Why is multigenerational important?
We think it is important to create opportunities where people of all ages can see, and be seen together, so that it becomes natural to think of a community as the totality of people, not just my group. Gathering places are just one of many ways to meet this goal. Several years ago we developed Hands-On Civics, a curriculum program for high school students, the aim of which was to work in teams to develop a 3-D model of their ideal community. Their first designs were of complicated networks of roads and cul-de-sacs with every bit of the land used up for homes and huge malls—the worst sprawl you can imagine. Interestingly, most proposals had seniors (anyone over 50) living in a segregated community somewhere on the edge or an island. To counter this, we invented imaginary people-Alexa, a single mother with a low-paying job, and 72-year-old Robert who doesn’t drive but still wants to get around. This stretched the students’ imagination about who needs homes in their community.
