Contents

List of Figures and Tables v
Notes on Contributors vii
Acknowledgements xiii

1 More than Loneliness: The Quest to Understand Social Connection 1
Milovan Savic, Roger Patulny and Jane Farmer

PART I Personal Spaces

2 Male Friendships and Social Connections: Privileges and Pitfalls 23
Roger Patulny

3 Older Filipina Australians’ Local and Transnational Connective Care Practices 42
Earvin Charles Cabalquinto

4 Social Connection by Design: Finnish Approaches to Long- Term Care 57
Jasmine Knox and Hannele Komu

5 Companionship in Times of Uncertainty: The Role of Pets for Families with Children during COVID- 19 71
Shannon K. Bennetts, Sharinne B. Crawford, Tiffani J. Howell, Fiona C. Giles and Kylie Burke

PART II Physical Spaces

6 Can Our Housing Environments Impact Loneliness? A Tale of Two Studies 89
Marlee Bower, Caitlin Buckle, Jennifer Kent, Lily Teesson, Roger Patulny, Laura McGrath and Emily Rugel

7 Urban– Rural Disparities in Social Network Profiles Among Older Koreans at the Early Stage of the Pandemic 102
Pildoo Sung

8 The Rise of Parkrun: Collective Positivity, Rituals and Episodic Togetherness in an Age of Loneliness 118
Nicholas Hookway and Zack Dwyer

9 United by Insects? Insects’ Control and Development of Social Connections in a Large City 130
Oksana Zaporozhets and Olga Brednikova

PART III Community Spaces

10 Nature-Based Social Prescribing with LGBTQIA+ Asylum Seekers and Refugees: A Feasibility Study Using ‘Friends in Nature’ 145
Nerkez Opacin, Nicholas Hill, Sarah Bekessy, Ian Seal, Jill Litt and Katherine Johnson

11 Social Connectedness in Pandemic Times: A Case Study of Australia’s Italian-Background Community 159
Simone Battiston and Damon Alexander

12 Local Place-Based Social Connection in Urban Fringe Areas: Learning from Resident Experiences 174
Jane Farmer, Tracy De Cotta, Annette Kroen and Andrew Butt

PART IV Digital Spaces

13 From Disruption to Digital Adaptation: Young Women’s Social Connection During Lockdowns 191
Jessica Franks

14 Technological Bridges and Digital Ambivalences: The Role of Technology in Tackling Loneliness in Later Life 205
Barbara Barbosa Neves

15 Digital Pathways to Social Connection and Mental Health on the Urban Fringe 219
Milovan Savic and Anthony McCosker

16 Improving Social Connection in Everyday Spaces: Some Guidelines for Everyday Policy and Practice 232
Roger Patulny, Milovan Savic and Jane Farmer

Index 247