In increasingly digitally connected societies, millions of people experience feelings of isolation. But to what extent is loneliness an individual experience, and how much does it have to do with the way we organize our cities, our work, and our collective lives?
Nexum Explains — Understanding to Transform
October 10 | World Mental Health Day
We have more tools to communicate than ever before, but that does not necessarily mean we have more opportunities to connect. We can work from home, maintain conversations with people living thousands of kilometres away, and participate in multiple digital communities. Yet sharing spaces, building relationships of trust, and feeling a sense of belonging remain fundamental human needs.
Loneliness is often presented as a personal problem. We are encouraged to go out more, make friends, take part in recreational activities, or reduce our screen time. While these strategies can be valuable, one question rarely takes centre stage: What social conditions make it easier or harder for people to build meaningful relationships?
On World Mental Health Day, Nexum invites us to broaden the conversation. Loneliness cannot be understood solely through the lens of individual psychology. It is also connected to urban design, working conditions, migration experiences, economic inequalities, and the political decisions that shape how we share space and time.
Loneliness: A Social Phenomenon with Health Consequences
The World Health Organization (WHO) distinguishes between two related but different concepts: loneliness and social isolation.
Loneliness is a subjective experience that arises when there is a gap between the social relationships a person has and those they want or need. Social isolation, on the other hand, refers to an objective situation characterized by a lack of social relationships and interactions.
This means that someone can live alone without feeling lonely, while another person may experience profound loneliness even when surrounded by others.
According to a report published in 2025 by the WHO Commission on Social Connection, approximately one in six people worldwide experiences loneliness. The organization warns that both loneliness and social isolation are associated with increased risks to physical and mental health.
In Canada, Statistics Canada reported that 13.2% of the population said they felt lonely often or always during the second quarter of 2025.
These figures invite us to reconsider a deeply rooted assumption: that loneliness belongs exclusively to the private sphere. When an experience affects a significant proportion of the population and is linked to identifiable social conditions, it also deserves attention from public policymakers.
Cities That Connect and Cities That Isolate
Cities are not neutral environments. Their design influences how we move around, where we spend our time, and whom we have opportunities to meet.
Consider two neighbourhoods.
One has public libraries, accessible parks, cultural centres, safe sidewalks, public transportation, and places where people can gather without having to spend money.
In the other, homes are far from essential services, most journeys require a car, and opportunities for social interaction are limited or depend on commercial activities.
The opportunities for everyday social interaction are not necessarily the same.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg uses the concept of social infrastructure to emphasize the importance of physical spaces and institutions that enable community relationships to develop. Libraries, public squares, schools, recreational centres, and neighbourhood organizations serve purposes that extend far beyond the services they provide.
They are places where people can meet, recognize one another, and develop a sense of belonging.
This perspective introduces an essential dimension to urban policy: building healthy communities requires more than housing, roads, and efficient services. It also requires creating conditions that support collective life.
Evidence regarding the specific effects of individual urban interventions is still developing. Nevertheless, research and international organizations recognize that access to quality social infrastructure offers a promising way to strengthen community connections.
Investing in public spaces can therefore also be a way of investing in social well-being.
Work and the Loss of Shared Time
The world of work also shapes our relationships.
Long working hours, unpredictable schedules, lengthy commutes, and economic insecurity can reduce the time and energy available to maintain social connections.
The expansion of remote work presents a more complex picture. For some people, it means greater autonomy, less commuting, and more time with their families. For others, particularly those without strong local social networks, it can reduce opportunities for everyday interaction.
The point is not that one working arrangement necessarily causes isolation, but rather that the organization of work influences our ability to participate in social life.
When free time becomes a privilege, building community can also become a matter of inequality.
Work-life balance policies, predictable schedules, family leave, and access to childcare services can help create better conditions for maintaining relationships.
Thinking about workplace well-being solely in terms of productivity overlooks an essential dimension: people need time to care for others, participate, share experiences, and belong.
Migration: Rebuilding Connections in a New Place
Migration offers a particularly revealing perspective on the social dimensions of loneliness.
Migrating does not simply mean moving to another country. It often involves leaving behind family networks, friendships, cultural reference points, and spaces of belonging developed over many years.
A migrant may find employment, learn the language, and meet their material needs while still struggling to feel part of their new community.
Integration, therefore, cannot be measured exclusively through economic or employment indicators.
The ability to build trusting relationships, participate in cultural activities, access community spaces, and feel recognized also matters.
A study published by Statistics Canada in 2023 identified differences in the risk of experiencing loneliness among certain groups of older immigrants and people born in Canada. These findings do not mean that all migrants share the same experience, but they highlight the importance of considering migration trajectories and barriers to social participation.
