Written by:
Sophia de Sousa
Our special edition WEdesign crossover chat, Designing Multigenerational Places, created an intimate and informal conversation to explore this year’s WEdesign theme, Multigenerational Places. The session was co-hosted with Pat Scrutton, Co-ordinator of the Intergenerational National Network, who this year has also co-curated our series of Multigenerational Places Think PIeces. We were joined by an interesting mix of people from a range of communities and with different specialisms. It was also really great to see a mix of ages in the room. With this group, we were able to explore the question of designing multigenerational places from various perspectives and consider the language, principles and initiatives around shaping places where different generations can connect and interact.
Key Themes
Our co-host Pat kick-started the conversation with a provocation. She explained that the choice of the term multigenerational in the WEdesign series theme and in the name of this Chat had been intentional, but that we were really interested in exploring the combination of multi- and inter-generational places. She noted that unfortunately, the term “intergenerational”, which according to the dictionary means “across several generations” had fallen into professional jargon and is now often used to describe what she referred to as “cute kids in care homes”. Institutionalised language and stereotype initiatives focusing on bringing different generations together became a key theme throughout the conversation. We also talked about how both the design and curation of public and shared buildings and spaces have an impact on how different age groups interact within them. And underlying all of this was the importance of relationships, and the role we can all play in creating and seizing opportunities for friendships and collaboration that crosses age groups.
Intergenerational & Multigenerational Jargon & Stereotypes
We remarked on how strange it is that the term intergenerational has come to mean activities that bring children and and older people together, but rarely used to talk about the spectrum of interactions across multiple generations. We agreed that this might have something to do with the increasing segmentation of places, activities and social groups by age. Using age to define target audiences, often in an attempt to cater to the specific needs of that group, has ironically contributed to segregating people by age.
We make assumptions, for example, that play need only be provided for the very young, and that there must be something wrong or perverse about people of other ages enjoying being in a playground and either watching or joining children playing. Whilst there is a growing interest in the design of housing for an ageing population, rarely does this focus on creating homes that cater for older people to live with or alongside people of different ages, within a multigenerational environment. Multigenerational living has come to mean three or more generations of one family sharing a home, but not a more general approach to neighbourhoods that cater for all ages and for their interaction.
These stereotypes and the decisions they influence can make it harder to find those opportunities to connect with and share experiences with people of different ages. Members of our Chat group spoke of how they had personally valued friendships with people significantly older or younger than themselves, but that current cultural norms seem to make those friendships ever more difficult to make and maintain.
Curated vs Incidental Interaction
The way we design and animate our places, as well as the activities and services in them, has a role to play in how we forge multigenerational connections. One of our participants spoke of an activity that was designed to bring older people together with children, and that an unexpected outcome had been that friendships were also forged between the older people and the children’s parents. An activity that had sought to bring two generations together had actually brought three together.
We spoke of the importance of free places where children might go with their parents and/or grandparents, and that were inviting and accessible to individuals and groups of any combination of ages. The most successful examples offered something for everyone, but also allowed different generations to enjoy them at the same time. Museums, galleries and parks were mentioned, as were street parties and cultural events, whether curated by arts organisations, councils or communities.
We also considered the importance of less curated spaces or moments within them. Whilst many public and community spaces rely on funding which demands heavily curated programmes, this can limit users instigating their own activities and interactions, or simply enjoying being in and sharing spaces. The inherent desire of people to shape places can be compromised by overly designed spaces. We heard examples of placing objects into spaces and letting people move, use and play with them, and how that could offer exciting possibilities for interactions. This showed a tension between the power of design and curation and the value of letting people shape places, instigate and share activities in an unstructured way.
Creating & Seizing Opportunities for Interaction
Design and planning have an important role in creating opportunities for both structured and incidental interactions. A participant talked about the Marmalade Lane co-housing project, and their design that prioritised shared space for people over cars. An aerial view on google maps showed a stark contrast between the percentage of land given over to cars and streets in a neighbouring block occupying roughly the same sized area, and the amount of shared facilities and green space created within Marmalade Lane.
However it is not just about creating the physical spaces, but about how we chose to use and share them. One participant told a story of a local initiative, the First Friday Society, which sees a local person opening up a hall once a month for whomever wants to come. People bring food and drink, play, hang out, talk. People of all ages come as families and individuals and all are welcome. We talked about the power of creating space for multigenerational networks to grow. Using a powerful metaphor, one of our group described the soil that gathers in the gaps between paving stones, and a small flower or weed that eventually grows in it. That plant then helps collect more soil as wind and the movement of people carry more particles to it. More plants grow in that soil and suddenly what was a hard paved area has a whole new ecosystem. In the same way, we need to grow our ecosystem of multigenerational relationships.
Wrapping up
Ultimately, what we were all interested in achieving was having access to more places that welcome people of all ages, cater for their needs and that enable interaction across age groups. No one place is likely to satisfy every want and need of every person, but if we can start to think about connectivity across generations as an underlying principle of design and planning, perhaps our built environment can help us bridge the gaps that have been increasing between us. Fundamentally, successful multigenerational places create the space for connection with people of other ages, but it is also up to us to seize and create opportunities to build relationships.
Spotlight Project from Co-host Pat Scrutton
The aim of this project was to develop the concept of an intergenerational and age-friendly living ecosystem (AFLE) to support and provide opportunities for people as they age to reap the socioeconomic benefits of their local and virtual communities and to help them become fully integrated, valued, and contributing members of society.
Read the report here.