ShareFor much of the 21st century, planning concepts have taken aim at the development patterns of the second half of the 20th century. Studies showed the inequity, isolation and obesity that car-centered land use created and the resulting large suburban lots, giant highways and total reliance on automobile ownership to connect to jobs, schools, shops, healthcare and even parks.
With all the movement toward healthier cities, inclusion and connectivity—planners, regulators and developers may still have missed an essential element: Interaction among all ages.
The number of mixed-use, multimodal communities where multiple generations live among each other is growing, but still the different age groups don’t interact and benefit from each other. Intergenerational communities are places intentionally designed to encourage seniors, youth, and those in between to interact, exchange ideas, help each other out... and thrive.
Considering that America is rapidly aging, a huge emphasis has been placed on aging in place. In countless surveys, about three out of four Americans don’t want to have to move to an oft-isolated, senior-only community just to have homes that are more accessible, that don’t require walking up and down stairs, and that have showers to walk or roll into instead of tubs to fall over.
The American Planning Association (APA) and many leading urban designers agree that more has to be done to create communities that are inclusive to all ages and abilities. They are striving for communities that include co-housing, all-ages parks, multigenerational cultural centers and Universal Design to create easy access for all—to harness the benefits of intergenerational living (see the Universal Design information).
Irv Katz, senior fellow emeritus at Generations United and former president & CEO of the National Human Services Assembly, co-authored a research paper on aging trends and placemaking for the APA. He collaborated with Matthew Kaplan, Ph.D., professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Pennsylvania State University.
“We have this big boomer population that is retired or retiring. Whether they are poor or wealthy, they get steered to live in [isolated elder communities],” Katz said. “They only interact with children once or twice per year—when the grandchildren arrive or a scout troop comes in to sing Christmas carols. We must plan for housing that doesn’t create such silos.”
Katz said planners are aware of the need for intergenerational communities, but the notion hasn’t “reached the levers of power”—the mayors, congress members and others who can support intergenerational living with everything from zoning that allows it, infrastructure that encourages it, and funding that supports it.
“We do housing in developments as little islands. They may have sidewalks, but they may not connect to daily needs or even the adjacent neighborhood. We need to think of clusters of neighborhoods that together create a village,” he said. “Walkability, bikeability and access for people with disabilities is a must.”
Katz shared that nearly three million children are being raised by grandparents in this country. But very little housing is being built to support that. Land-use regulations sometimes prevent it.
Katz said cities could learn from Plaza West, a 12-story, 223-unit apartment building in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Fifty units are targeted to “grandfamilies”—grandparents who are raising grandchildren where the parent is not present. The affordable development is next to a park, where more intergenerational interaction can take place.
“It is designed not just with single-bedroom apartments for seniors—which is typically what we do. It has multiple bedroom units for grandparents raising two, three or four children,” said Katz, emphasizing that masterplans and zoning code must be more flexible to allow diverse housing. “We can learn a lot from and should emulate immigrant communities. They tend to have multiple generations under one roof. Everyone benefits.”
Katz said Universal Design should be emphasized in housing units and communities. A barrier-free approach is a must for the one in four people that have some level of disability; it allows comfortable living for people who are aging; and it creates wide sidewalks and safer streets to cross for young people.
“It creates access to health and social services; schools, libraries and other public facilities; as well as commercial development where people work and meet their daily needs,” he said. “It would be cool if planners thought of those elements not as different things, but as essential parts that must be woven together to create livable small communities within the big communities.”
Katz urged planners to be intentional about creating environments in which young and old connect organically to the benefit of both and benefit to society. He said it would be great if mayors, planning commissions, county councils, etc., stopped the battle of single-family vs. multifamily zoning and instead focused on a range of housing types that are both affordable and conducive to intergenerational living.
In the APA research paper that he co-authored, Katz sights major studies that both underscore the problems of today’s siloed living and makes the case for an emphasis on town planning centered on intergenerational interactions.
