Understanding the influence of social and physical environments on loneliness

About the study 

Prior studies have identified that physical and social environments can influence loneliness. This report investigates how the structural factors of the physical and the social environment impact loneliness in areas of high deprivation. It also explores potential interventions for reducing loneliness through changes to the physical and social environment, and how local and central government perceive their role in these areas. The research focuses on three geographic areas: Castleford, Oldham, and Torquay. 

The physical environment consists of transportation infrastructure, housing type and provision, and green spaces. The social environment includes factors such as social cohesion and community belonging. 

Findings 

This research found strong evidence that features of physical and social environments can both support and hinder social connection. Regarding the physical environment, the research found that:

• Transport infrastructure can support social connection, when residents feel able to use public transport. When unable to access transport (e.g. due to safety concerns, tickets costs, or reliability) it was seen to hinder social connection; 
• Active transport, meaning making journeys in physically active ways such as walking, using a wheelchair, or cycling, were found to enable social connection where other forms of transport were unavailable or inaccessible. The effectiveness of active transport in facilitating social connection, however, was reliant on the quality of cycle lanes and pavements;
• Local buildings and spaces can support social connection by providing spaces to socialise and attend events, but the decline of high streets and local pubs/bars and other spaces was found to act as a barrier to building connections; 
• Housing and neighbourhood design can influence how residents build social connections (e.g. through the presence or absence of communal spaces on housing estates); 
• Green and blue spaces were reported to be important to maintaining and building upon social connections by providing space to socialise and attend events.

In terms of the social environment, the research found that:

• Common interest-based groups and activities (e.g. related to sports or crafts) help to build social connection locally;
• “Bumping spaces” (places where people can meet or interact spontaneously i.e. ‘bump into each other’) are beneficial to supporting social connection and it is suggested that more such spaces would facilitate local connections;
• Digital exclusion can act as a barrier to social connection as social media is often a main form of sharing information and communicating about social activities, thus hindering social activity participation.

Local stakeholders largely agreed that any initiatives regarding physical and social environments should be produced collaboratively with both local/central government and local stakeholder organisations.

Methodology 

This research was conducted in three parts: 1) focus groups with participants from three local areas of high area deprivation, 2) in-depth interviews with stakeholders from the selected local areas, 3) a workshop with national government stakeholders.

The following areas were selected: 

• Castleford (a semi-urban area within the City of Wakefield district in West Yorkshire, surrounded by rural areas);
• Oldham (an urban area which is a borough of Greater Manchester in North West England);
• Torquay (a coastal town in Devon in South West England, surrounded by rural areas). 

1. Two focus groups were conducted in each of the selected areas with residents that had experience of loneliness. These focus groups aimed to gain the perspectives and experiences of residents around the physical and social environment, and the related impacts on building and accessing social connections.
2. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 stakeholders from the selected areas, each with a role in the local physical and/or social environment. Interviews provided insight into the influence of the physical and social environment on social connections and interventions that have been tried to support social connection.
3. A workshop was conducted with central government stakeholders with responsibilities related to the physical and social environments (e.g. transport, communities, anti-social behaviour). The workshop aimed to gain an understanding of how findings from focus groups and stakeholder interviews could be generalised to the wider population, including the role and responsibilities of central government in interventions to improve social connection.