In relation to a geographical community, where you live, work and play clearly have an impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals. Both the built and natural environment impact on the choices we are able to make to maintain health and wellbeing. It is well documented that poor quality housing and lack of access to green or blue space, lack of natural ‘bumping spaces’ where people meet to share ideas and knowledge will negatively impact on health and wellbeing.

However, community wellbeing is much more than the sum of individual wellbeing; community wellbeing relates to collective life in a community.   Public Health Wales (2019)¹ described community wellbeing as:

“a dynamic state that reflects communities that create opportunities to come together to develop relationships, to create a sense of belonging, social cohesion and if appropriate take social action together to improve collective life within a community”

¹Public Heath Wales Mental Wellbeing Conference (2019). Presentation by Carol Owen ‘Building a shared understanding of mental wellbeing – a proposed model’.