The role of the built environment in supporting social interaction and social well-being
Project description
The doctoral research of Taiyo Ishikawa investigates how built-environment exposures across activity spaces shape multiple forms of social interaction, including low-intensity social contact (e.g.,casual greeting with baristas/shop staff) and high-intensity social contact (e.g., meeting close friends/new people), and how these interactions relate to social well-being. It also examines the role of travel behavior in these relationships, recognizing that mobility patterns can enable or constrain opportunities for social interaction. This dissertation conceptualizes social well-being with particular attention to loneliness and social isolation as key subjective and objective outcomes, respectively. Clarifying these pathways is essential for advancing evidence-based urban planning for socially sustainable cities and for addressing loneliness and social isolation as emerging public health challenges.
Research themes
Active living and urban lifestyles
Project details
Project contact
Taiyo Ishikawa
