicities, abilities, and gender identities to gather; maintaining the quality of those spaces equitably; and activating those spaces to encourage healthy social interaction. For example, several U.S. cities have adopted a practice started in Brazil of closing off certain streets to cars to create safe and welcoming spaces for people to mingle and be active. This practice has improved inclusion in highly unequal and segregated urban environments.

Construct housing environments that build community. Everyone needs safe, affordable housing that includes spaces designed for gathering and that encourage diversity. Strategies include co-locating parks and affordable housing while ensuring that parks are safe and welcoming to all and zoning to encourage mixed-income housing and mixed-use developments. In Richmond, Virginia, the City Health District partnered with the redevelopment and housing authority to embed health resource centres in large public housing developments. These centres are staffed with community health workers who connect people to resources and each other.

Prioritise connection in transportation systems. This requires “putting people first,” using policy levers to promote health and equity, and supporting elements that enhance public life. By prioritising social connection and a sense of belonging, the transportation sector can reimagine ways to spark conversation, increase engagement, and improve health and well-being. That could be as simple as improving the lighting at city bus stops so that people feel safer and more comfortable interacting. Or it may mean re-prioritising municipal snow removal policies to clear walking and biking pathways, especially those near bus stops and schools, before clearing streets and highways.

Begin by hosting a communitywide conversation about the benefits of social connection and how your city can infuse social well-being into every aspect of life. A recent report from Healthy Places By Design and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Socially Connected Communities: Solutions to Social Isolation, offers in-depth guidance for creating community-led change that builds social connectedness. The report was co-created with a Social Isolation Learning Network, in which participants from diverse places and organisations candidly shared their efforts to reduce social isolation.

"By thinking—and acting—more broadly and inclusively, we can address the systemic causes of social isolation and build strong social connection into our communities."

Creating a connected future

The good news is that there are inspiring ideas for improving social connection in communities all over the world—and communities can learn from each other, wherever they are. For example, in Buffalo, New York, restaurant owners were so taken with the Danish concept of “hygge”—or “cosiness”—that they worked with the city to get special licenses for outdoor fire pits during the winter so that people could dine al fresco beneath their blankets around the fire.

Now is the time to get started. Covid-19 has heightened our awareness about the detrimental impacts of social isolation, but we must stop thinking of isolation as a personal problem. Socially Connected Communities are healthy, resilient, and designed with intention. By thinking—and acting—more broadly and inclusively, we can address the systemic causes of social isolation and build strong social connection into our communities.

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