Erin Peavey was four months along in her pregnancy when she lost her mother to cancer. After her daughter arrived in January 2019, feelings of loneliness began to engulf her. Her mother had been her pillar of strength, providing consistent support. Now, left alone at home with a newborn and her husband working full time, Peavey held onto her mother’s constant advice: stay connected.
Every day, Peavey would secure her newborn to her chest and stroll through their neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. She frequented coffee shops, engaged in small talk at the grocery store, and developed a routine of visiting other “third places”—a term used by urban sociologists to describe informal meeting spots that are neither home nor work but can nurture community. Peavey, who works as an architect, explains that she didn’t require in-depth conversations; she simply felt a sense of connection while being out in public.
“It served as a remedy for the isolation and emotional turmoil brought on by losing my mother around the same time I became a new mom,” she shares. “I realized the invaluable gift that my built environment was for me…It enabled me to cope.”
Numerous experts now deem loneliness as a public health crisis, with the former U.S. Surgeon General stating that it impacts nearly half of American adults and increases the risk of premature death to levels similar to smoking 15 cigarettes each day. As these mental health issues escalate, individuals like Peavey are wondering: What if the places we inhabit could help reduce our sense of loneliness?
“The built environment—which encompasses our streets, housing, and transportation systems—plays a crucial role in how we interact with one another,” explains Julia Day, a partner at the global urban strategy firm Gehl. “While tackling an epidemic necessitates various approaches, modifications in place design and programming are vital components.” A report from the Foundation for Social Connection in 2024 reinforces this notion, illustrating how the built environment can facilitate or obstruct meaningful social interactions—whether brief or deep.
These concepts are not novel but have been gaining popularity. Peavey indicates that this shift is partly due to the pandemic, which helped reduce the stigma surrounding loneliness and heightened awareness of our physical environment while people were confined at home. “In the past five years, we’ve begun to acknowledge the structural factors that significantly affect our health, well-being, economic outcomes, and so on,” she states. “One of those factors is our physical and built environment.”
Designing with the intent to foster connection doesn’t adhere to a single formula. However, architects, urban planners, policymakers, and others have devised various strategies that enhance the likelihood of spontaneous or significant interactions—both in private residences and public spaces.
Peavey has proposed evidence-based design principles for promoting social health, which she refers to as PANACHe. One type of space that embodies these principles, according to her, is the Italian piazza: they are accessible to everyone, feature a core of restaurants and shops (activation), and consist of buildings made with natural clay bricks and stones, often adorned with ivy (nature). “When places provide a sense of grounding and tranquility, a key benefit of nature, it can encourage individuals to feel more receptive,” she notes.
These concepts are also evident in a student residential complex at the University of California San Diego, co-designed by Safdie Rabines Architects and HKS Architects, where Peavey serves as a design leader focused on health and well-being. It includes communal spaces for cooking and socializing, interconnected staircases, and expansive windows that overlook common areas to facilitate social and academic interaction. Following its completion, studies indicated an 8.2 percent reduction in self-reported depression among students and a nearly 28 percent improvement in their satisfaction with the residence.
Additionally, a consulting firm based in Canada called Happy Cities is helping implement similar concepts in urban housing. Emma Avery, an urban planner and communication lead at the firm, mentions that there is increasing interest in their methodology for multi-unit housing, including apartment buildings and townhouses.
“We face issues like housing unaffordability, a climate crisis, and the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness, and we must collaborate to address all these challenges simultaneously,” Avery asserts. “If we’re constructing thousands of new homes in these high-rise developments, how can we ensure that we aren’t exacerbating social isolation?”
To achieve this goal, Happy Cities and the Hey Neighbour Collective collaborated to create a toolkit informed by over ten years of research. The main recommendations include integrating buildings with their neighboring environment, establishing smooth transitions between public and private areas, and placing shared facilities together.
These principles influenced the creation of Our Urban Village in Vancouver, a 12-unit “co-housing lite” development where residents engage in collaborative living. Following their principle of invitation, for instance, the design features spacious outdoor walkways, a communal courtyard, and social areas that encourage residents to linger and interact. A study revealed that six months after moving in, 100 percent of residents reported they rarely or never felt lonely, and 88 percent regarded two or more neighbors as friends.
“With loneliness, it’s not always just about having no social connections, but rather about your satisfaction within those relationships,” Avery explains. This is why “our focus is on designing inviting spaces where individuals can pause and feel more open to connecting at their own comfort level.”
There has also been increased interest in public spaces, particularly following the pandemic. Although their toolkit emphasizes housing, Avery notes that several concepts can also be applicable to public areas. One such idea is activation, where spaces are energized with purposeful elements like seating, playgrounds, or community gardens.
A recent investigation conducted by Gehl and researchers from the University of Toronto’s public health sector underscores the importance of activating public spaces. They studied The Bentway, a previously neglected area beneath a major highway in Toronto that underwent transformation through thoughtful design and programming. The majority of visitors reported feeling healthier and more socially connected in the area—especially due to its incorporation of landscaping, public seating, and arts programming.
Day points out that while urban planners are increasingly acknowledging the significance of these elements, public health professionals often require more solid data on the benefits to justify their integration.
“Gathering more research on initiatives like The Bentway project is quite beneficial for fostering significant partnerships between public health and urban planners and developers, allowing them to collaborate effectively and incorporate the reduction of social isolation into design objectives,” she remarks.
Turning these design concepts into reality is quite complex. The built environment is subjected to extensive regulations and negotiations among various stakeholders, including developers, local and state authorities, and community members, who often have conflicting priorities. Additionally, priorities and policies can fluctuate with changing administrations.
There is a need for greater cross-sector collaboration and more research. Candice Ji, an urban planner and designer at Gehl, mentions that when they initially started exploring this issue, there was little systematic data available. “We are continuing to build a solid evidence base for action through various studies we are conducting,” she adds.
Eric Klinenberg, a professor of sociology at New York University and author of Palaces for the People, notes that there has been growing recognition of the importance of social infrastructure over the past decade; however, this recognition hasn’t necessarily translated into increased resources. “Funding for public spaces and social infrastructure remains sparse and inconsistent,” he states. “Reductions in government spending on social services, including parks, schools, libraries, and other communal spaces, could heighten feelings of loneliness and isolation precisely when stronger community connections are needed.”
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Nevertheless, certain cities are putting these concepts into practice. For example, New York City’s Active Design Guidelines, while aimed at physical health, also promote features that facilitate social interaction. Barcelona’s ten-year initiative to combat loneliness involves reorganizing the city into community-driven spaces and encouraging innovative home-sharing arrangements. In Seoul, South Korea, the Seoul Without Loneliness strategy employs a multi-faceted approach, including transforming convenience stores into social hubs for people to gather over ramen and ensuring the availability of ample open areas.
“When we begin to create environments that promote trust and a sense of belonging while addressing loneliness,” Peavey remarks, “it can generate numerous positive ripple effects throughout our lives.”