Healthy Places and the Social Life of Older Adults
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The impact that social life has upon later life has received significant investigation within gerontology for decades. Main effect influences are exemplified by social relations directly encouraging healthier lifestyle choices and providing needed care when one is ill. Concerning social isolation, it is clear that not only the microenvironment of possessions but both the mesoenvironment of architecture and the macroenvironment of neighborhood design and settlement patterns play a significant role. This chapter examines three intentionally designed and planned places that provide the social and physical connectedness necessary to support healthy aging among historically marginalized populations: older adults across the United States living in or with accessory dwelling units (ADUs); Chicagos ethnically and racially diverse older adults who find an affordable third space at MathersMore Than a Caf (MMC); and Latinx immigrants moving to a senior housing mixed-use development from Centro Civico Mexicano in Salt Lake City.