Loneliness in Urban Areas — A Scandinavian Case Study
In writing her thesis in Sweden, Martina Gnewski explores the link between loneliness and the built environment and examines how action can be taken to address the issue from a community-led and governance perspective
What is your degree project?
I’m studying a Master’s of Applied Cultural Analysis at Lund University and I’m due to graduate this June. Broadly speaking, my thesis is about loneliness in urban areas. Although the research was conducted in Scandinavia, the findings may be applicable to other regions as well. The overall aim of my thesis is to understand how social and cultural practices are formed within different spaces of the city and how this contributes to the experience of loneliness. As an ethnographic researcher I focus on the lived experience of how loneliness is felt and how it directs people’s actions. This perspective gives me insight into the everyday life of loneliness and allows me to see how norms, values, expectations, and behaviours contribute to that experience. This is explored in different scales, from the house to the neighbourhood, district and the city scale, to understand how loneliness manifests itself in different layers of the city.
What is Ethnographic research?
Ethnographic research is a form of qualitative research, and it often looks for the small and ‘insignificant’ i.e. taken for granted, aspects of everyday life. The lived experience is the focal point of ethnographic research. I think there is a real benefit to better understand loneliness, and public health in general, from a social and cultural perspective. The understanding of the lived experience is crucial to be able to grasp how loneliness affects people, and how it is constructed in society, to be able to put preventative measures in place. Ethnographic data can be collected in various ways, however for my thesis project I used interviews as my main method. I interviewed people living alone to narrow down my research given that loneliness is a broad topic, although this is not to say that all people living alone are lonely. I also interviewed other informants from the planning department at a municipality, and a housing coordinator of a local housing association in Sweden. This way I was able to explore the governance perspective on loneliness.
What are the main findings from your thesis project?
Although my thesis project looked at loneliness in a Scandinavian context, I believe there are findings that are relevant to other countries too, such as the UK. My findings are broken down into two main themes: trust and belonging, which should be present at different scales within the city in order to prevent loneliness. I’ve made a short summary per theme below:
Trust
Throughout my research it became evident that trust plays a significant role in preventing loneliness and in the formation of social relationships. It is impacted by the opportunities and limitations that exist in the physical environment. People tend to not trust strangers, which may narrow their ability to develop new social relationships. I found that trust is complex and often needs to be established in a person’s close surroundings before it can expand to wider society. So by encouraging individuals to develop closer social bonds with neighbours, their sense of trust in people can begin to grow. Therefore, housing and neighbourhood dynamics are essential for the prevention of loneliness. Within this, architecture can greatly facilitate new opportunities for social interactions on a housing and neighbourhood scale.
However, I found that in order to prevent loneliness and develop trust on a larger scale the root cause of segregation in cities needs to be addressed. By this I mean the divide between groups in society, in terms of who is included and excluded from places within the city. There is an unequal accessibility to public spaces, particularly for minority groups, which creates a disparity in the opportunities afforded for closer social ties and interaction. Additionally, with the digitalisation of services today there are less opportunities to meet people in public spaces, and as a result people are less likely to accept differences in others who may speak, act and look different.
I found that trust also closely correlates with safety, as to trust your surroundings is to feel safe within them. An individual’s mobility within the city is influenced by how safe they feel in their surroundings, which can severely limit their ability to socialise outside of the confines of their home. Ultimately, without trust in others individuals are bound to drift further apart, and are significantly more vulnerable to experiencing loneliness. By being further apart, they are less likely to form close social bonds that are established through common interests, and a deeper involvement in each other’s personal lives.
Belonging
Similarly to trust, a sense of belonging is a fundamental cornerstone in society, in other words to be seen and valued for who you are. Trust and belonging do not exist in separation from each other. On the contrary, the two depend on each other, as without trust there is no opportunity for belonging. The paradox of loneliness is that it is not just the lack of social interactions per se that causes the experience. Rather, my research found that it is the lack of access to deeper social interactions with people who share a similar outlook on life.
I found that marginalised communities are more prone to experience loneliness as they can feel separated from wider society. This may be due to resources and amenities being prioritised in ‘better serviced’ districts, which can impact the opportunities for residents to develop social ties, as they have to travel out of their district to access the experiences they desire. I also found that places in the city can become charged with expectations that inhibit people from using them, or that make people feel excluded within them, as they do not adhere to expected behaviour or values within these spaces.
Lastly, I found that districts with strong identities, historical ties, and traditions can better prevent loneliness for their residents. For example, the historical ties visible in the physical characteristics of older, familiar buildings can contribute to the identity and togetherness of its residents. This is important to consider in the redevelopment of neighbourhoods and districts. To summarise, a sense of belonging is not created by merely placing people in close proximity to one another. It is formed in shared values and through accessibility to the resources and experiences of the city one resides in.
Were you surprised by the themes that emerged from your study?
I wasn’t surprised to find out that trust and belonging are fundamental, as both these themes are important for the development of social relationships. However, I was surprised that both may need to be present at different scales for an individual’s ability to prevent loneliness. This begins at the home, expanding to the neighbourhood, the district, and the wider city.
What made you start the project?
I’ve moved countries a few times, so I know what loneliness feels like. I remember thinking about the possibility of befriending neighbours but it was difficult to connect, because it didn’t seem ‘appropriate’ in the context. I saw more limitations than opportunities for developing friendships with my neighbours.
When I started studying my master’s, in the second semester we were required to complete a work placement. I did my work placement at a co-creation/urban design consultancy called COurban Design Collective in Copenhagen. During my time there I completed an independent research project on loneliness and housing, where I wanted to determine if there is a link between housing type and loneliness. I found that there are many layers to loneliness, but that the physical environment, in this case housing, plays a significant role in encouraging or inhibiting social interactions. I wanted to develop and expand on this and decided to continue this research in my thesis project.
What can you suggest from what you have learned so far?
I think such findings could be of interest for research supporting public policy related to the development of urban areas. Starting at the housing level there should be better opportunities for residents to develop closer social ties through interactive features in shared spaces, such as within staircases that currently only perform as functional spaces. In neighbourhoods and districts, there should be a more equal level of investment in services and resources that offer accessibility to experiences for all residents within their districts. This enables changed mobility patterns that also assist in the development of new social ties that can be formed outside of their immediate social circle. These are only some examples that highlight how trust and belonging can be established at different scales within the city.
What have you learned about loneliness since you started your project?
That it is complex and there is no easy solution as loneliness is experienced differently by different people, although there are some common factors that contribute to the experience. Also, that loneliness is structurally embedded in our cities, meaning that the planning and designing of our cities has significant implications for people’s abilities to prevent loneliness.
What’s next for your project?
I recently completed the defence of my thesis, which was a great relief! I now have about one month to finish writing and editing, and once I’m done I’ll submit the final version in early June. In an ideal scenario, I would love to continue my research on loneliness, especially as it has become a very relevant topic during the pandemic.
If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change about our cities to make them less lonely?
That’s a really tough question, as my research has shown there are many layers to the experience of loneliness. I would primarily ensure people have opportunities to form closer social connections in their neighbourhoods, for instance by facilitating community led initiatives and programs, as this builds trust and belonging that then hopefully transcends to wider society.
Where is your favourite space to go when you are feeling lonely?
I don’t have one specific place I go to, rather there are many. I would say walking around the town I live in and just seeing and hearing people tends to make me feel less lonely. I have a dog so it’s nice to walk around and explore with her!
