Publications

Filter Publications

Select Research Themes

Select Authors

Select Publication Years

2 publications listed under Social capital

The Social Environment and Cognitive Aging Over the Life Course: Laying Out Critical Concepts and Research Gaps

2026 / Loneliness, Older adults, Social capital

The social environment refers to our interpersonal relations, workplaces, and neighborhoods, towns, or cities in which we live. A growing literature indicates that social environments are related to cognitive aging and risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). Still, relatively little is known about how social‐environmental exposures affect cognitive function over the life course and into older ages. Addressing this limitation, our paper outlines key features of the social environment and recommends priority areas of research on the social environment and cognitive aging. We divide our discussion into three subdomains: social connections, residential context, and work context. We then identify important gaps in the conceptual and empirical literature before outlining avenues for future research to strengthen our understanding of how social‐environmental exposures over the life course link with cognitive function and AD/ADRD risk in late life. Highlights The social environment is linked to AD/ADRD risk, but key concepts and measures require clarity. Key features of the social environment linked to life course cognitive aging are discussed. Focal gaps in the conceptual and measurement literature are discussed.

Parks and Social Capital: An Analysis of the 100 Most Populous U.S. Cities

2025 / Green spaces, Social capital

Figure 1. 2024 ParkScore methodology. Each city receives two values in the ParkScore index: a rating on a scale of 100 points (100 is high) and a ranking, with each city ranked on a scale of 1–100 (1 is high), regardless of the magnitude differences among rating scores. In recent years, much attention has focused on strategies to reverse the decline of social capital in the United States. Increased social capital, which includes both intergroup contact and civic engagement, has many important benefits. For low-income individuals, friendships with high-income individuals (“economic connectedness”, a measure of inter-group contact) are one of the strongest predictors of their ability to escape poverty and gain increased life opportunities. Volunteering, a measure of civic engagement, is hypothesized to be key in building trust among neighbors. Urban parks are often thought to be a ‘third place’ that may increase social capital within a community through both increased “mixing and mingling” and increased civic engagement. This study finds that residents of cities with better quality park systems (as measured by the ParkScore® index) are more socially connected and engaged with their neighbors (as measured by the Social Capital Atlas) than are residents of cities with lower-ranking park systems. Relative to the bottom 25 ranked cities, the top 25 ParkScore cities had 26 % more social connections between different income groups, 61 % more volunteers per capita, and 45 % more civic organizations per capita. These patterns held after controlling for other factors such as education, race/ethnicity, poverty, and family structure. These other factors often had stronger associations with the social capital indicators, suggesting park systems are an important, but not primary, driver of a community’s social capital. People living in cities with more parks and recreational opportunities may be more likely to realize these important benefits. Highlights Residents of cities with highly-ranked park systems are more socially connected than those in lower-ranked cities. Park systems are an important, but not primary, driver of a community’s social capital. Social capital has important benefits e.g. economic mobility for low-income individuals and increased trust among neighbors.