Living Together by Design: Housing to Connect Generations
Event is in person at Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Design and will be livestreamed.
Intergenerational housing and communities—places that purposefully house people of all ages—offer powerful ways to reduce social isolation, improve affordability, and strengthen access to supports. While intergenerational living is not a new idea, innovative models are emerging that can provide valuable insights into housing design and policy that build community, foster both autonomy and interpersonal connections, and address affordability. This half-day event will bring together leaders from architecture, planning, homebuilding, environmental gerontology, public health, and related fields to explore innovative intergenerational design—from flexible homes that adapt to the needs of multigenerational families to larger communities intentionally designed to foster daily interaction and shared support. Join us to explore how thoughtful design, policy, and programming can shape more inclusive, resilient, and connected places to live.
Agenda
1:00 pm — Welcome
Chris Herbert, Managing Director, JCHS
1:05 pm — Overview: The Scale and Scaling of Intergenerational Living
Jennifer Molinsky, Director, Housing an Aging Society Program, JCHS
1:30 pm — Panel 1
Sharing a Home: The Multigenerational Household
Donna Butts, Senior Fellow and former Executive Director, Generations United
Ernest Gonzales, Associate Professor, James Weldon Johnson Professor of Social Work; Director to the Center for Health and Aging Innovation, NYU Silver School of Social Work
Noelle Marcus, Founder and CEO, Nesterly
Natasha Pilkauskas, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
Jennifer Molinsky, Director, Housing an Aging Society Program, JCHS (moderator)
2:30 pm — Break
2:45 pm — Panel 2
Creating Community: Mutual Support in Intentional Intergenerational Housing
Jonathan Evans, Principal, MASS Design Group
Jenny French, Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture, Harvard GSD; Partner, French 2D
Wandy Pascoal, Program Manager, Housing and Innovation Awards, Boston Society for Architecture
Rafi Segal, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, MIT; Founder, RSA+U
James Stockard, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design Curator Loeb Fellowship, Harvard GSD (moderator)
3:45 pm — Panel 3
Welcoming All Ages: Intergenerational Neighborhoods and Cities
Andrea Burns, Director, Age-Friendly Boston
Patricia Cafferky, Deputy Chief of Operations, Capital Investment, Office of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
Will Cohen, Zoning Reform Planner, City of Boston Planning Department
Kristin McSwain, Chief of Policy and Research, Office of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
Tim Love, Lecturer and Senior Fellow in Real Estate and Urban Planning, Harvard GSD; Founding Principal, Utile (moderator)
4:45 pm — From Ideas to Action: Next Steps for Intergenerational Housing
Jenny French, Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture, Harvard GSD; Partner, French 2D
Tim Love, Lecturer and Senior Fellow in Real Estate and Urban Planning, Harvard GSD; Founding Principal, Utile
Jennifer Molinsky, Director, Housing an Aging Society Program, JCHS
5:00 pm — Reception
Image courtesy of French 2D