What’s in a Home? Bridging Generational Divides through Housing

Our country is divided. Social fragmentation manifests in various ways, including political polarisation, with issues such as Brexit partitioning the country and the rise of far-right parties; digital exclusion; significant economic disparity; contentious debates around identity; and declining trust in institutions, particularly our political and health systems. Fuelled by political narratives, too often fear overshadows connection, compassion, or community as the dominant undercurrent of social interaction.

As a nation, one of our biggest social fractures lies between generations. The social enterprise United for All Ages has described Britain as one of the most age-segregated countries in the world, calling for urgent measures to tackle ‘age apartheid’.

On a personal level, genuine, sustained, and powerful friendships with people outside of my generation have shaped my life, values, and outlook… but not everyone is so lucky. Many individuals my age have almost no interaction with older people outside of immediate family - or even know their neighbours.

Relationships at the heart

Today, my job involves supporting the public sector to tackle a broad range of complex challenges for our communities such as digital exclusion, the rising cost of living, malnutrition, and frequent A&E attendance. Across the board, a lack of satisfying social connection emerges time and time again. So often approaches which aim to tackle our most pressing issues, but fail to centre relationships, don’t cut to the core of challenges they aim to solve.

Recently, I worked on a project with a fantastic organisation, The Cares Family (tragically no longer operational), supporting younger and older neighbours to spark friendships in specifically designed social settings. I saw first-hand the need for, and power of, sustained intergenerational integration. Since this work, I have often asked myself how we move beyond schemes which create more opportunity for social ‘moments’, towards embedding interpersonal connection, and true belonging, into people's day-to-day lives.

Intergenerational living

There’s increasing interest in intergenerational housing innovations across the UK such as multi-generational care villages and home share schemes. When it comes to my overseas learning, I’m particularly interested in communities which are intentionally intergenerational, lifelong, and accessible for people from marginalised and low-income backgrounds.

Such communities have an extremely broad range of potential benefits. From reduced isolation, housing security, decreased polarisation, and increased integration through to efficient land and resource use, and alleviated pressure on public services through facilitating the natural formation of social support networks. I believe that integration across traditional silos, such as age groups, must be a vital focus for a country burdened by an obsession with the ‘nuclear family’, which has led to chronic loneliness and increasing reliance on professionals for emotional attachment.

My Fellowship will explore what it takes to create thriving intergenerational communities in practice and give me a springboard to advocate for more investment in this space. I’m especially interested in what conditions contribute to social cohesion between generations: which strategies, interventions, or designs are effective in mitigating friction? How can we design to facilitate flourishing relationships?

My Fellowship journey will start with a trip to the West Coast of the US in October. I welcome people reaching out from the UK, US, and beyond to discuss this important topic and collaborate on any opportunities. Please do get in touch if you would like to join me in advocating for interventions which bring generations together, fostering relationships that enrich lives and create more resilient, compassionate societies.