In 1996, the United Nations Conference passed the Habitat program. Its aim was to build a society, using architecture, in which young and older people could see both their living and social requirements fulfilled. The project included a series of objectives, commitments and principals that then became different models of intergenerational living to facilitate a care and support network.
In this article, we take a look at some of the most renowned architectural initiatives over the last 25 years and their success in terms of integration, intergenerational cohesion and collaboration.
Rapid aging and the role of architecture
According to the Spanish Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística in Spanish), in 2019, almost 4.8 million people in Spain lived alone and of these, 2 million were over 65. The world’s population is aging at a rapid rate, particularly in the most developed countries, and this forced isolation not only causes psychological problems but also affects the health of those enduring it.
The rapid aging of the population has highlighted the urgent need for initiatives that balance the gap between generations and encourage solidarity in relationships based on respect and collaboration. In this battle, architecture and urban planning can play a key role. The former as a catalyst against intergenerational exclusion and the latter to preserve public spaces as places for equality, integration and diversity.
The birth of intergenerational home programs
Intergenerational accommodation programs appear to address two ever increasing problems: on the one hand, that enforced loneliness that affects a large number of older people; and on the other, the difficulties young people face to access housing. The age that young people in Europe leave home gets older every year. In fact, Spain is the country with the highest number of young people aged 25 to 34 who still live with their parents because they cannot afford property prices.
These two issues come together in one equation that for over almost 20 years has been looking for a joint solution for both. It’s from here that the so-called intergenerational homes emerge and also as a third option for older people allowing them to avoid the disadvantages of living alone and care homes where they live exclusively with other older people.
The results of these experiences reveal numerous benefits: older people see an improvement in their health thanks to the mutual support network and bring their living costs down. For their part, young people benefit from intergenerational living and their housing conditions improve at the same time.
From a social and economic perspective, these programs also help bring down the use of specialized services and the demand for health services, reduce insecurity and the housing affordability crisis in young people as well as improving social cohesion.
Different models on intergerational living
There are different intergenerational residential solutions, but all share the common base of people of different ages living in the same home, building or complex and sometimes, parameters are set up for collaboration and help.
Intergenerational cohabitation.
Spain was a pioneer in Europe when it set up this model over 25 years ago. A young person, often a university student, lives in an older person’s home during the academic year. This promotes an exchange, company and mutual support.
Intergenerational accommodation.
Different generations come together in the same building, share communal areas and occasionally, help each other out. This is the case when care homes form part of student residence halls or when student accommodation is within a care home.
Cohousing, self-managed accommodation or collaborative intergenerational homes.
These are individual private apartments that have shared communal spaces and services (e.g. patios, avenues and open spaces). They are organized via a horizontal system of internal collaboration and organization and aim to provide the people who in live them with an environment of mutual support and shared activities.
Intergenerational social housing.
These are public initiatives whose objective is to reduce the need for housing among very diverse social groups: older people who live alone, single-parent families, young people or those with low income.
Plaza de América: an example of intergenerational home success in Alicante.
You might ask if it’s possible for a housing project to truly end loneliness in older people. The example of Plaza de América in the Spanish city of Alicante would appear to show that it is.
In November 2008, the city council invested €12 million in the creation of 72 homes in a building in Plaza de América. 56 of the rental homes were for people over 65 and 16 for young people aged 18 to 35. The percentage reserved for young people included a commitment to provide services within the community: 4 hours a week depending on each person’s skills. As a result, physiotherapy, podiatry, social and cultural entertainment and lessons in different subjects have been offered from the beginning.
This “time bank” means that the young people have cheaper housing and it creates an environment for solidarity, learning and cohabitation. In 2010, this earned Plaza de América the Spanish Association of Social Housing Developers prize and in 2012, recognition from UN-Habitat as one of the 12 innovative housing solutions in the world within the World Habitat Awards.
At Plaza de América, they “proud of being the first intergenerational community in Spain and a benchmark for social architecture at international level and a model example of collaborative cohabitation between young and older people”.
At European level, some of the more interesting intergenerational experiences can be found in France such as la Ville Génerations Saint Apollinaire, in Dijon, or in Belgium at the Collectif Logement in Molenbeek. Denmark is another leading country in intergenerational architecture. This year, work starts in Copenhagen on Future Sølund, a complex with more than 360 intergenerational homes, communal areas and services over 37,000 square meters, which aim to inspire other western cities to stand up to the serious epidemic of loneliness that wreaks havoc in countries like Spain.
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