What are you actually saving for? Retirement? Healthcare? A bigger cushion? Or this: 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟. Because one of the biggest fears about living longer isn’t just financial but also: 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. Not dramatically. Just quietly. No one nearby. No spontaneous conversation. No shared tea. No one noticing if you disappear for a few days. So 26 older women in North London decided not to accept that future. They built something else. Britain’s first co-housing community for older women. Private homes. Shared gardens. A communal kitchen. A cinema room. Not a retirement home. Not assisted living. A home designed around something most housing forgets: 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. One resident, 79-year-old Vivien Sheehan, said: “It’s just nice to have other people around when you want them.” And then this line from 77-year-old Mags Beltran: “It’s so fabulous because you can be lonely if you want to.” 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨. That may be one of the smartest definitions of well-being in later life. Not forced togetherness. Not isolation. 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞. Solitude when you want it. Connection when you need it. That is not just housing. That is social infrastructure. And maybe one of the most overlooked longevity interventions we have. Social innovators have been building the same answer in different ways: 🇺🇸 Tim Carpenter reimagined affordable housing as hubs of creativity and community through EngAGE, reducing the need for higher-level care by 25%.https://lnkd.in/eyd6-kQv 🇪🇸 Eduardo Fierro Carballo co-founded Kuvu, connecting older and younger generations through shared living. 18,000 nights of intergenerational co-living across Spain. 🇨🇱 Gabriela Rosay Stuven, @Fundación Cohousing Chile, is building intergenerational collaborative housing where older and younger adults co-create, co-manage, and care for each other. Different models. Same truth: 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. Because maybe the question is changing. Not just: How do we afford longer lives? But: How do we design lives worth living longer? 💬 Would you ever choose community living like this later in life? #NewLongevity #Longevity #CoHousing #HealthyAgeing #Loneliness #SocialInfrastructure #AgeInclusion #Housing #NarrativeShift #Ashoka Ashoka - New Longevity Ashoka U.S. Ashoka Chile Ashoka España Casilda Heraso Anke Kessler Sévak Kulinkian herdotie Bloomberg Philanthropies The Aspen Institute C40 Cities Shafat Khan Ashoka UK & Ireland
Interesante! Algo que decía el Papa Francisco en un libro llamado Sharing the Wisdom of Time: "Trabajar porque las personas mayores puedan soñar y que los jóvenes tengan visiones". Esa dirección contrasta con un presente donde cada vez dedica mi mamá más tiempo a navegar desórdenes de un sistema médico y otros sistemas alrededor que terminan por dejarla sin espacio ni tiempo para soñar. Paradójicamente, en reconocer esto y tener una dirección distinta desde mi posición como hijo único con el cuidado cada vez más presente veo una Urgencia y una oportunidad de mejora. El problema no es solo soledad, pero la incluye. El problema no es solo de salud. El problema no es solo económico, pero está ahí presente. Es uno de estos retos que al reconocer como "intractable", que cuando se reconoce su complejidad y se navega como tal veo oportunidades para responder a déficit de vivienda, sin dejar a los mayores por fuera. Veo oportunidades para un sistema de salud y para la transformación de todas las industrias en momentos de transición demográfica. Está la inspiración. Están las herramientas. La forma de navegar estos retos complejos es una oportunidad! cc Elizabeth Londoño Juliana Gutiérrez Rúa Fundación Saldarriaga Concha
One reason this story resonates so deeply: Loneliness is not just emotional. Research increasingly links social isolation to poorer health outcomes, cognitive decline, and reduced well-being across longer lives. Which makes this bigger than a housing story. It is a design story. How we build homes. Neighbourhoods. Cities. Communities. 📌 Read the full article here: https://www.her.ie/life/meet-the-first-female-only-co-housing-community-for-older-women-1009313
"Because one of the biggest fears regarding living longer is rarely financial." Sorry, but that statement isn't true for most of the world's population, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. We need to teach the younger generation how to achieve financial freedom to live longer and with a better quality of life. Of course, loneliness worsens the quality of life. But even to be able to live in a cohousing community, we need financial resources or for the state to structure public policies that meet the needs of its aging population. In Brazil, we have a large inequality in aging. Yes, we have public and private cohousing projects, but not enough to meet the growing demand from aging people. And in Japan, there has been an increase in suicides among elderly people to escape loneliness and an increase in crimes so that elderly people can be taken to prison where they have company and shelter.