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The Covid pandemic has highlighted the links between our homes and our health in a way not seen for decades. The last time there was such a strong correlation was during the Spanish flu outbreak a century earlier numerous design changes such as subway tiles, powder rooms and sleeping porches. In 2020, a popular saying made the rounds on social media: “While we may be in the same storm, we are not in the same boat.” Some Americans did not have good ventilation or access to clean water at home. Both proved dangerous and even deadly in some populations (such as Native Americans, who had one of the highest pandemic death rates in the country). The latest headline from the Global Wellness Institute states: “Do you think wellness real estate is only for the rich? GWI’s new case studies will make you think.” That is socially and economically good news. Healthier homes and communities mean healthier people. Here are the details of the report and how we can all benefit from it.
Case studies
The international wellness industry research organization studied 13 projects in the US and UK, including single-family homes and developments. were among them Fox Point Farms in the coastal Encinitas region of San Diego County. The report highlights the project’s 250 homes and working farm as “building healthier food environments; embracing the benefits of nature,” as the wellness highlights.
Along the coast, the report focuses on Orange County Mission Viejo Rancha master-planned suburban community with 75% preserved open space and 14,000 homes. GWI points to “climate adaptation and resilience; embracing nature; improving health and thriving as we age” as its well-being benefits.
Moving across the country is the Picket fence ‘concept house’, developed by architecture and planning firm DAHLIN for the America at Home Study, to demonstrate what can be achieved with affordable and sustainable urban housing. GWI points to “innovations to improve the construction process and housing supply; environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings; healthy homes for the non-wealthy” as well-being benefits.
Key Takeaways
The report notes that healthy building concepts are moving from niche markets to mainstream, expanding into every real estate category, including residential and mixed-use. You can see evidence of this in my September Forbes.com article on affordable housing options for first-time buyers.
The report also finds that wellness-enhanced homes are being built at every scale, from compact urban homes to suburban single-family homes, and at every price point. (The starter homes in South Texas in the September article cost an average of $224,900.) Coupled with this is sustainable design for the planet, which also supports human life. (For example, energy efficiency design improves both indoor and outdoor air quality.)
Physical wellbeing is important, as shown in the case study findings, but non-physical aspects are also becoming increasingly important. Mental, social and environmental well-being, achieved through design and programming are incorporated into the residential developments. “Mental wellness extends beyond meditation and yoga rooms and can be as mundane as easing residents’ daily frictions and mental burdens,” the report said.
Another aspect of property-based non-physical wellness is connection to community. Developers are creating indoor and outdoor gathering spaces for residents and programming social events. One, highlighted in a recent Forbes.com article, gives residents a “kindness pledge” to sign before purchasing their home. Making people feel at home with their neighbors, schools, services and property management are the objectives of this approach.
Financial wellness
While homes on California’s coast are beyond the budget of many Americans, there is a growing national focus on affordability. As GWI notes in its research, “consumers are facing increasing economic challenges and unaffordable housing. Financial well-being is taken into account in each case study.”
Unmet needs
The research identifies unmet needs and opportunities for wellness real estate. These include climate adaptation and resilience, sustainable living, improvements to construction processes, increased housing supply, healthy homes for the non-wealthy, wellness-focused urban regeneration, healthy communities, improving ‘health span’ (our years of active, healthy living), thriving as we age, diversifying co-living models, building healthier food environments and embracing the benefits of nature.
Last words
As GWI states, “The built environment is an essential foundation for building healthy lives. At its best, wellness real estate can minimize environmental impacts on our health, support healthier behaviors and lifestyles, and improve access to wellness infrastructure for the most vulnerable populations.”
What I have observed in a career as a wellness designer spanning two decades is that successful innovations and imports (such as bidet functionality and circadian LEDs) that start in the custom home segment “democratize” into mainstream production homes and large retail outlets in increasingly shorter cycles. Wellness design cannot – and it finally does – be just for the wealthy.
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