Social Environment

What is the social environment?

For our purposes at public health, the social environment is all the other pieces of our community which are not built or natural.  The social environment is often influenced by both the natural and built environments.

Aspects of the social environment include:

• The economy
• Income and employment rates
• Local employment opportunities
• Poverty and related issues
• Community involvement and participation
• Housing – choice, affordability, quality
• Safety and security
• Leisure and recreation – a variety of low cost organized and unstructured opportunities for all ages
• Lifelong learning opportunities
• Social cohesion and social support networks
• Arts and culture
• Heritage