Environmental Co-housing: A Way to Shovel Ageing, Environmental and Socioeconomic Issues

Lifestyle, technological and scientific advances have evolved providing a greater life expectancy. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050, with most of the increase in developing countries. This presents certain challenges not only for older people but for the entire population in general. - Change in the life cycle - an increasingly older population. - The intergenerational pact - where we are currently struggling between generations instead of learning from each other. - Loneliness - which not only implies risks or physical limitations for the elderly but also triggers a social isolation that causes various physical and physiological affections. - The revision of the paradigm of active aging - the making sense of the personal project of retirement or to cleverly design the last years of life. This paper examines the concept of co-housing as an answer to these problems. Social sustainability is the main driver of collaborative housing. It is also a fundamental element to increase the sustainability of the environment.