Category: Aging-in-community


Having input in community design

In developing a cohousing community, how important is it that prospective members have a chance to participate in the design process? In November 2023, Housing LIN in the UK published a blog post by Queena Stone to examine this question. Queena is an Associate AIA (American Institute of Architects) member based in Seattle, WA. She... Read More

Senior Community finds ways to foster wellness

Larry Beresford, a member of Phoenix Commons in Oakland CA, recently had an article published on the website Next Avenue*. Called “A Commitment to Aging Well,” the article talks about what this means and how his senior cohousing community has pursued this aim. Larry is a freelance medical journalist and a member of the community’s... Read More

Benefiting the larger community: Shepherd Village helps less fortunate

Shepherd's Village Thanksgiving assembly line

The Puzzle of the Super-Ager

In November 2023, AARP published an article called “Celebrating What’s Right With Aging: Inside the Minds of Super Agers.” Why do some people in their 80s and 90s show little decline in their cognitive abilities, while many of us struggle with slower memory, and others slide into dementia? The following article paraphrases some portions of... Read More

Seniors in cohousing get higher profile

The National Cohousing Conference held in Denver Aug. 2–4 gave seniors in cohousing a higher profile than previous conferences, thanks to our new Seniors in Cohousing Committee. The committee presented three sessions exploring different aspects of seniors in cohousing. It also hosted an early morning “Coffee & Donuts Meet & Greet” that attracted a nice... Read More

Preventing and undoing internalized ageism in cohousing

Hot on the heels of great aging-in-community conversations, sessions and connections at last month’s National Cohousing Conference in Denver, I recently had the opportunity to participatein “Summer School,” an in-person summit in Montreal. It was called together by This ChairRocks author Ashton Applewhite and her co-creators of the Old School anti-ageism resource center. I found it an... <

New Guide to Starting a Community

As seniors look for more ways to stay socially engaged, there’s a new book that can be a great resource, Building Belonging: Your Guide to Starting a Residential Intentional Community (220 pages). Yana Ludwig, the author, covers the many aspects of starting an intentional community like cohousing. For example, in Chapter 11, “Land and the... Read More

Aging in Community at Silver Sage

      Silver Sage Village, an urban senior cohousing community in Boulder, is among the earliest senior cohousing communities in the country, opening in 2007 with 16 owner-occupied units. Ten are market rate and six are permanently affordable, plus there are now two basement apartments as rentals. At present we have 28 residents, including... Read More

Embarking on New Endeavors in Senior Cohousing

If you think residents of senior cohousing communities are kicking back in their rocking chairs, think again. Choosing to move in and live in a cohousing community – whether its intergenerational or senior-focused – is a new energizing endeavor itself.  Once you do though, there are many opportunities to pursue a new venture, learn a... Read More

Study refutes aging stereotypes

What was your view of “senior citizens” when you were a youthful 20- or 30-something? Perhaps you pictured gray-haired, stooped elders walking with a cane, playing bingo in a retirement home, their calendars full of medical appointments. People whom life had passed by, who were simply marking time until the end. A recent study by... Read More