“The way we have planned our communities has had disproportionate impacts on the health and well-being of children and older adults. They suffer from a lack of safe spaces for independent mobility; a lack of public spaces that address their needs; and a lack of opportunities for social participation,” the report states.
“Anxiety and depression are on the rise in today’s adolescents (NIHCM Foundation 2021). Older adults are living longer, but many suffer from loneliness and social isolation (National Academies 2020). We have an urgent need for a social recovery of our cities, and children and older adults must be centered in our response.”
Jim Elliott, senior transportation planner at Toole Design said planning for seniors and intergenerational communities sometimes focuses on bike-pedestrian paths but forgets to address a healthy mix of land use. “Getting land use right is really critical for creating walkable communities. You have to have the destinations that are nearby for people to go to—parks, stores, healthcare, places to exercise, people to visit,” he said.
Elliott said creating new or retrofitting existing areas to support intergenerational communities must provide a variety of transportation options. He said his mother lives in an Arizona community intentionally designed for older adults.
“They made the mistake of assuming that everyone could drive,” he said of the Arizona 55+ community developed decades ago. “It has great sidewalks, but they do not connect to stores or places people need to go. It causes a lot of stress for [his mom]. She is at the point of feeling uncomfortable in a car. But she’s also feeling like she can’t give up her car because she can’t [do chores and errands] without it.”
Jeremy Chrzan, multimodal design practice lead at Toole Design, said density is the key. Many people equate density with Manhattan, but that is height, not density. Density can take the form of low- or mid-rise buildings with a mix of uses.
“The idea of greater density and where people can walk and bike is consistent with what people say they want,” Chrzan said, noting an Urban Land Institute study that revealed more than half of the people in the nation want to live in a place where they don’t have to use a car. “There are a lot of linkages between land-use planning and development. There is a chasm between what people develop and what people want to rent or buy.”
The misconception is that older adults want to move away from the hustle and bustle of the city, or even the streetcar suburb, to live in isolated senior communities. Chrzan said the fact is lots of older adults are moving into more urbanized areas. Some are downsizing, leaving the big yard and big house for a smaller urban unit because they want nearby access to health care, recreation, the arts, shopping and more. He said a well-connected transit system is key to intergenerational communities, because it connects people who are too young to drive, too old to drive or just plain don’t want to drive.
Elliott said community engagement is key to designing places based on facts and needs, not stereotypes. He mentioned Toole Design’s work on the “LA Safe Routes for Seniors” project, which aims to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes involving older adult Angelinos. The project team’s approach to engage seniors in the planning process has evolved over time to emphasize in-person engagement opportunities, such as senior center site visits and one-on-one interviews, instead of electronic methods, such as online surveys, which some may have difficulty using.
“We need to control speeds and make it more comfortable to traverse streets,” said Chrzan. “We need things like pedestrian refuges that break up the number of lanes people must cross. We need raised crosswalks — they are outstanding for people using wheelchairs for mobility and they slow down drivers. Even material choice factors in. Fancy pavers that look like stones might look nice, but they often settle and become tripping hazards.”
In Iowa City, Iowa, the innovative Prairie Hill Co-Housing is a leader in co-housing, land stewardship, master planning, sustainability and intergenerational living. The development is on 7.3 acres and has 37 residences with 55 residents. Thirty of its units have earned LEED for Homes Gold Certification and it was a 2024 United States Green Building Council LEED Home Award winner in the Outstanding Multifamily category, earning praise as a leading example of sustainability and environmental stewardship.
“Some co-housing is restricted to people over 55, but we didn’t do that—we wanted the vibrancy of youth,” said Barbara Bailey, co-founder and resident of Prairie Hill. “Life is centered on a 5,000-square-foot common house with a big kitchen, laundry and guest rooms.”
People buy units at Prairie Hill, which has studios, and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. More than half the acreage is dedicated to orchards, gardens and land conservation. The development is planted in prairie grass, so it does not need to be watered or mowed. The all-electric homes are designed for energy efficiency. Solar panels generate more power than the development consumes.
