Design for Aging

The Design for Aging Committee March meeting was delighted to have Paula Span from the New York Times. We had a wonderful time hearing Paula’s insights on aging in a place like NYC. Many ideas, concepts and projects came up during the discussion:

• Village to Village Network: “Villages are community-based, nonprofit, grassroots organizations formed through a cadre of caring neighbors who want to change the paradigm of aging. …The Village Movement originated in Boston with Beacon Hill Village, leading the way for a more economically efficient model for aging.” 
• The Green House Project: “A Green House home is a small-scale, self-contained, and self-sufficient community providing nursing home and assisted living care – with elders at the center of every decision.”
• Gotham Point and The Suffolk: Examples of projects that have recently been built which provide affordable senior housing within multi generational housing complexes.
• New York Foundation for Senior Citizens: NYFSC will be joining our May 22 meeting to talk about their programs including a Home Sharing Program which Paula referenced in “We Need Each Other”:  Seniors Are Drawn to New Housing Arrangements.”

Here is the recording of the meeting. Check out more Paula’s great articles such as “Senior Housing That Seniors Actually Like“, “When the Neighbors Are All Older, Too“, and “‘Aging in Place, or Stuck in Place?’“.

Coming up:

• May 19: Pratt Students will be presenting their work from their “Design for Aging and Beyond” course (taught by our very own Yutaka). Watch out for the AIA announcement.
• May 22: Barbara Baer from the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens would be presenting the Home Sharing and Respite Care Program.

Good reads and more:

• Helping Communities Meet the Needs of Older Residents — and Their Caregivers: Interesting background info of age-friendly ADU.
• Creating Age-Friendly Developments: A practical guide for ensuring homes and communities support ageing in place, put together for developers, planners, etc. in Greater Manchester, UK which has been a beacon of light for considering what it is like to be older in this area and how to improve lives of older residents.