“…Urban overcrowding, for example, has been shown to drive feelings of disconnectedness (Rugel et al, 2019), as has an absence of contact with the natural environment (Hammoud et al, 2021). Having contributed to discrimination and loneliness, such policies then add to the shame that is interwoven with loneliness, as described by Cooper (2024), who notes that 'people who experience loneliness are frequently made to feel ashamed, as structural causative stories (such as the cost of living crisis, the impact of austerity policies, or the longer and deeper unravelling of the welfare state) are elided in favour of a shaming language of social ineptness and personal failings'.…”