Our Community Building Partners team spent last Saturday May18th in Athens discussing age friendly housing with aging experts and neighbors interested in cocreating an age friendly plan for the Ridges. CBP is developing the Ridges on Ohio University’s campus to be an intergenerational community and community conversations like these help inform that long term plan.
From decades of experience we understand that intergenerational communities are a fundamental part of the recipe for thriving and sustainable neighborhoods. Don’t just take our word for it though, a study conducted by Generations United and the Eisner Foundation found that among other outcomes multigenerational and age-friendly communities can:
- Reduce age segregation and ageism
- Decrease social isolation, depression, and loneliness
- Improve community infrastructure and facilities.
But not all housing is designed for residents to age in place, making sustaining an intergenerational community difficult. That is where intentional community development comes in. Supporting a sustainable intergenerational community requires builders and developers to think long term about how a space, house, or facility will be used and that requires the input and feedback of the experts. The experts in how a place is best used, are the people already living in it.
To facilitate these discussions CBP was joined by Solveig Spjeldnes, a professor of Social Work at Ohio University as well as an Athens City Council Member representing the first ward, John Molinaro, the former President and CEO of the Appalachian Partnership, Inc, and Larke Recchie, the former Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
We are grateful to everyone that came out to join the discussions! CBP CEO, Joe Recchie, who participated in the discussions, said,
“We couldn’t ask for a better group of co-creators than the citizens that took time out of a beautiful Saturday morning to envision the many ways of promoting Age Friendly living.”
Conversations like this are key building blocks to designing a development plan with intention and creating equitable growth that provides long term benefits to our community. The work continues, so stay tuned for the next community conversation or send your thoughts and feedback through our website. We’d love to hear from you!
