Loneliness in Growing Cities

The question

How to approach this two-part question question

A two-part question asks two direct questions. Answer both fully, one in each body paragraph.

1. Paraphrase the topic and say how you will answer both questions.
2. Body 1 answers question one with reasons and an example.
3. Body 2 answers question two with reasons and an example.
4. Conclude with a short summary of both answers.

How to plan this answer

Structure

1. Introduction: paraphrase the rise in urban loneliness, then briefly answer both parts of the question (the reasons, and whether it is a health or social issue).
2. Body 1: reasons loneliness is rising in cities, such as high housing costs that encourage living alone, long commutes and fewer shared public spaces.
3. Body 2: the case for treating loneliness as a public health issue, linking it to mental and physical health and to referral schemes run through health services.
4. Body 3: the case for treating it as a social issue, focusing on community spaces, neighbourhood design and local groups.
5. Conclusion: state which framing you find more useful and explain why the other framing alone is incomplete.

Idea bank

• Housing costs: in expensive cities, many young adults rent small flats alone rather than sharing, so they have fewer daily conversations.
• Working patterns: long commutes and unpredictable shifts leave little time for building friendships in the local area.
• Loss of shared spaces: the closure of libraries, pubs and community centres removes places where strangers meet regularly.
• Social prescribing: in England, GPs can refer patients to local groups, treating isolation as a health concern and a social one at the same time.
• Policy example: the UK appointed a minister for loneliness in 2018, showing that governments can treat it as a policy matter.
• Digital contact: frequent messaging does not always replace in-person contact, so people can be connected online and still feel isolated.

Useful vocabulary

• social isolation: Social isolation has been linked to poorer mental and physical health.
• a sense of belonging: Local events can give residents a sense of belonging.
• to fall through the cracks: Older residents living alone can fall through the cracks of social services.
• social prescribing: Social prescribing lets GPs refer patients to community activities.
• the anonymity of city life: The anonymity of city life can make friendships harder to form.
• to strike up a conversation: Many commuters never strike up a conversation with their neighbours.
• a root cause: Long working hours can be a root cause of isolation.
• to tackle: Councils could tackle the problem by funding shared community spaces.
• a public health concern: Doctors increasingly regard loneliness as a public health concern.

Common mistakes

• Answering only one part of the question, usually the reasons, and giving the health-or-social judgement only a single sentence.
• Treating loneliness purely as a personal problem, without linking it to housing, transport or the design of neighbourhoods.
• Blaming social media alone for urban loneliness without evidence or without considering other causes.
• Describing the issue in general terms such as 'people are busy' rather than naming a specific urban mechanism.
• Stating a view on the framing question but never explaining why one framing is more useful than the other.

Examiner tip: Answer both parts in separate paragraphs, and finish with a clear view on which framing is more useful, explaining why the other framing alone is incomplete.