Have we lost our communities?

According to an article by Mohdin (2020), official figures indicate that Britons feel less connected to their community compared to five years ago. The data shows that people are interacting less with their neighbours while spending more time on social media. The article reports a decline in the number of people who feel a sense of belonging to their neighbourhood compared to previous years. Specifically, the percentage of individuals who agreed or strongly agreed that they belonged to their local area decreased from 69% in 2014-15 to 62% in 201718 (Mohdin, 2020). Despite this, the majority of Britons still maintain at least one close friend and have utilised the internet for social networking within the past three months.

In addition, the article includes an interview with Sunder Katwala, who is the director of the independent thinktank British Future. He confidently states that the recent findings confirm a feeling that many people have been experiencing for a while now - “our society is becoming more and more disconnected, causing more significant division than we want” (Mohdin, 2020). Katwala believes that most people crave stronger connections with their neighbours and community members.

This issue is being addressed in other areas. For example, the book “Regenerating London” by Imre et al (2014). examines the social, economic, and political structures of cities, uncovering the contradictions and paradoxes in urban policy. It also evaluates the contemporary forms of urban redevelopment (Imrie et al., 2014).

The book identifies that some profit-driven developers prioritise their own interests over the community’s needs, sometimes resulting in unattractive architecture and inappropriate land use (Imrie et al., 2014). Therefore, it is evident that they’re not responding to community needs. Imrie et al (2014) suggests some developers are still failing to engage with local communities and considering their needs (Imrie et al., 2014).

Consequently, it is clear that potential negative effects that larger developers often bring to local communities will not be eivdent at Wellness Nexus. The principles outlined in Regenerating London (Imrie et al., 2014) has influenced the development of the Wellness Nexus project.