1. More than Loneliness: The Quest to Understand Social Connection – Milovan Savic, Roger Patulny and Jane Farmer

Part 1: Personal Spaces

2. Male Friendships and Social Connections: Privileges and Pitfalls – Roger Patulny

3. Older Filipina Australians’ Local and Transnational Connective Care Practices – Earvin Charles Cabalquinto

4. Social Connection by Design: Finnish Approaches to Long-Term Care – Jasmine Knox and Hannele Komu

5. Companionship in Times of Uncertainty: The Role of Pets for Families with Children During COVID-19 – Shannon Bennetts, Sharinne Crawford, Tiffani Howell, Fiona Giles and Kylie Burke

Part 2: Physical Spaces

6. Can Our Housing Environments Impact Loneliness? A Tale of Two Studies – Marlee Bower, Caitlin Buckle, Jennifer Kent, Lily Teesson, Roger Patulny, Laura Mc Grath, Emily Rugel

7. Urban-Rural Disparities in Social Network Profiles Among Older Koreans at the Early Stage of the Pandemic – Pildoo Sung

8. The Rise of Parkrun: Collective Positivity, Rituals and Episodic Togetherness in an Age of Loneliness – Nicholas Hookway and Zack Dwyer

9. United by Insects? Insects’ Control and Development of Social Connections in a Large City – Oksana Zaporozhets and Olga Brednikova

Part 3: Community Spaces

10. Nature-Based Social Prescribing with Lgbtiqa+ Asylum Seekers and Refugees: A Feasibility Study Using ‘Friends in Nature’ – Nerkez Opacin, Nicholas Hill, Sarah Bekessy, Ian Seal, Jill Litt, and Katherine Johnson

11. Social Connectedness in Pandemic Times: A Case Study of Australia’s Italian-Background Community – Simone Battiston and Damon Alexander

12. Local Place-Based Social Connection in Urban Fringe Areas: Learning from Resident Experiences – Jane Farmer, Tracy de Cotta, Annette Kroen and Andrew Butt

Part 4: Digital Spaces

13. From Disruption to Digital Adaptation: Young Women’s Social Connection During Lockdowns – Jessica Franks

14. Technological Bridges and Digital Ambivalences: The Role of Technology in Tackling Loneliness in Later Life – Barbara Barbosa Neves

15. Digital Pathways to Social Connection and Mental Health on the Urban Fringe – Milovan Savic and Anthony Mc Cosker

16. Improving Social Connection in Everyday Spaces: Some Guidelines for Everyday Policy and Practice – Roger Patulny, Milovan Savic, Jane Farmer

Jane Farmer is Director of the Social Innovation Research Institute at the Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.