Planning for connection: how neighbourhoods shape our ability to age well
Dr Hannah Grove is an RTPI Early Career Research Grant recipient at Kellogg College, Oxford. In this blog she shares a preview of findings from her soon-to-be published research project.
Martha is 93. One of her ideal social outings involves walking a short distance from her home, catching a bus into town, browsing a clothing shop, sitting for a coffee in a local café, and then travelling home again.
Completing this trip depends on a chain of small environmental and social conditions: someone helping her down her front step as she uses a walker, a patient bus driver, someone to meet her when she alights, a bus stop within easy walking distance, and confidence that she can return home safely.
When the bus stop in town unexpectedly changed to “drop-off only”, Martha, who has osteoporosis and chronic back pain, needed to walk an extra 300 metres to catch her bus home. Walking this distance is not possible for Martha, which means she is unable to attend a weekly social group that she used to enjoy.
Her experience highlights an important lesson for planners: small details in neighbourhood design can have a big impact on people’s ability to stay socially connected.
Why place matters
Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a major public health challenge. It can affect people at any stage of life (Health Survey for England data shows that 6% of all adults often or always feel lonely), but we’re more vulnerable to some loneliness risks as we age. In particular, long-term health conditions and mobility challenges can shape our ability to get out and remain active in our communities.
Mobility is valuable not simply for practical reasons but because it enables social connection. Research using “go-along” methods – moving and talking with older adults in their neighbourhoods – has shown that socialising is one of the strongest motivations for leaving the house.
However, the environments in which we live (and age) shape whether it is easy to walk to our local shops, catch a bus, sit and rest along the way, or meet others in everyday places. When environments make these journeys difficult, people’s social worlds can shrink.
This is where planning matters.
The ENOLA research project
Over the past year, my RTPI-funded Early Career Research project - Enhancing Neighbourhood Environments for Older Adult Social Connectedness (ENOLA-SC) - has explored how neighbourhood environments can support social connection or reinforce loneliness.
Working in partnership with Re-engage, a national charity supporting more than 6,000 older people through tea parties, activity groups and telephone befriending, the project used creative and participatory research methods to understand how older adults experience their neighbourhoods.
Through interviews, social world mapping and neighbourhood “go-along” interviews, participants shared how their neighbourhoods shape their ability to stay connected to others.
I shared Martha’s experiences at the Healthy City Design Congress in October 2025 in a session on Neighbourhood Design for Ageing. I heard from researchers and practitioners exploring age-friendly housing and how to improve walkability for people living with dementia.
In December 2025, I organised a public seminar at Kellogg College, Oxford, as part of the Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation (GCHU) seminar series. The seminar explored whether neighbourhoods support us to thrive or leave us lonely. I presented an overview of the ENOLA project alongside collaborator Dr Georgina Everett, Research and Impact Lead at Re-engage. We also heard from Paul Cann OBE, CEO for the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection and Martyn Craddock, Chief Executive at United St Saviour’s Charity. Martyn shared insights from Appleby Blue Almshouse, recently awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize, illustrating how thoughtful housing design can support social connection among older residents.
Why planning matters
Planning decisions shape the everyday geography of ageing because they influence how neighbourhoods are designed, navigated, and experienced.
Neighbourhoods designed with accessible local services, comfortable walking environments and sociable public spaces can make connection a part of everyday life.
Looking ahead and next steps
My RTPI grant-funded research report will soon be published. It will include recommendations to support planning professionals in thinking about how neighbourhood environments can enable social connection in later life.
This work raises important questions about the types of evidence that inform planning decisions and how lived experiences like Martha’s might be incorporated into planning policy - particularly perspectives from older people whose voices are less often heard.
Loneliness is not inevitable. By paying closer attention to people’s everyday realities and neighbourhood environments, planning can help bridge the gap between people’s existing and ideal social worlds - creating places that support connection throughout later life.
Acknowledgements: “Martha” is a pseudonym used to protect anonymity. Thank you to the Re-engage tea party participants, volunteers and organisers who have taken part in this research and to the RTPI for funding this research.
