Built environment correlates of loneliness: Evidence from a neighborhood-level ecological study in the U.S

Like many public health concerns, loneliness is neither randomly nor evenly distributed across neighborhoods. However, little is known about which neighborhood-level factors contribute to these variations. In this study, we examined the associations between built-environment characteristics and loneliness prevalence using census-tract-level data from 40 states in the United States. In particular, our analysis included 63,878 census tracts, drawing on three sources including PLACES: Local Data for Better Health 2024, the Child Opportunity Index 3.0, and American Community Survey 2017-2021 estimates. Bayesian spatial models were used to estimate the associations between built-environment characteristics and loneliness prevalence. Our analyses indicate that each of the five environmental factors-healthy environments, health resources, environmental quality, housing resources, and social resources-is independently linked to lower prevalence of loneliness after adjustment for covariates. The findings highlight the need for public health strategies that target built-environment conditions to promote more inclusive and socially supportive neighborhoods.