Signals of Change

In early March, Sapien Labs reported that global mental well-being remained at its post-pandemic low. Young people, according to the report, are more likely to experience poor mental well-being. This finding isn’t that surprising, as over the past decade, we have seen many reports the youth mental health ‘crisis.’ In fact, the most recent World Happiness Report found that while “happiness has decreased for all age groups in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand” since 2010, the drop amongst young people has been more severe.

What intrigued us, however, in the Sapien Labs report were the three factors that correlated most closely with poor mental well-being: “getting a smartphone at a young age, frequently eating ultra-processed food, and a fraying of friendships and family relationships.” In other words, our well-being is interconnected with a variety of dynamics including, but not limited to, how we use technology, our relationships, and our diet. This conclusion might seem obvious, but maybe we need to be helped to see the obvious a few times before we start seeing it on our own. Which is what happened to us. Since the report, we’ve been noticing signals that point toward what might be a shift from treating the symptoms of illness toward creating the conditions for well-being.

• In Connecticut, Hartford Health Care is expanding a program that prescribes free nutrient-rich foods.

• The North Carolina State Assembly recently authorized $10 million to  Durham-based organization that offers “prescription” fruits and vegetables.

• The Mayo Clinic has institutionalized "nature prescriptions," with doctors advising patients to spend more time outdoors tapping into the preventative mental and physical health benefits of exposure to green spaces.

• In Monterey, a clinic for child behavioral health has incorporated natural light, outdoor areas, and organic materials into its architecture. “It is all about learning,” explained Dr. Susan Swick, the center’s executive director. “This was about creating an environment where kids are ready to learn.”

• In Palm Springs, the Cielo Vista Charter School opened a wellness center that provides mental health services in a serene, comfortable school setting. The Foundation for Palm Springs Unified School District wants to establish wellness centers on campuses across the district.

Each of these programs seeks to address elements of the interconnected physical and environmental factors that contribute to our well-being.  From expanding "food pharmacies" and "nature prescriptions" to infrastructure redesigns that reintegrate the natural world, we see healthcare moving out of strictly clinical spaces and into the community and environment at large. This preventative approach suggests a future with deeper cross-pollination between medical care, public health, environmental stewardship, urban planning, and even education.

So What Might This Mean for the World in 2036?

Over the next decade or so, possibly led in the United States by insurance companies seeking to reduce the cost burdens of chronic diseases, an emerging focus on holistic well-being rather than just treating illness could fundamentally reshape many aspects of our society and daily lives.

We may see the rise of entirely new "well-being designers" - professionals who blend expertise across fields like urban planning, healthcare, nutrition, environmental science, and psychology. Their role would be optimizing the built environments and community lifestyles in ways that promote flourishing mental, physical, and social health for all.

Imagine new wellness-oriented neighborhoods designed from the ground up, with walking/biking paths, community gardens, green spaces, yoga lawns, and even onsite clinics providing wholesome meals, nature immersion activities and mindfulness programming. Schools could transform with outdoor learning areas, gardening programs and curricula focused on developing lifelong self-care skills like mindfulness.

Our workplaces may evolve to truly nurture employee well-being through providing healthy meals, relaxation spaces, fitness and therapy services, and opportunities to get outdoors during the workday. Health insurance could cover an entire suite of preventative wellness services like nutrition coaching, nature adventures and mindfulness training.

There could be a whole new "well-being economy" emerging - businesses offering personalized self-care regimens, immersive nature experiences, tranquility retreats, and technologies to optimize your living spaces for health. Your smart home could analyze your life patterns and make suggestions for better sleep, exercise, nutrition, and digital balance.

This cultural shift could help humanity reconnect with nature's resilience and rhythms.Mentors may teach ancient traditions for living in harmony with the natural world around us. Communities may celebrate seasonal rituals and events oriented around local foods, outdoor activities, and shared social connection.

