Intergenerational Public Space
The purpose is to fight the disjunction between generations and to demonstrate that young and old can coexist while complementing each other. Drinking from the wisdom of those who have lived in exchange for the strength of those who still have much to learn. Perhaps the goal of this project is the availability of common spaces so that they become the heart of the community; pieces that allow contrasts and force relationships. The individual becomes a collective, shadows become light and silent halls transform into greetings. Creating a Intergenerational Space. We divide up our communities and our activities by age – young people in schools, older people in retirement communities or facilities. We talk a lot about all the ways we need to help older people. But, perhaps, the old can help us. It’s the experience of life in a multigenerational, interdependent, richly complex community that, more than anything else, teaches us how to be human. Better Community If we can improve the standing of older adults in society, and nurture what they can bring through intergenerational connections, then we can achieve a better community with a better quality of life for all ages. Historically, young and old connected naturally. Older people taught the young how to be and how to become. There is a back-and-forth reciprocity between all generations. Adults provide support to elders, most often to address health or physical limitations. Elders, in turn, assist adults through experience, emotional support, and participating in the care of children. Elders can help socialize children, teach them empathy and character, and give them an unconditional form of love they can’t find elsewhere. Children, in turn, can be an endless source of joy for elders, share affection and play, and provide assistance with many simple tasks. Children can participate in the work of adults, and provide enjoyment and love. Adults, in turn, provide food, shelter, clothing, and nurturance to children. And so a strong, healthy, intergenerational web of community goes. Benefits of intergenerational relations
• It provides an opportunity for both to learn new skills. • It gives the child and the older adult a sense of purpose. • Helps children to understand and later accept their own aging. • Engaging with children invigorates and energizes older adults. • It prevents the isolation and loneliness of older adults. • Intergenerational sharing helps in keeping family stories and history alive. • It is an aid in cognitive stimulation as well as broadening social circles especially when the youth introduce technology into the life of older adults. • It also improves mental health so that they can perform better on memory tests, and those with dementia also experience positive effects. • It reduces feelings of sadness as these are experiences they enjoy and look forward to. • It increases their self-worth and self-esteem along with improved performance. |
The Project
The project starts there, in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States. The city's estimated population in 2017 was 595,351. Milwaukee is the second-most densely populated metropolitan area in the Midwest, surpassed only by Chicago. In the neighborhood those streets are in decay, where all you see is vacant houses and a community that does not know its neighbors, people who spend time on their porches, because there is no public space for them where they can relate and share. The neighborhood is mainly made up of houses, some of them empty and in decline, there is not a coffee shop, restaurant or green space suitable for people. The only park in the area, called Butterfly Park, is just a green box that few people use, has only a small playground for children with a very marked age range, from there on out, the park does not provide any activity for the rest of the community. This is where the project took place, where the park stars, where the dream continues. |