LONELINESS LAB LAUNCHES ‘DESIGN TO CONNECT’ REPORT
The document features contributions from Publica’s Lucy Pritchard and sets out ways in which cities can be designed to bring people together, not keep them apart.
A spread from the Design to Connect report, initiated by the Loneliness Lab
Developed over a period in Autumn 2020 and against the backdrop of the global pandemic, the Design To Connect report is a 56-page document that discusses both the role design has had to play in creating isolating spaces, and how it can be better used going forwards in order to solve the UK’s problem with loneliness, which it claims affects more than 9 million people.
“Loneliness can be devastating for those who live with it,” the report reads. “The impact is not just emotional, research suggests it can be as bad for our health as smoking and can place a huge burden on public and private sector finances.”
“Disconnection is increasingly leading to more fragmented societies, where we have less contact with our neighbours and with people whose views and experiences are different to ours,” it continues, “yet our collective experience of lockdown has shown us just how important connection is to our wellbeing and resilience.”
Publica’s Project Director, Lucy Pritchard, contributed specifically to a section titled ‘Play: Public and Shared Spaces’, which explored issues of disconnection in the public realm, while offering ideas to implement, from human scale nooks, flexible seating, and intimate areas, to community-generated art and intuitive wayfinding.
The team also put forward the importance of establishing governance within a space – using the example of The Gillett Square Partnership in Dalston, which has turned a once-deprived area into a thriving square, by providing ongoing connection between the community, designers, developers, and the local authority.
Projects ⋅ February 2021
See more
LONELINESS LAB LAUNCHES ‘DESIGN TO CONNECT’ REPORT
The document features contributions from Publica’s Lucy Pritchard and sets out ways in which cities can be designed to bring people together, not keep them apart.
A spread from the Design to Connect report, initiated by the Loneliness Lab
Developed over a period in Autumn 2020 and against the backdrop of the global pandemic, the Design To Connect report is a 56-page document that discusses both the role design has had to play in creating isolating spaces, and how it can be better used going forwards in order to solve the UK’s problem with loneliness, which it claims affects more than 9 million people.
“Loneliness can be devastating for those who live with it,” the report reads. “The impact is not just emotional, research suggests it can be as bad for our health as smoking and can place a huge burden on public and private sector finances.”
“Disconnection is increasingly leading to more fragmented societies, where we have less contact with our neighbours and with people whose views and experiences are different to ours,” it continues, “yet our collective experience of lockdown has shown us just how important connection is to our wellbeing and resilience.”
Publica’s Project Director, Lucy Pritchard, contributed specifically to a section titled ‘Play: Public and Shared Spaces’, which explored issues of disconnection in the public realm, while offering ideas to implement, from human scale nooks, flexible seating, and intimate areas, to community-generated art and intuitive wayfinding.
The team also put forward the importance of establishing governance within a space – using the example of The Gillett Square Partnership in Dalston, which has turned a once-deprived area into a thriving square, by providing ongoing connection between the community, designers, developers, and the local authority.
Projects ⋅ February 2021
See more