A September study in the Journal of the American Medical Association illustrates just how interconnected mental health and community truly are. By cross-referencing survey results about emotional well-being from over 2,000 Allegheny County teenagers with the locations of their homes, the study proved that living near community assets like transit lines and schools boosted mental well-being.

The study is essentially a peer-reviewed endorsement of the typically more abstract theory of "third spaces," which are places besides home (first place) and work (second place) where people can socialize — especially if they don't have to pay. American development patterns, especially in suburbia, have generally deemphasized these kinds of places, or made them accessible only by car.

Formally dubbed the "Community Asset Density and Past-Year Mental Health Symptoms Among Youths" study, the extensive report's mappable results straightforwardly demonstrated that "community assets" — encompassing everything from public libraries to barbershops to places of worship — provide anchors of social solidarity, and therefore psychological stability, for young people.

The study placed particular emphasis on the feeling of "hopelessness" among youth. This emotion is revealing for long-term health: Having plans for the future is important and protective for young people, and the study revealed that close access to community assets was correlated with lower levels of despair. In other words, having places to hang out with friends and meet new people provides a feeling of embeddedness in community that buoys hope for a shared future.

Rather than following in the footsteps of other studies, which have often simply highlighted entrenched inequality and poverty by comparing things like liquor stores and community violence or fast food establishments and body mass index, this latest study does the opposite, focusing on the ways our communities build people up rather than tear them down. Among these assets that correlate to good mental health in teenagers are many that aren't generally associated with youth programming, like doctor's offices and hair salons.

They're places that show that the wider society cares about them, and wants them to be well and to succeed.

Further, through these findings researchers have clear proof that public goods like transit really do help our young people thrive. Public funding for these services has a tangible public benefit, fostering healthier and more stable communities full of healthier and more stable youth.

Families put tremendous effort and thought into where they choose to live, usually in search of excellent schools, safe neighborhoods and quality housing. But often the neighborhoods that fulfill those criteria don't allow for significant mobility for young people, since they're based mostly or entirely on transportation by car. The JAMA study shows that the way we've designed some of our most desirable communities has actually made them less hospitable for youth, who thrive best when they can find each other, and access services, on their own and right in their own neighborhoods.

This is even more important in a post-pandemic world, in which many of these young people were deprived of formative opportunities to engage with others.

Human beings are social creatures, and being part of a genuine community is essential to our thriving. But how we design and build the places where we live can make forming that community, especially for young people, either easier or more difficult.

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