This is how to design for isolation and loneliness in our communities

This is how to design for isolation and loneliness in our communities

This paper from WSP aims to set out the main built environment causes of loneliness and isolation – such as density, safety, finance, accessibility, mobility, and urban scale – and to provide an overview of best-practice solutions developed from a global research programme.

With 9 million people reportedly suffering from loneliness in the UK – an increase of 200,000 people since the 1950s – this epidemic is impacting our community cohesion. Economically, the impacts are equally significant with three out of four GPs reporting that between one and five patients a day visit because they are lonely, and estimates place the burden of loneliness on private-sector employers at over £2 billion a year.