The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 53
wrangling over what are seen as 昀椀xed resources.
Not to men琀椀on fomen琀椀ng ageism and fostering
isola琀椀on and loneliness.
We can turn things around, but doing so will
require three quali琀椀es that have been in short
supply: imagina琀椀on, innova琀椀on, and investment.
We need imagina琀椀on to rewrite the story of
genera琀椀onal rela琀椀ons, star琀椀ng with recogni琀椀on
that age segrega琀椀on is anything but normal. In
fact, it’s a recent phenomenon at odds with all of
human history. We need innova琀椀on to replace
the social infrastructure of separa琀椀on that
we’ve pioneered over the past hundred years
with a social infrastructure of intergenera琀椀onal
connec琀椀on and collabora琀椀on. And we need
investment to scale and spread opportuni琀椀es
for cogenera琀椀on.
“We need innova琀椀on
to replace the social
infrastructure of separa琀椀on
that we’ve pioneered over
the past hundred years with
a social infrastructure of
intergenera琀椀onal connec琀椀on
and collabora琀椀on.”
Enough promising pilots without the support
necessary to grow. We need to be making big bets
capable of helping society capitalize on the great
opportunity presented by our age diversity.
The good news: The narra琀椀ve has started
to shi昀琀 from genera琀椀ons apart to genera琀椀ons
together. Just turn on the television, where
shows like Hacks, Only Murders in the Building, and
Shrinking are poin琀椀ng the way to intergenera琀椀onal
thriving. Look at the housing numbers, where
mul琀椀genera琀椀onal living is increasing by leaps
and bounds.42 Check out our research with the
Na琀椀onal Opinion Research Center (NORC) at
the University of Chicago, which shows pent-up
demand among older and younger people to come
together to help alleviate challenges ranging from
mental health to educa琀椀on and the environment.
At CoGenerate we’re seeing great
opportuni琀椀es in mul琀椀ple sectors of society, where
the case for cross-genera琀椀onal unity has become
urgent and pragma琀椀c. Take higher educa琀椀on,
where the enrollment cli昀昀 is causing many
ins琀椀tu琀椀ons to essen琀椀ally run out of 18-year-olds.
Last year, dozens of colleges went out of business
or merged. Schools like Goucher College are
developing new 昀椀nancial and educa琀椀onal models
that blend students who are young, middle-aged,
and older.
Another promising area with cogenera琀椀onal
poten琀椀al is civic organiza琀椀ons. Take the
YMCA, where older and younger people are
already showing up in droves. It’s a short step
to consciously bring them together in ways
that combine their talents for the civic good
of communi琀椀es, while forging bonds that can
alleviate or prevent loneliness.
The shortage of a昀昀ordable housing o昀昀ers
another opportunity. By some es琀椀mates, older
Americans, many of whom are struggling to age in
place, have more than 30 million spare bedrooms,
while younger people face a profound shortage of
a昀昀ordable places to live.43 Innova琀椀ve organiza琀椀ons
like Nesterly, JoeyCo, and Drexel University’s
Second Story Collec琀椀ve are pairing these elders
with young people who are willing to help out for
reduced rent, a win-win for all genera琀椀ons.
If our goal isn’t just to live longer, but to make
the most of extended lives, one of the best things
we can do is create a sense of the wholeness
of life, to lean into the interdependence of
genera琀椀ons, and to pool the talents of mul琀椀ple
genera琀椀ons to solve our toughest problems. Our
success in doing so will de昀椀ne what it means to
live in our mul琀椀genera琀椀onal age.
A D ECA D E O F P RO GRE S S , A D ECA D E TO ACT 49
