Streetsblog USA: How a ‘Universal Basic Neighborhood’ Can Help Americans Live Longer
March 27, 2026Want to increase your chances of living to 80? A new paper argues we need to start with our neighborhoods — and we need to do it for everybody.
The idea of providing a “universal basic income” for every U.S. resident is gaining traction with the rise of AI. But even that much-needed money might not guarantee much of a life to people who live in neighborhoods with dirty air and water, insufficient housing, and — yes — not enough transportation options to access to all the things they need.
Enter the idea of a Universal Basic Neighborhood, a concept that bakes in all the ingredients necessary for the average person to live to at least 80, including a transportation system where their chance of dying in a car crash is low and they enjoy a multitude of mobility choices. And those ingredients didn’t come out of nowhere: the researchers behind the study scoured the literature to find neighborhoods where residents have a healthy life expectancy, thanks in part to policies governing their immediate communities.