Jane Farmer

This Open Access book reimagines social connection beyond the crisis narrative of loneliness, presenting an innovative interdisciplinary model that bridges individual experiences with community infrastructure. Drawing on research with urban fringe residents, it reveals how meaningful connections form through complex interactions across physical and digital spaces, shaped by environmental contexts and personal capabilities. Beyond Loneliness offers a strengths-based framework through rich thematic analysis and six powerful, detailed personal narratives that illuminate connection journeys. These storied stories serve multiple purposes—as research evidence, therapeutic resources, and self-help tools—while demonstrating how people actively navigate their social worlds, investing time and emotional labour in relationships that span from intimate bonds to community belonging. The book examines how contextual factors, including social, built, technological, and institutional, influence connection opportunities. For practitioners, policymakers, and researchers, this accessible work provides practical insights for fostering environments where diverse pathways to social connection can flourish. By moving beyond deficit-focused interventions toward comprehensive strategies that recognise social connection as a dynamic, relational process, Beyond Loneliness offers a transformative approach to building more connected, resilient communities.

This open access book provides practical guidance for non-profits and community sector organisations about how to get started with data analytics projects using their own organisations’ datasets and open public data. The book shares best practices on collaborative social data projects and methodology. For researchers, the work offers a playbook for partnering with community organisations in data projects for public good and gives worked examples of projects of various sizes and complexity.

This open access book provides practical guidance for non-profits and community sector organisations about how to get started with data analytics projects using their own organisations’ datasets and open public data. The book shares best practices on collaborative social data projects and methodology. For researchers, the work offers a playbook for partnering with community organisations in data projects for public good and gives worked examples of projects of various sizes and complexity.