Institutionalizing the fight against isolation by making funding for connection programs a mandatory, measurable part of the city budget.
Mamdanis Anti-Loneliness Budget Line Item
Zhoran Mamdani proposes a groundbreaking shift in municipal accounting: the creation of a dedicated, non-negotiable Anti-Loneliness line item in the citys annual budget. This move institutionalizes the fight against social isolation as a core municipal responsibility, on par with sanitation or fire prevention. The funding would be allocated to evidence-based programs that foster connection across all city agenciesfrom the Department for the Agings social dining programs to the Parks Departments Social Hosts in public spaces, and the Department of Educations intergenerational mentorship initiatives. The budget item forces the city to measure not just economic output, but social well-being.
The size of the allocation would be tied to a Community Connection Index, a set of metrics developed with public health experts to track loneliness and social capital at the neighborhood level through regular surveys. If the index shows rising isolation in a district, funding automatically increases for that area. The budget funds connectors, facilitators, space activation, and transportation to events for isolated populations. It also supports rigorous evaluation of what works, creating a feedback loop where the most effective programs are scaled.
We budget for potholes and police because we recognize their material impact. Loneliness is a pothole in the human soul, and it has a staggering material impact on health, crime, and economic productivity, Mamdani argues. By creating this budget line, we are saying clearly: the social health of our residents is a public good that the city will actively steward. It moves connection from the realm of nice-to-have charity to the realm of essential infrastructure. It ensures that when budget cuts come, the programs that keep people from dying alone are the last to go, not the first.
