The demographics of the world are changing. The global population aged 60 and over was 962 million in 2017, more than double the global population of 382 million older persons in 1980. By 2050, the number of older persons is expected to double again, to nearly 2.1 billion. As a result, there will be increased interest in using intergenerational strategies to create relevant community programs and social policies. For our civil society, what is most relevant to this growth is an understanding of the changes in the giving and receiving of resources throughout the life cycle, and the understanding that intergenerational relations play a very important role in promoting society.
In the past, the older generation dealt more with the younger generation. But times are changing, and for many reasons, that is not the case today. Generations United and the Eisner Foundation published a paper entitled "I Need You, You Need Me: The young, the old and what we can achieve together" study, all of the people surveyed acknowledged that we live in an age-segregated society.
In the study, 53 percent of American adults said they were less often with people older or much younger than they were than outside their home. Parents who have children later in life are further apart from their parents. Since many families have two working parents and children, their extracurricular schedules are busy, and life becomes busier and more planned. Young people are more likely to move to new cities and/or states to take up meaningful jobs. Many people, including older persons themselves, see the social disengagement of older persons from younger persons as a natural part of ageing. Physical and cognitive functions may also differ between age groups, resulting in different physical space occupations and different activities.
In addition, there is an increasing number of institutions by age, and housing centres for older persons are often separated from where the younger generation live, and indeed, they themselves may be whole towns, often in warm climates, leading older persons to be away from family resources in order to live in one of these communities. Capital flows and service delivery systems create silos that limit our ability to cooperate and encourage competition for scarce resources. The perception of older persons and youth as problems may prevent us from mobilizing these groups as valuable resources that can support each other and contribute to communities.
All of these things create a gap between generations and lead people of different ages to miss out on time together. As understanding and awareness of each other deteriorates, it is a vicious circle, where negative stereotypes and attitudes can easily take hold and lose valuable learning and social opportunities.
People of all ages benefit from increased physical activity, access to vitamin D, fresh air and participation in the outdoors. For children, play can have a positive impact on all five areas of development: Physical, social, emotional, sensory, cognitive and communication. Being outdoors helps people relax and helps them recover from certain age-related stresses such as school, work, family stress, or loneliness. Green spaces may be particularly beneficial for older persons, as they provide safe opportunities to be active and interact with others, while stimulating their thoughts and senses. In addition, access to shared public spaces reduces overall stress, improves coping capacity, encourages multigenerational interaction, reduces Social Isolation, enhances relationship-building skills, and improves or maintains cognitive function. The demand for quality child and youth services, coupled with the growing demand for creative projects for older persons, has created a mature environment for innovative intergenerational spaces.
However, it is important to note that while space may be multigenerational, it may not be intergenerational. Multigenerational simply refers to a combination of the people from different generations present. Generationalism refers to positive communication or connections between generations, and is a great opportunity to enrich people and the environment, while bringing a wealth of positive benefits to all.
