Publish at June 04 2025 Updated June 04 2025
Around the world, many people face a difficult reality: one in four elderly people live in isolation, according to the French Red Cross. The feeling of loneliness also affects a younger population: at European level, a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation reveals that 57% of young Europeans aged 18 to 35 feel moderately or severely lonely, with particularly high levels in Germany and other EU countries.
So how can we alleviate this epidemic of loneliness, which prevents people from forging the social ties that are vital to their personal development?
The intergenerational home is one of the emerging concepts aimed at meeting contemporary social and demographic challenges. This housing model brings together several generations under the same roof, encouraging exchanges and intergenerational solidarity. It enables everyone to share their skills and offer services according to the abilities of each generation, creating an environment of mutual support and cohesion to combat social isolation.
Germany was one of the first countries to introduce the concept of intergenerational housing. The "generationenwohnen" project is a forerunner of this type of housing, having emerged in the 1990s. Is intergenerational housing a credible lever for recreating social ties?
Prolonged loneliness is more than just a temporary discomfort: it constitutes a real risk to physical, mental and social health. As researcher Séverine Dessajan reminds us, a person is isolated when he or she no longer physically frequents the main circles of sociability (family, work, friends, professional relations or associations). This definition highlights the concrete dimension of isolation, which goes beyond mere feelings.
This phenomenon affects a number of different groups:
The consequences are serious: isolation encourages anxiety, sleep disorders and depression. A 2018 European study reveals that it increases the risk of mortality after a heart attack by 25%, and after a stroke by 32%. When it takes hold, loneliness becomes a downward spiral, pushing individuals to withdraw into themselves and gradually cut themselves off from community life.
Intergenerational housing can take many forms: from the cohabitation of an elderly person and a young working person under the same roof to cooperative residences, it's an unusual way of creating links and avoiding social isolation, especially in our ageing societies.
This phenomenon heralds a significant demographic change: an Insee study entitled "Projections de population à l'horizon 2060" predicts a 100% increase in the number of over-75s in France between 2012 and 2060.
This demographic transformation is accompanied by another worrying reality: the housing crisis, which mainly affects precarious young people, students and low-income workers. Against this backdrop, intergenerational housing offers a twofold lever: it enables the elderly to break their isolation and stay in their own homes for longer, while offering younger people lower-cost housing and a warmer living environment. In addition to responding to concrete needs, it offers a different way of living together, one that is more supportive and more humane.
Among the most widespread forms of intergenerational housing, cohabitation between an elderly person living alone and a young student or worker is an emblematic model. This is the approach being developed by associations such as Ensemble2Générations, a pioneer in the field since 2006.
Operating in a number of French cities, it puts senior citizens with spare rooms in touch with young adults looking for accommodation. The idea is simple and effective: to create mutual assistance. Seniors, sometimes faced with loneliness and modest pensions, find a reassuring presence, occasional support and even a financial supplement. As for young people, they gain access to accommodation that is often much more pleasant and affordable than a cramped room. Much more than just a pragmatic solution, this type of sharing encourages the formation of almost family ties. Over shared meals or impromptu discussions, everyone finds their place in the richness that intergenerational exchanges can bring.
Other ways of strengthening intergenerational ties are emerging: intergenerational residences. These housing complexes welcome people of different ages and profiles (students, families, senior citizens) under the same roof, in a setting designed to encourage conviviality and mutual support. The homes are adapted to the specific needs of the elderly, with functional and accessible floor plans.
At the same time, communal areas such as social rooms, shared laundry facilities, gardens and workshops encourage informal encounters between residents. This model enables a natural form of solidarity to develop: help with DIY, childcare, exchanging know-how or simply sharing time over a cup of coffee. There's something in it for everyone, in a spirit of spontaneous, non-binding exchange.
These residences, often supported by social landlords or local authorities, embody another way of thinking about living together on a day-to-day scale.
In Germany, faced with demographic decline and the challenges of reconciling work and family life, particularly for women, the government launched a national program in 2006 called "Generations Houses". The project, initiated by Ursula von der Leyen, then Federal Minister for Social Affairs, aims to create living spaces that encourage cooperation between generations at local level.
The Habitat et Humanisme association is one of the major players in the development of intergenerational housing in France. As of 2017, it has opened 17 intergenerational residences across the country, with the ambition of decompartmentalizing housing and promoting social and generational diversity. The heart of its approach is based on the creation of third-party places of solidarity, where housing also becomes a shared living space. These residences regularly offer participative activities, such as yoga sessions, digital initiation workshops, communal meals and table d'hôtes. Everyone, young or old, can get involved according to their desires and skills.
Intergenerational living has other advantages that are less well publicized, but which represent a real step forward in human relations. Living under the same roof or in the same building helps to break down certain age-related stereotypes. In a society marked by the segmentation of generations, intergenerational interaction outside the family circle has become rare, if not exceptional. This separation feeds prejudices: the elderly are perceived as fragile or disconnected from the modern world, while the young are often considered individualistic.
Intergenerational cohabitation helps to challenge these clichés by establishing a shared daily routine. Young people discover inspiring life stories, know-how and social memory, while their elders are confronted with new technologies, other lifestyles and a contemporary culture that stimulates them.
A study by Alcock et al. in 2011 shows that intergenerational projects, such as letter exchanges and photographic workshops between young and old, promote mutual understanding and reduce prejudice. Young people feel valued in their support role, while older people regain a sense of social usefulness. These experiences shake up norms and help build a more inclusive society, where age is no longer a barrier but an opportunity to meet.
At a time when housing models need to be reinvented, is it possible to imagine a society where intergenerational ties become the norm, rather than the exception? It's not just about housing: it's about a new vision of living together.
A society in which diversity and intergenerational exchange are taken into account in the design of housing, neighborhoods and cities, where public policies implement real measures to encourage these encounters, where generations do not live in separate bubbles, but in shared spaces, conducive to mutual aid and transmission. Ageing would then no longer be perceived as a burden, but rather as a source of wealth.
References
Bertelsmann Foundation study on loneliness among young Europeans:
https://www.presseportal.de/en/pm/7977/5931030
The "generationenwohnen" project in Germany :
https://www.generationenwohnen.ch/
Solitudes study: https: //www.fondationdefrance.org/fr/les-solitudes-en-france/etude-solitudes-2024
Ensemble2générations association: https: //ensemble2generations.fr/
Intergenerational housing :
https://www.essentiel-autonomie.com/solutions-alternatives/habitat-intergenerationnel-partager-lieu-vie
Habitat and Humanism Initiative: https: //www.habitat-humanisme.org/creer-du-lien/
Breaking with ageism: https: //rompreaveclagisme.ca/unir-les-ages/
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