Self-managed Co-housing in the Context of an Ageing Population in Europe

International audienceEuropean 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. Among 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