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Abstract
European public policies face the challenge of well ageing. A key element of my research is the role given to older people in the conception of new types of housing and living arrangements. Amongst the various types of intermediate housing models, from nursing homes to in-house support, the self-managed co-housing scheme seems a good solution from an economic point of view: it allows a reduction in the public expenditure necessitated by the demands of an ageing population, not to mention social costs. It improves the quality of elderly people’s lives by focusing on personal autonomy and communal solidarity. This article gives an overview of scientific literature on the subject of ‘co-housing and ageing’ and describes some results of five field studies recently conducted in intergenerational co-housing projects in Germany, Sweden and England.
Notes
1. The Gender Gap in Pensions in the EU, report prepared for the European Commission Network of Experts on Gender Equality (ENEGE, 2013).
2. Statistisches Bundesamt, Ältere Menschen in Deutschland und der EU, 2011.
3. Stadt Düsseldorf, Amt für Statistik und Wahlen, Befragung der Bürgerinnen und Bürger zum Thema: Wohnen im Alter, 2010.
4. Such as the preoccupation of Danish society with ‘the quality of life’, in contrast to American society looking towards ‘progress and innovation’ (Durett Citation2006, 25; also see Glass or Forbes).
5. Such as public policies on housing and ageing that differ from country to country.
6. Data are presented as collected at the moment of the survey without updating.
7. Living with old and young.
8. Pro Active ageing – Pro Active living.
9. For example, in 2003 the employment rate of women was only 61.9% in Germany as opposed to 76% in Sweden and 67.7% in the United Kingdom (Source: EUROSTAT, Employment rate by sex, age group 20–64).
10. Communal cooking and eating is on a voluntary basis.
11. The people most committed to communal housing were also the ones most willing to be interviewed; this might lead to a bias in our survey which we have tried to minimise by insisting on also meeting less committed people.