Designing Intergenerational Communities

Recording from live webinar on 9/24/2024

Designing Intergenerational Communities: Lessons from the LAF-Funded “Engagement by Design” Project

Population aging is a global demographic trend that presents many societal challenges across the economic, socio-cultural, medical, and public health sectors. Intergenerational communities can help address some of these challenges by bringing mutual benefits to older adults and younger generations. However, scientific evidence on how to create such communities is limited. 

The third LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell was awarded to “Engagement by Design: Intergenerational Communities to Promote Social Equity and Healthy Aging in Place.” This 18-month research project utilized a literature review, expert interviews, and surveys to identify essential physical features of intergenerational communities and their associations with intergenerational interactions, age-related social equity, and health among older adults and children.

In this webinar, the Principal Investigators will share their research process and findings. They will also introduce the Intergenerational Community Concept Plan and the Intergenerational Community Assessment Tool (iCAT), which provide community-scale and site-scale assessment tools and checklists for designing and assessing mixed-age communities. The work represents an emerging area of practice at the intersection of design and public health where landscape architects can take a leading role.

Resources

• Webinar slides [PDF]
• Intergenerational Community Assessment Tool (iCAT)
• Q&A 
• Learn about the Deb Mitchell Research Grant (pre-proposals due Dec 1, 2024)

Learning objectives

1. Identify key attributes of intergenerational communities 
2. Understand the benefits of intergenerational communities for older adults and children versus age-restricted communities
3. Understand how to access the Intergenerational Community Assessment Tool (iCat) to utilize in your work 

Continuing Education Credits

This course is approved for 1.0 Professional Development Hour (PDH) through the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) and meets the health, safety, and welfare requirements (HSW).

To earn 1.0 LA CES (HSW)

1. View the full webinar above.
2. Complete the short quiz by following the link below. (You must score 75% or higher.)
3. Wait ~2 weeks to receive your confirmation email once the quizzes are graded and results submitted to LA CES.

Quiz for CEUs

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Panelists/Principal Investigators

Chanam Lee, PhD
Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning, Texas A&M University

Chanam is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Executive Associate Dean of the College of Architecture, and Director of Design Research for Active Living at Texas A&M University. Her expertise is in active living research, a transdisciplinary area that deals with environmental and policy approaches to promote physical activity and healthy living.

Sinan Zhong, PhD
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University

Sinan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Her research interests lie at the intersection between community design and healthy aging.

Expert Panel

Rodney Harrell
Vice President, Family, Home and Community
AARP Public Policy Institute

Mark Maldonado
Senior Principal
Stantec

Galen Newman
Professor
Texas A&M University

Erja Portegijs
Associate Professor
University of Groningen

Yixiao Liu
Founder and Principal
Tracing Paper LLC