Building Intergenerational Communities Part 2: Building Intergenerational Communities Where Most Older Adults Live

Editor's Note: This is the second of a two-part series on building intergenerational communities. Part 1 explored how organizations providing housing for older adults are intentionally creating opportunities for generations to learn, contribute, and thrive together. In this article, we turn to the broader community, where more than 95 percent of older adults actually live.

More than 95 percent of older adults live in the broader community. They live in neighborhoods, towns, cities, suburbs, and rural communities alongside people of every age. Yet much of our thinking about aging continues to focus on housing and services designed specifically for older adults. Those organizations play an important role, but they represent only part of the picture. The future of healthy longevity will be determined largely by the communities where most older adults actually live.

For decades, professionals have spoken about aging in place, helping older adults remain in their homes as they grow older. It is an important goal, but it tells only part of the story.

At Consultants for Community Resources (CCR), we prefer to think about aging in the community.

Aging in the community means more than remaining in one's home. It means remaining connected to neighbors, schools, libraries, parks, faith communities, civic organizations, local businesses, and opportunities to learn, contribute, volunteer, and lead. A person can remain in the same house for decades and still become isolated. The real goal is not simply staying at home. It is remaining an active participant in community life.

Communities across the country are already demonstrating what this can look like.

In Portland, Oregon, Bridge Meadows has created an intentionally intergenerational neighborhood where older adults live alongside families who have adopted children from foster care. Older residents become mentors, trusted friends, and "honorary grandparents," while children and parents gain stability, encouragement, and enduring relationships. The neighborhood was designed around the simple belief that strong relationships strengthen everyone.

In Baltimore, Maryland, the Carolyn E. Fugett Intergenerational Center brings together early childhood education, youth programs, workforce development, recreation, and activities for adults of every age on a single community campus. Rather than serving one age group at a time, it was created to strengthen the entire community by creating opportunities for generations to learn from one another and participate together.

In Seattle, Washington, Providence Mount St. Vincent's Intergenerational Learning Center has become an internationally recognized model for bringing children and older adults together every day. Young children and older adults share art, music, storytelling, celebrations, meals, and everyday experiences that build genuine friendships across generations. The emphasis is not on occasional visits. It is on making intergenerational relationships part of daily life.

These communities differ in many ways, but they share a common philosophy. They recognize that every generation has something to contribute and that communities become stronger when those contributions are intentionally connected.

This same philosophy is reflected in the work of Generations United, which has documented hundreds of successful intergenerational programs and shared sites across the United States. Their work demonstrates that communities do not need to invent entirely new institutions. Schools, libraries, parks, community centers, faith communities, neighborhood organizations, and local governments can all become places where generations naturally learn, volunteer, celebrate, and solve problems together.

This is not simply good programming.

It is good community development.

Every community is already an intergenerational community. The question is whether we intentionally create opportunities for generations to know one another, learn from one another, and work together.

At Consultants for Community Resources (CCR), we help local governments, nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, educational institutions, foundations, and community coalitions discover the assets that already exist within their communities and connect those assets through Action Analysis and collaborative community planning. The result is stronger relationships, stronger organizations, and stronger communities.

The longevity revolution is changing the way we think about aging.

It should also change the way we think about community.

The goal is not simply to help older adults remain independent. It is to ensure they remain indispensable to the life of their communities.

That is what it truly means to age in the community.

References

Bridge Meadows. How It Works. Portland, Oregon.

The Carolyn E. Fugett Intergenerational Center. Program information and community initiatives.

Generations United. Intergenerational Programs and Shared Sites and the Intergenerational Program Database.

Providence Mount St. Vincent. Intergenerational Learning Center.

World Health Organization. Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities.

Marcus, M. S. Action Analysis®: A Practical Framework for Community and Organizational Planning.Consultants for Community Resources.