From this perspective, integration policies should address not only employment and language learning but also the development of community networks.
Cultural workshops, libraries, artistic activities, and intercultural gathering spaces can provide opportunities to build these relationships.
Because integrating into a society is not simply about learning how it works. It is also about finding a place within it.
When Community Spaces Disappear
A library reducing its opening hours, a community centre closing, or a cultural activity no longer being offered free of charge may seem like isolated administrative decisions.
Yet these changes can also affect opportunities for community interaction.
Public and community spaces have an important characteristic: they allow people to share experiences with others who do not necessarily belong to their family, workplace, or circle of friends.
They are places where we encounter the diversity of our societies.
When opportunities for social interaction depend primarily on consumption, economic inequalities can also become inequalities in participation.
Not everyone can afford a membership, regularly attend private activities, or travel long distances to meet others.
For this reason, access to inclusive, safe, and affordable community spaces deserves a place in discussions about well-being, urban planning, and human rights.
What Can Public Policies Do?
In recent years, loneliness has received growing international attention as a public health concern.
In 2025, the World Health Assembly recognized the importance of social connection for health, while the WHO presented recommendations to strengthen institutional and community responses.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also highlighted the relationship between social connections and areas such as health, employment, education, and civic participation.
Addressing loneliness through public policy does not mean governments can create friendships or guarantee emotional relationships. It means recognizing that they can influence some of the conditions that make those relationships easier or harder to develop.
Potential areas for action include:
- Inclusive urban planning: Promoting walkable neighbourhoods, accessible transportation, and public spaces that encourage social interaction.
- Strengthening social infrastructure: Supporting libraries, community centres, cultural spaces, and accessible recreational activities.
- Labour and caregiving policies: Encouraging conditions that allow people to balance work, family responsibilities, and social participation.
- Community integration: Developing initiatives that facilitate the participation of migrants, older adults, and other groups facing social barriers.
- Civic participation: Incorporating community experiences into the design and evaluation of policies that affect everyday life.
None of these measures represents a universal solution on its own. Their effectiveness depends on context, implementation, and the evaluation of outcomes.
However, they all share one underlying principle: social connection does not depend exclusively on individual willpower.
From Individualism to Collective Responsibility
Contemporary societies often emphasize autonomy, self-sufficiency, and personal responsibility.
Yet our everyday lives depend on countless relationships of interdependence.
We need other people to learn, work, care, grow, and navigate difficult moments.
Recognizing this interdependence does not mean denying the importance of individual autonomy. It means understanding that both dimensions coexist and that personal well-being is deeply connected to the conditions of collective life.
Loneliness is not necessarily the result of individual failure. Nor is every experience of solitude negative: choosing to spend time alone can be valuable and necessary.
The problem arises when isolation is involuntary, persistent, or when social conditions make it difficult to establish the relationships we desire.
From a human rights perspective, this discussion connects to the right to health, participation in cultural life, equality, and access to inclusive public spaces.
This does not mean claiming that there is an independently recognized universal right not to feel lonely. Rather, it means understanding how different rights and public decisions influence our opportunities to participate fully in society.
Building Community Is Also a Form of Transformation
Perhaps the question is not only what we can do to feel less lonely, but also what kind of societies we are building and how much space we leave within them for human connection.
A city can be economically dynamic while offering few opportunities for community life. A society can be technologically connected while facing significant challenges in building relationships of trust.
Addressing loneliness therefore requires expanding the conversation beyond the individual.
It means questioning how we distribute our time, how we design our neighbourhoods, how much value we place on public spaces, and what role community plays in our collective priorities.
At Nexum Human Rights, we believe knowledge can help us understand these relationships and open new possibilities for action.
Because building community is not simply about organizing activities or bringing people together. It is about creating conditions in which more people can participate, feel recognized, and develop meaningful connections.
Loneliness may be experienced individually, but creating the conditions for community is also a collective responsibility.
References and Further Reading
- World Health Organization (2025). From Loneliness to Social Connection: Charting a Path to Healthier Societies. WHO Commission on Social Connection.
- World Health Organization (2025). Social Connection: Questions and Answers.
- Statistics Canada. Quality of Life Indicator: Loneliness. Canadian Social Survey data.
- Statistics Canada (2023). Immigrant Status and Loneliness Among Older Canadians.
- OECD (2025). Social Connections and Loneliness in OECD Countries.
- Klinenberg, Eric (2018). Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. Crown.
- Latham, A., & Layton, J. (2019). Social Infrastructure and the Public Life of Cities: Studying Urban Sociality and Public Spaces. Geography Compass.