Warning: declare(encoding=...) ignored because Zend multibyte feature is turned off by settings in /home/webadmin/sites/iftf.org/public_html/typo3_src-4.6.18/typo3/sysext/fluid/Classes/Core/Widget/AbstractWidgetViewHelper.php on line 2 IFTF: Cities as Ecosystems of Well-being

Institute For The Future

  • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • IFTF Vantage Partnership
    • IFTF Foresight Essentials
    • Forecasts
    • Workshops
    • Maps
    • Artifacts from the Future
    • Events
    • In the News
    • Media Center
    • Gallery
    • History of the Future
  • Our Work
    • Featured Projects
    • Global Landscape
    • People + Technology
    • Health + Self
  • Partner with IFTF
    • IFTF Vantage
    • IFTF Foresight Essentials
    • Research Labs
    • Partners
    • Jobs
    • Donate
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Future Now
  • Donate
Medium Facebook Twitter RSS
  • Global Landscape
  • People + Technology
  • Health + Self

Cities as Ecosystems of Well-being

  • Featured Projects
  • Global Landscape

    • Ten-Year Forecast

    • Food Futures

    • Work + Learn Futures

    • Workable Futures

    • Cities Futures

    • Governance Futures

    • Inclusive Futures

    • Socialstructing

    • Sustainability

  • People + Technology

    • Smithsonian Futures Beacons

    • Tech Futures

    • Work + Learn Futures

    • Workable Futures

    • Games

  • Health + Self

    • After the Pandemic

    • Centering Health

    • Health Futures

    • Health Care

    • Health Games

    • Aging

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT IFTF?

Contact us today »

Future NOW Blog

Identify Your Assets and Gaps: A Foresight Tool for Action

Oct 14, 2022

IFTF News from the Future #80

Oct 06, 2022

IFTF Equitable Enterprise Newsletter | September

Sep 28, 2022

Sparking a Sense of Hope & Agency

Sep 19, 2022

IFTF News from the Future #79

Sep 08, 2022

Browse all blog posts »

Cities as Ecosystems of Well-being

In 2011, the Health Horizons team’s research focused on ecosystems of well-being. We’ve come to understand that it is not only what we do to our individual bodies, but the networks we are a part of and the environments we live in that affect our well-being. Which means that it’s not all about medicine and clinical treatments. Education level, access to clean water and food, ability to cope with difficultly (including caregiving demands), and other factors fit into broad ecosystems of well-being that fundamentally shape, and are shaped by, health. Something as simple as the level of social trust in a region, for example, has been shown to improve happiness, increase food security, and reduce illness and disease.

We believe that developing truly impactful interventions requires us to look holistically at these ecosystems of well-being. We developed two maps and a set of forecast perspectives using this approach, which are now all publicly available. Click below to explore each one in greater detail.

  • Institute for the Future

  • 201 Hamilton Avenue
  • Palo Alto, CA 94301
  • 650.854.6322
  • [email protected]

  • © 2025 Institute for the Future

    What We Do

  • Who We Are
  • IFTF Vantage Partnership
  • IFTF Foresight Essentials
  • Forecasts
  • Workshops
  • Maps
  • Artifacts from the Future
  • Events
  • In the News
  • Media Center
  • Gallery
  • History of the Future

    Our Work

  • Featured Projects
  • Global Landscape
  • People + Technology
  • Health + Self

    Partner with IFTF

  • IFTF Vantage
  • IFTF Foresight Essentials
  • Research Labs
  • Partners
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

    Future Now

    Donate