Empty Nest - New Start? Ways to housing efficiency in old age

For decades, living space in Germany has been increasing - overall and per person. This leads to the consumption of space, heating energy and resources.

One target group for space-saving living is older people, especially in single-family homes. After the children have moved out, they often need less living space. But there is a lack of suitable alternatives in the vicinity for them to move. Municipalities and project developers would have to realise senior-friendly flats and community housing projects in or near existing single-family house areas.

The project aims to create a good example and prepare it for municipalities in order to illustrate the opportunities and feasibility. The project has the following components:

1) Analyse problems and potentials: We prepare statistics and scenarios to show what opportunities lie in the economical use of housing. We write up the results in an appealing way and make them available to practical actors.

2) Setting a "good example": We aim to sensitise older owners in Germany's largest contiguous area of single-family houses in the commuter belt of Berlin to alternative forms of housing and provide them with action-oriented advice. To this end, we cooperate with the association "Lieber Zusammen" (English „better together“) which is currently developing a community housing project and offers concrete alternative housing.

3) Preparing a "good example" for communication: We intend to rehash the example to achieve widespread public awareness, especially among municipalities, property developers and multipliers.