Place and Social Isolation - Michelle Hoar

The Picture This Podcast

Picture This Podcast - Episode 1, Season 1

Place and Social Isolation

Host: Shannon Conway
Guest: Michelle Hoar, Hey Neighbour Collective, Vancouver

In this thought-provoking episode of the Picture This Podcast, we sit down with urban expert and social activist Michelle Hoar to discuss an approach to urban living which considers how we best combat social isolation. The conversation centres around the innovative "Hey Neighbour" initiative, which aims to combat increasing loneliness and social isolation by reimagining how we build and manage dense housing.

Michelle challenges the traditional notion that dense housing is inherently isolating. She argues that while the current practices in building and managing such housing often exacerbate feelings of isolation, it doesn't have to be this way. With intentional design and programming, dense housing can foster neighbourly connections, creating supportive and friendly communities.

Tune in to learn how we can build housing that promotes social connections. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in urban development, community building, and innovative solutions to social isolation.
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Here is a link to the local government policy project that Hey Neighbour has been doing around co-creating inclusive, age-friendly, sociable design guidelines for multi-unit housing: https://www.heyneighbourcollective.ca/building-social-connections/. If you scroll through you’ll also see links to case studies and webinars on these topics.

The Hey Neighbour report that we did with Happy Cities and the Simon Fraser University Gerontology department, auditing 20 buildings owned and operated by Brightside and Concert:

https://www.heyneighbourcollective.ca/2023/11/aging-place-designing-housing-wellbeing-older-adults/

GMCA Ageing Hub’s Design Guide for age-friendly design:

https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/8745/creatingafdevelopments.pdf

Podcast editing and production by CitySeventeen.