“We have meals once a week cooked by volunteer cooks. Residents pay five dollars to cover the cost and it puts on a meal for the whole community. We call it Tasty Tuesday,” said Bailey. “Vegetables are brought down from the garden and prepared for the meals.
“People come together in the common house. We have morning coffee, movie nights, game nights, even beer brewing.” The development is structured as a condominium. Bailey dubbed the governing structure as a “sociocracy—no one head person, but committees in charge of things.”
Bailey believes Universal Design is a must for intergenerational living and co-housing. “Most units have roll-in showers, accessible baths, light switches accessible to people in wheelchairs,” she said. “We hired an architect very versed in the ADA and inclusion. You get through the grounds without using steps and the two-story community building has an elevator.”
To further foster intergenerational living and connectivity, Prairie Hill’s eco-friendly site is not isolated. It is intentionally located on bus lines and biking and walking trails about a mile from the University of Iowa and downtown Iowa City—so most daily needs can be met without needing a car. The development is adjacent to a relatively new, large, multifaceted city park.
Another firm, Gensler, the largest design and architecture firm in the world, has senior living practice leaders. The San Francisco-based firm has generated reports on intergenerational communities and is designing a groundbreaking project that will blend senior living with a major college campus.
The Varcity at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., will bring alums back to school for their senior years. The complex of apartments, town houses, villas and flats will create 230 rental units on 14 acres. About 60 percent of the units will provide independent-living options as well as assisted-living and memory-care units.
Tama Duffy Day, Gensler’s global senior living leader, said University officials hope Varcity at Purdue will allow residents and current students to interact and learn from each other. The first floor of the main building will feature shared amenities for students and residents that will include an event design lab, lecture hall, makerspace, lifelong learning space, an early childhood learning center and a work-share space.
Varcity residents will have access to classes and lectures on campus and a school ID card that provides access to all campus facilities. Amenities will include dining areas, a bar, gym, aerobics space, a pool and spa, pickleball courts and an outdoor kitchen and grilling station.
“I think that to talk about planning tools, you must take a broader view… you can’t assume that if you install park benches and time your traffic lights to allow additional time for pedestrians, that you can call a community age friendly,” said Jeremy Southerland, Gensler’s southeast region senior living practice area leader. “When we talk about active adult communities/environments, the following is the current definition we’re using to measure our success:
“Active adult communities offer independence, equity, and dynamic living environments. They sustain and activate life experiences and are calibrated for adaptation to the evolving needs of the aging mind and body. Active adult communities nurture life-span and well-span.”
Gensler also is designing what it believes is the next generation of 55+ active adult residences. Willow Valley Communities’ Mosaic in Lancaster, Pa., is a 20-floor tower with 147 two- and three-bedroom units. Ground floor retail plus memberships open to the public for Mosaic’s wellness center, spa and tower bar are designed to facilitate stronger connections with the community as a whole.
“By investing in the revitalization of downtown Lancaster, this project celebrates the important role that older adults play in the success of multigenerational urban communities,” Southerland said. “Three lobbies take advantage of existing street slopes to ensure secure and easy access for residents enjoying the city, meeting friends for lunch and a show, going for bike rides, or returning from dinner in town.” (See pictures on page 60.)
Carol Kachadoorian is a transportation planner and executive director of dblTilde CORE, a nonprofit that promotes active mobility infrastructure, especially for older adults. While she praises Universal Design and wide, gently sloped curb ramps; smooth, unobstructed sidewalks; safe crosswalks; and transit that serves more than commuters, she also promotes active mobility.
It is a misnomer that as people age, they stop being active. If a person can no longer drive, they might take more trips by cycling. “If we don’t design the right way, the person will be less inclined to be physically active,” said Kachadoorian, who leads a survey of people 50 and older that cycle. “The fundamental thing is to create infrastructure that keeps older adults physically active. The result is better mobility, independence and dignity.”
