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HealthbyDesign

HealthbyDesign  



︎  Baby Zs or iBoomers?


Intergenerational housing approaches living and wellness through a strength-based perspective on its residents.
By Mitch Mead ︎




The rates at which people are reporting social isolation have been increasing, and several institutions are beginning to feel the consequences of an upcoming crisis: the loneliness epidemic.

Researchers and policymakers have recently quantified the potential costs and impact loneliness places on the United States; however, very few solutions have shown efficacy at scale. This epidemic requires an entirely new frame in the way designers begin to think of design for social interactions and living. 

Contemporary intergenerational housing explicitly leads with the idea of promoting positive social interaction and promoting communal solidarity through a strengths-based approach. Cohousing communities in the United States are challenging the suburban lifestyle for a more integrated community framework. The success of intergenerational housing, from the scale of the single home to a community, at promoting wellness offers a new social and health typology for American housing: intergenerational efficacy.

My research and analysis of the project will identify the following:
  • Address the benefits intergenerational housing offers to both senior and youth generations (in addition to a university perspective)
  • Analyze 3 modern case studies of existing intergenerational housing complexes in different geographic locations and identify problems for implementation and management:
(1) Humanitas in the Deventer, Netherlands
(2) Judson Manor in Cleveland, Ohio
(3) Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Propose a design intervention for a communal space in an intergenerational housing complex 

A Human-Centered Design Framework for an Intergenerational Housing Communal Space
Future designers will need to take on the complex task of creating spaces that accommodate to all the stakeholders in an intergenerational housing complex. Considering the desires for ideal social spaces for each of the two generations often leads to opposing design topologies. Therefore, significant thought and investigation must be given due to the sensitivity of the space. The following list are important design considerations to make when trying to create a space that fosters social interaction between and among generations.
  1. Accessibility / Inclusivity
  2. Flexibility / Scalability
  3. Interface / Modality
  4. Reliability


Typological Thinking for Intergenerational Housing: A Case Study / 2020

Design To Outcomes
Placing a human-centered design framework into context can highlight the translation of the framework into design decisions. A fully integrated framework and thoughtful intergenerational housing complex can improve the efficiency of the built environment to foster wellness in its residents.


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Works Cited

Cacioppo, J. T., Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J. P., & Cole, S. W. (2015). The Neuroendocrinology of Social Isolation. Annual Review of Psychology, 66(1), 733–767. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015240

Cagney, K. A. (2006). Neighborhood age structure and its implications for health. Journal of Urban Health, 83(5), 827–834. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9092-z

Campaign to End Loneliness. (2013). Lonely visits to the GP. https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/blog/lonely-visits-to-the-gp/

Eagan, K., Stolzenberg, E. B., Ramirez, J. J., Aragon, M. C., Ramirez Suchard, M., & Hurtado, S. (2014). The American Freshman: National Norms. http://heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/pubs/TFS/Norms/Monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2011.pdf

Flowers, L., Houser, A., Noel-Miller, C., Shaw, J., Bhattacharya, J., Schoemaker, L., & Faird, M. (2017). Medicare Spends More on Socially Isolated Older Adults. AARP Insight on the Issues, 125, 1–15. https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2017/10/medicare-spends- more-on-socially-isolated-older-adults.pdf

Gitlen, J. (2017). Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2017. In Lend.Edu. https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt- statistics/%0Ahttps://lendedu.com/blog/student-loan-debt-statistics

Holt-Lunstad, J. (2017). The Potential Public Health Relevance of Social Isolation and Loneliness: Prevalence, Epidemiology, and Risk Factors. Public Policy & Aging Report, 27(4), 127–130. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/prx030

Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

Keller, B. K., Magnuson, T. M., Cernin, P. A., Stoner, J. A., & Potter, J. F. (2003). The significance of social network in a geriatric assessment population. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 15(6), 512–517. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327375

Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Whaite, E. O., Lin, L. yi, Rosen, D., Colditz, J. B., Radovic, A., & Miller, E. (2017). Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.010

Sookyoung. (n.d.). Intergenerational TEXT. https://aese.psu.edu/extension/intergenerational/curricula-and-activities/intergenerational- activities-sourcebook

Whillans, A. V., Christie, C. D., Cheung, S., Jordan, A. H., & Chen, F. S. (2017). From Misperception to Social Connection: Correlates and Consequences of Overestimating Others’ Social Connectedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(12), 1696–1711. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217727496
Mark