Intergenerational Connection

A recent TIME feature on the future of aging highlighted some wonderful experiments from around the world: college students living on campus alongside older residents, intergenerational housing in New York City, and Japanese companies keeping retirees meaningfully engaged at work.

Different approaches, but they all share a single thread — intergenerational connection.

It tracks with what I've heard for my entire career, across every kind of setting. When you ask older adults what they value most about where they live, they rarely lead with the amenities or the programs. They say it's the people. The chance to share their days with others — and, increasingly, with people of different ages and life stages.

That's worth holding onto when you or a loved one is evaluating communities. Beautiful buildings and long activity calendars are nice, but they're not the thing.

Ask instead: Will my days here be full of meaningful relationships? Are there opportunities to connect across generations — with students, volunteers, younger staff, visiting families?

Does this place treat older adults as people still very much engaged with the world, rather than apart from it?

The communities getting this right aren't just building more of the same. They're designing for connection. And connection, far more than square footage, is what makes a place feel like home.