Published December 2020
The importance of human connection has never been clearer than through this pandemic. Even before Covid, 9 million people in the UK experience loneliness. Isolation can feel trigger feelings of loneliness, which can be as bad for our health as smoking, increases our risk of depression, and is linked to unemployment and poor performance at school and work.
The Loneliness Lab created a crowd-source guide to tackling loneliness in our cities and communities through the built environment. It calls for policy change and collective action to design local spaces and places for connection. I was hired to help create and art direct the 58-page guide.
The guide is now influencing policy — in March 2021, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) called for a 'connected recovery' from the pandemic. Led by the British Red Cross, the report highlights many key findings informed by the Loneliness Lab, including the importance of well-designed, accessible housing, neighbourhoods and public spaces in tackling loneliness.