Of course, this transformation won't be without controversies and hurdles. Some healthcare industry players will resist decentralized, holistic treatment models. Civil liberty advocates could push back as employers and insurers leverage more personal health data to personalize well-being prescriptions and incentives. Others may resist anything perceived as corporations or governments impinging individual liberties under the guise of "well-being."  For many people, promoting preventative well-being lifestyles through programs like employer wellness incentives, insurance coverages for mindfulness training, or urban policies prioritizing green spaces could be viewed as an overreach of institutions into personal lifestyle choices. Conspiracy theories blending wellbeing programs with Orwellian control narratives could proliferate.

There could also be a darker side if these well-being practices remain predominantly accessible only to the affluent. We may need to ensure equitable access so that optimized holistic well-being does not become yet another commodity only certain populations can afford. We'll need to be vigilant about forces aiming to reduce us to mere consumers of curated "well-being experiences."

Ultimately, socioeconomic equity in accessing holistic well-being resources, cultural narratives framing the movement, and the degree of centralized institutional imposition versus bottom-up community ownership may critically influence how different groups perceive and react ideologically to the shift.

An Artifact From this Future

Detroit's Blossoming Well-Being Oases: BioTroves Cultivate Community Revival

DETROIT, MI - Amidst this city's well-documented renaissance, an ambitious grassroots initiative is taking root that aspires to make Detroit a national model for holistic community well-being. BioTroves are community-driven greening projects that transform abandoned spaces into vibrantly therapeutic landscapes.

"We're reclaiming neighborhood control over our environmental and cultural determinants of health," explains Leilani Jackson, a recent graduate the University of Michigan’s well-being design program and a founding steward the Brightmoor BioTrove. What was once a derelict industrial site is now a lush 15-acre edible biodiverse forest supporting intergenerational land-based healing.

Funded via public-private partnerships, each BioTrove integrates regenerative urban agriculture, phytoremediation of blight, fitness trails, therapeutic gardens and a pavilion housing a holistic wellness hub.

Walking the Brightmoor grounds reveals flower meadows, herbal labyrinths, storyscaping pathways, indigenous gardens, stormwater filtration wetlands, outdoor classrooms and more. The pavilion houses clinics, studios, and a communal kitchen. 

"What we're doing is re-humanizing the social determinants of health," explains Dr. Amaya Ramos, Brightmoor’s Well-Being Design Council's preventative medicine advisor. "By elevating factors like access to green spaces, clean air and water, whole foods, civic stewardship and community belonging, we're addressing root causes of chronic disease in an integrated way."

Troy Spencer, who recently relocated his family from Philadelphia to be part of the Brightmoor renaissance, echoes this sentiment: "Coming from a redlined zip code in Philly, statistically my kids were destined for health challenges like obesity, asthma and trauma exposure. Here they spend their days immersed in environments that restore their bodies, minds and spirits." 

Since the flagship BioTrove opened three years ago, seven more have blossomed across the urban tapestry led by young stewards like Jackson. "This transcends any kind of trickle-down solution," she says. "It's Detroiters cultivating a grassroots, resilient community that will allows us all to flourish."

Food for Thought

Inspired by this week’s signals, we hope these questions invite us to examine education through a whole new lens - as seedbeds of hope that nurture the skills to thrive amidst turbulence.

• As society prioritizes preventative well-being over disease management, how will education need to evolve its fundamental narratives, metrics for success, and cross-sector partnerships to cohere with this paradigm shift? What current assumptions and systemic barriers must be reckoned with?

• What would schools look like if flourishing well-being became the core design principle?

• How might we transform the purpose and very identity of the "educator" away from solely academic instruction toward being guides facilitating the unfolding of each student's highest human potential and flourishing? What new roles, training, and support structures would this require?

• Given projected increases in ecological disruptions and climate impacts, how might education nurture the capacities for resilience, renewal, and regeneration our communities will require? What does cultivating inner/outer resilience through pedagogy look like in practice?