How do older people want to live?

Ritstjórn
People in the city center on a sunny day.

Quality of life communities An informational meeting on housing development for older adults will explore the philosophy behind quality of life communities for seniors, alongside models to learn from. The meeting takes place at Reykjavík City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 27, starting at 9 a.m. Light morning refreshments will be served at 8:30 a.m.

Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson is hosting the meeting. His opening address is titled Quality of life communities: large-scale development for seniors in Reykjavík.

Models and experiences from elsewhere

Three international guest speakers with strong insight into urban planning and housing development, including housing for older adults, will share their experience developing and operating properties.

  • Per Schulze is the head of Virke at PensionDanmark. Virke comprises projects under "50+ bofællesskaber," a form of housing that the PensionDanmark pension fund has built or plans to build. The fund has published a project description on the subject. He has been a primary driving force behind shared housing for seniors, or "senior bofællesskaber," as it is known in Denmark. He previously worked at Realdania, leading strategic projects. He also brings broad experience from his time as a development director at By og Havn.

  • Maria Vassilakou is a former deputy mayor of Vienna, where she focused primarily on urban development and planning matters. She currently works as an urban development advisor at Vienna Solutions and is involved in the development of Keldnaland, among other projects. Maria's talk is titled Best case Vienna: The role of social housing in the world's No. 1.

  • Brent Toderian is a former planning commissioner of Vancouver and Calgary, and an advisor at Toderian Urban Works. Like Maria, Brent is participating in the development of Keldnaland. He also has many years of experience addressing complex challenges in urban development, transportation, and change management.

The guest speakers' presentations will be in English, as will the panel discussions with them and the mayor. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions of the international guests and the mayor.

Strong response to the call for quality of life communities

Last spring, Reykjavík City called for partners and ideas regarding quality of life communities. The response was robust, drawing 23 submissions. Several came from developers wanting to build in the spirit of the quality of life community concept on their own lots. Five of them will present their ideas at the informational meeting:

  • Reitir
  • Köllunarklettur
  • Þorpið EcoCompany
  • Klasi
  • Íþaka

How do older people want to live?

Interest groups and associations are also keen to take part in the development of quality of life communities. The program concludes with a panel discussion titled How do older adults want to live? Participants include representatives from seniors' organizations and Reykjavík City managers.

You can view the full program on the event web page, Quality of life communities of the future. The meeting will be livestreamed on that page. A recording will be available afterward, along with the speakers' slides.

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