New Zealand’s retirement villages are considered among the best in the world, but overseas there have been some interesting schemes aiming to do things differently. Launched in 2019 in Helsingborg, a small seaside city in southern Sweden, SällBo has been billed as a “new way to live”.
Named using the Swedish words for companionship sällskap, and living, bo, it’s a revolutionary housing project where “generations and cultures meet and social life is at the centre”. Tenants aged 65 and over make up just over half of the residents, with the balance comprising younger adults mostly aged 18-25, including a significant number of refugees. As well as having their own self-contained flats, tenants also have access to “togetherness” areas like a gym, yoga room, art studio, and communal kitchens, designed to promote their interactions with others.
“By being together – different categories of people – it decreases segregation and also gives a better quality of life,” Gunnar Andersson, a professor of demography at Stockholm University, tells the BBC.
“I really like the concept to sneak out and see all the other activities round here in all the different rooms and meet people,” adds resident friend Rasmus Juhlin. “It’s just so nice to do things with your neighbours.”
Studies have shown that loneliness can lead to poor cardiovascular health, depression, and even premature death – and it’s a growing multigenerational issue, so it’s fitting that intergenerational living is being explored as a means of combating it. What’s more, it’s been proposed as a way of alleviating the housing crises, allowing younger adults a level of affordable independence.
Humanitas Deventer, a much-lauded intergenerational living project in the Netherlands, offers students the chance to live rent-free, providing they dedicate 30 hours per month to hanging out with the senior residents and show them the ropes with the likes of emailing and social media.
By being together – different categories of people – it decreases segregation and also gives a better quality of life
Named using the Swedish words for companionship sällskap, and living, bo, it’s a revolutionary housing project where “generations and cultures meet and social life is at the centre”. Tenants aged 65 and over make up just over half of the residents, with the balance comprising younger adults mostly aged 18-25, including a significant number of refugees. As well as having their own self-contained flats, tenants also have access to “togetherness” areas like a gym, yoga room, art studio, and communal kitchens, designed to promote their interactions with others.
“By being together – different categories of people – it decreases segregation and also gives a better quality of life,” Gunnar Andersson, a professor of demography at Stockholm University, tells the BBC.
“I really like the concept to sneak out and see all the other activities round here in all the different rooms and meet people,” adds resident friend Rasmus Juhlin. “It’s just so nice to do things with your neighbours.”
Studies have shown that loneliness can lead to poor cardiovascular health, depression, and even premature death – and it’s a growing multigenerational issue, so it’s fitting that intergenerational living is being explored as a means of combating it. What’s more, it’s been proposed as a way of alleviating the housing crises, allowing younger adults a level of affordable independence.
Humanitas Deventer, a much-lauded intergenerational living project in the Netherlands, offers students the chance to live rent-free, providing they dedicate 30 hours per month to hanging out with the senior residents and show them the ropes with the likes of emailing and social media.
The Power of Dance
The World Health Organization states that, worldwide, nearly 16% of older people experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI); once it occurs, the risk of developing dementia increases by up to 46% in three years. Studies have shown that one way of helping to combat such decline is to dance! And that’s exactly what a group of seniors in Mexico do each week when they gather each Thursday at 5pm in the main square of Chilpancingo de los Bravo to do the danzón – a traditional Latin dance. It’s quite the sight with participants dressed in traditional attire like long skirts and guayabera shirts with pleated lines on the back and flowers in the lapels, all grooving to a live band.
