Juhie Bhatia

2025 Nova Media Fellow

Juhie Bhatia is a freelance journalist, writer, and editor who is passionate about storytelling that drives social and cultural change. Her work primarily focuses on covering health, gender, and other related issues in the United States and internationally. She has worked for numerous publications and organizations, including having contributed to TIME, National Geographic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone, Lonely Planet, and Ms. Magazine, among others, and was formerly the managing editor of Women’s eNews. Her reporting has also been supported by fellowships and grants from organizations such as the International Reporting Project, Solutions Journalism Network, and The GroundTruth Project. Juhie has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s in nutritional sciences from the University of Guelph in Canada. Originally from Toronto, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Media Fellowship Project

Redesigning the built environment to fight loneliness and social isolation

People across the country are spending less and less time with each other in person, to their detriment. The former U.S. Surgeon General raised the alarm on loneliness, calling it an epidemic. This disconnection comes at a cost, with vast physical and mental health as well as economic consequences. For instance, loneliness increases the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

As this disconnection rises between people and communities and more Americans live alone, one often overlooked but growing strategy is to turn to the built environment for solutions. Innovative architects, urban planners, and researchers across the country and internationally are starting to re-envision and redesign our homes, neighborhoods, public spaces, and entire cities to foster social connection and well-being. The Surgeon General’s report also flags the built environment as it calls to strengthen America’s social infrastructure.

With cities facing pressing challenges like housing shortages, affordability issues, and climate concerns, there’s also an opportunity to tackle these problems together with rethinking the built environment to decrease loneliness.

As a Nova Media Fellow, Juhie will explore how we can rethink the built environment—from multi-unit and intergenerational housing to public spaces—to foster social connection and improve mental health. Her reporting will focus on groups most affected by loneliness, such as older and young adults. This coverage will include examining emerging research and case studies, the design principles driving this approach, and the challenges of turning to the built environment to combat loneliness.