When we talk about wellness, we often jump straight to access: access to healthcare, fresh food, childcare, and education. And while all of these are essential, there is something more foundational we must consider: the spaces that shape our daily lives. The sidewalks we walk, the trees that shade us, the parks where kids play, and the community centers where neighbors gather. These aren’t add-ons. They are essential infrastructure for community wellbeing. They shape who we are, what we value, and who we see as worthy of investment.

Healthy neighborhoods provide the conditions every person needs to thrive. They are places where residents can breathe clean air, enjoy nature, and feel a deep sense of connection and belonging. And in the face of a changing climate, they are also the front lines of adaptation and resilience.

The Climate Connection

At this year’s Prosperity Starts With Place™ conference, we had an urgent conversation about children, climate, and community led by our Vice President of Neighborhood Planning, Joe Fretwell. One truth came into sharp focus: our youngest residents are also our most climate-vulnerable. In places like Houston, one of the youngest and most racially diverse cities in the U.S., and also one of the most climate-threatened, children are breathing twice as fast as adults in air that is increasingly unsafe.

Our partners from the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) and Harris County presented a new framework to assess climate risks in child-serving infrastructure. The goal is to identify and invest in early care and education facilities that can withstand heatwaves, flooding, and other environmental pressures, because when we protect our children, we protect our future.

LIIF Vice President of Early Care and Education, Angie Garling, joined climate scientists, climate activists, and early childhood experts for conversations around climate and early childhood as part of the U.S. Early Years Climate Action Task Force. “Young children cannot speak for themselves, they cannot vote, yet they have the most at stake,” she shares. “It is our job to ensure that decision-makers prioritize young children and those who care for and nurture them.”

These conversations remind us that community wellbeing isn’t only about physical infrastructure, but about environments that actively support our most vulnerable. It’s about reimagining how we plan and build to ensure that the places where we live also help us live well. That’s where intentional design becomes a powerful tool for healing.

Spaces That Heal and Connect

The reality is that many neighborhoods, especially those that have experienced historical disinvestment, are not designed for people. They’re designed for speed. The recent Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America found that pedestrian fatalities are at a 40-year high. Black and Native American residents, older adults, and people in neighborhoods impacted by poverty are most at risk. In 2022 alone, more than 20 people per day were struck and killed while walking.

The numbers are staggering, but behind them are real lives—neighbors trying to get to work, the store, or school, often without safe routes or infrastructure.

Community leaders across the country are turning the tide. They’re redesigning streets with mixed-use paths, medians, and green spaces that make walking not only safer but more dignified. It’s a simple but powerful truth: when we make room for people, people thrive. These upgrades aren’t just about infrastructure. They’re about dignity. They send a clear message: your walk to the store, your trip to school, your daily life matters.

The Power of Third Spaces

Neighborhoods benefit from “third spaces,” those gathering places outside of home and work where connection happens. These parks, plazas, and porches are where life outside home and work happens. But these spaces have been slowly vanishing in many communities, especially those grappling with economic hardship or systemic challenges.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term third spaces to describe the informal, accessible, and deeply important places for civic engagement. Their decline has real consequences: increased isolation, decreased mental health, and fraying social ties. When these spaces disappear, so does connection.

We must prioritize their revival, not as luxuries but as essentials. A shaded bench in a pocket park is both a cooling station and a conversation starter. A community garden cools the ground and grows belonging. These are design choices that fight both loneliness and heatstroke.

Designing for Wellness and Belonging

At Purpose Built Communities®, we understand that neighborhoods must be designed with intention. That may mean shading sidewalks with native trees to cool the urban heat islands. It can look like building bike lanes and pedestrian pathways that invite safe, active movement. Neighborhoods can turn empty lots into gathering spaces with play equipment, picnic tables, and greenery. They can ensure access to fresh food, clean water, and cultural expression through community-driven design.

Healthy neighborhoods are built for more than safety and accessibility. They are built for joy, dignity, and pride. It’s not just about what’s pretty, but about what protects, what connects, and what uplifts.

Investing in What Matters

In neighborhoods where Purpose Built Network Members are at work, you’ll find more than amenities. You’ll find places where generations of residents, new and legacy alike, feel valued. These are communities where people build lives filled with possibility.

Let’s stop thinking of green spaces, bike lanes, or shaded parks as “extras.” They are essential infrastructure. They cool our neighborhoods, buffer against floods, reduce air pollution, and raise spirits. They invite us outdoors, where community can bloom. And most importantly, they signal that a neighborhood, and its people, matter.

This isn’t just about climate adaptation or pedestrian safety, though it certainly includes both. It’s about fostering neighborhoods that feel like home in the fullest sense of the word. Where people don’t just live, but belong.

Let’s continue to build with that vision in mind.