Can Intergenerational Cohousing Be a Possible Living Option for Aging-in-Place: Cohousing Case Studies in the UK

EasyChair Preprint 6626

Abstract

The older population is rapidly increasing worldwide, becoming a global concern. Due to the aging of the population alongside a constant increase in life expectancy, aging in place has emerged as a necessary and valuable guiding strategy in addressing and meeting the needs of the elderly. In this social context, a collaborative living model (cohousing) has attracted the attention of many scholars and social workers. Increasing numbers of researchers and professionals have proposed that cohousing communities have great potential to achieve aging in place via its special co-design procedure and supportive social interactions. This paper aims to investigate whether the intergenerational cohousing model can be a possible and supportive living option for aging in place. The paper demonstrates the advantages and limitations of cohousing communities for aging in place from two aspects: built environment features; and social interactions. This study involved seven cohousing communities in England, accounting for 24 participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with project architects and cohousing residents. Focused site observations were carried out in two cohousing communities. The data was collected and analyzed through a qualitative approach to represent cohousers’ neighborhood design process, built residential environment, and living experience. The findings of this paper highlight fundamental design principles related to aging in place, such as housing adaptability, accessibility, and mutual support neighborhoods, and concludes with design recommendations that could guide future neighborhood design and management in order to enable the older population to age-in-place in an age-friendly community setting.

Keyphrases: Old population, aging in place, cohousing community, neighborhood design, residential environment

@booklet{EasyChair:6626,
  author    = {Jingjing Wang and Yiru Pan},
  title     = {Can Intergenerational Cohousing Be a Possible Living Option for Aging-in-Place: Cohousing Case Studies in the UK},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 6626},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2021}}