Communities can be described in many different ways including geographically/territorially, virtually, by interest, or by values. Here I refer to the geographic/territorial description and include small rural communities (villages) as well as towns and cities. Communities are more than the sum of their parts. Aggregating individual wellbeing scores will tell you about the overall wellbeing of members of the community but it won’t capture the community ‘spirit’.
Wellbeing grows from the relations between individuals and the places where they live, work and play.
Increasing urbanisation is pulling people away from rural areas towards the major conurbations. This has both pros and cons. On the plus side, major conurbations can be more effective and efficient at providing work, utilities, and resources for their populations than the spread out networks required for rural dwellings.
However, as we’ve seen from COVID-19 and continuing conflict across the world, large densities of population can be much more susceptible to epidemics and other catastrophes. Resilient planning will hopefully see a diverse range of both rural and urban dwelling places going forward.
If interest in individual and national wellbeing are gaining traction, then community wellbeing can be described as the ‘poor cousin’. In the UK, the Centre For Thriving Places is beginning to fill the gap but even so research into the topic is still very much in its infancy.
As such, I’ve based the table below on personal experience of having helped lead my own community response to improving wellbeing (albeit we didn’t call it that at the time), and generalisations from news about what is happening to some communities in the UK. Of course, your own community may be totally different to this and there will be large discrepancies between communities that may have been ravaged economically and those that are prospering. However, I believe many of these generalisations hold true.
Reflecting the overall population, mental health is an area which will receive increasing attention. Communities will support the full spectrum, from helping those with stress and anxiety to developing more creativity and imagination. As greater pressure is exerted on rural communities from urbanisation and loss of industry, this creativity and imagination will become increasingly important for finding new ways forward.
Spaces will be designed with behavioural science to encourage greater lifestyle fitness and physical activity including relaxation, improved diet and exercise. People will feel more at ease.
Linking to the required changes in education; the increased focus on emotional intelligence in schools and the workplace will help to facilitate a calmer community where people listen to each other’s views with greater empathy and respect. People will communicate more effectively and communities will benefit from greater collective wisdom to address local issues and solve problems together.
Unfortunately many communities have lost their sense of identity due to factors such as loss of industry, people being forced to move frequently, and second home owners with no sense of commitment to the area. Future communities will build new stories based on heritage, shared values, beliefs and a renewed sense of purpose. Faith will become more encompassing, binding people together rather than driving them apart.
Investment in spaces and activities where people can connect will be enhanced by technology, helping them understand the sorts of people they might like to connect with. Communities will have a greater variety of both virtual and physical spaces in which to connect and provide more opportunities to give and receive support. There will be closer connections between schools, communities, businesses and other organisations. For example, a key requirement for communities to operate successfully is spaces where people can meet, debate issues, learn from each other and take action. By becoming centres of learning for the whole community schools can provide these spaces as well as more opportunities for adult education and upskilling the population.
By making use of a full range of technologies, combined with face to face interaction, communities will become more inclusive and participative. Diversity will be welcomed and celebrated. Schools and businesses will play an even greater role in facilitating this through improved education and policies. AI and technology will be used to anticipate and plan for population changes, resource use and the management of community assets. This technology will also bring greater transparency, accountability, and participation in governance at local, regional, and national levels, helping to increase trust.
Communities will become more environmentally aware and active. From protecting community assets such as parks, open spaces, waterways and facilities to ensuring that waste and pollution are minimised, communities will be more aesthetically pleasing and healthier places to live. Transport will be cleaner and more accessible to all. Walking, cycling and electric vehicles will help to reduce noise and CO2 emissions with the added benefit of encouraging greater physical activity.
Housing and shelter will be diverse, imaginative, and well designed, catering for the full range of needs of community members. From tree houses, to glamping, to converted container units, affordable single apartment complexes for young people through to rented and privately owned housing. As populations increase we will consider floating dwellings to make use of the vast untapped water area on earth. This flexible range of solutions will stimulate a fantastic mix of permanent and temporary residents ensuring a balance between stability, belonging and the influx of new ideas.
People will have choices about where they live and feel safe, secure and invigorated all at the same time. Dwindling high streets, libraries, public houses and other establishments will be repurposed as housing, places where people can meet and/or enterprises.
Communities will benefit, in the future, from an enhanced social security system. There will be no poverty. This will give people hope. Poverty drains the power away from communities and the individuals that live in them. By providing a financial platform, we will release the energy and imagination of people in their communities to find new ways to grow economically. This will be based on local strengths, assets and the identity of a community.
Local economies will be more diverse and resilient. They will benefit from the unique skills of community members who will be freed up from mundane and repetitive tasks to contribute in ways that are more authentic and true to themselves. Supporting this economic resilience, and in line with sustainable development, communities will strike a balance between localisation and globalisation. Where products can be sourced locally to support local businesses they will. Where products are required from outside the local area they will be sourced using advanced technology and delivered using clean distribution.
Greater devolution of powers and budgets with the support of skills, expertise, and knowledge from regional and national levels will enable local management of community assets, neighbourhood plans, and action to change for the better. A new range of community-based roles are exactly the sort of thing that will provide for some jobs lost through the acceleration of AI and other technology. These jobs would aim to give people a voice, provide specific expertise in bringing them together, and focus on the betterment of local services and projects to improve community wellbeing.
With more power and autonomy, communities of the future can thrive but they will require the support, skills, and investment from regional, national and international governance.
If you would like to see wellbeing develop in your community please get in touch or call me on 07753 430557 and I’ll do all I can to help.