7 minute read
Why Multi-generational Housing is Sustainable
NewSchool of Architecture and Design
Touché Volume 2; Student Publication
by Camille Summers
Have you ever seen a vecindad?
Vecindads combine individual apartments that surround a courtyard, and residents often share common areas, usually kitchens and bathrooms. Vecindads became famous as grand Spanish structures. Later taken over by the Mexican working class, vecindads became the homes of many generations of Mexican families. Multi-generational housing is shared intergenerational housing that includes multiple generations living under one roof.
This style of housing aids sustainability because it not only allows for efficient energy and land use, but it also promotes the passing down of sustainable practices from one generation to the other. To get a better understanding of just how multi-generational housing and sustainability work together, I conducted interviews with seven of my peers of different cultural backgrounds and asked them about their family life as well as sustainable practices they’ve used in their childhood and adulthood.
But first, let’s talk about what sustainability is and what it looks like. Sustainability is defined as the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time. This can be things like recycling and saving grocery bags— or even better, having reusable bags. For many of the people I interviewed, these were the two most common practices. Some other responses included donating clothing, carpooling, and being sure to make efficient use of their resources.
The one outlier in the interview responses came from my roommate, Izzy Lurie, a native of Northern Californian who grew up in San Francisco. Izzy explained that her parents were very adamant about teaching her and her brother the importance of composting and saving water. As a family, they would compost every week, and her parents made sure they were also as educated as possible about the water crisis in California. These kinds of practices and knowledge can easily be passed down from generation to generation, especially when multiple generations live in one household.
With multigenerational housing, younger generations get the opportunity to learn from their elders. Many of the people I interviewed weren’t previously familiar with the term “multi-generational housing,” but they were readily accepting of the idea, including its potential association with living more sustainably. In addition to its benefit for limiting our footprint on the environment, multigeneration housing may also be beneficial in other ways to its families. About half of the people I interviewed said they wished they had grown up with grandparents and could imagine how multi-generational housing could have created a positive environment in their households, especially regarding family bonding and intergenerational relationships.
Perhaps the biggest “positive” of multi-generational housing is simply financial. One classmate, Tomas Galindo told me, “It is almost impossible not to live in a multi-generational house in today’s economy.” Multi-generational housing may save on the cost and use of many household resources. In fact, my older cousin, Tyra Rodgers, an African American woman with Caribbean roots, says she likes “the idea of an entire family pitching in to live in one space with only a small sense of separation,” and that along with saving resources and space and cutting down on costs, it also gives families the opportunity to maintain a sense of community. She and her partner, Kirklan Bryson, a west coaster with southern roots, agreed that multi-generational housing is also a great way to reduce a family’s carbon footprint.
Most people agreed that multi-generational housing helps build closer familial relationships. I asked each interviewee what typical quality time with their families might look like. Most said they bond with family by sharing meals, watching TV, or playing games. My roommate, Roya Akbari, who is originally from Afghanistan but moved to the Unites States in 2016, said she grew up in a family of five and understood how important it was culturally for her family to share breakfast, lunch, and dinner together every day. She talked about how different this was from the culture in the U.S. because here, most everyone works and families don’t always get to share meals together.
Tomas Galindo emphasized how important it was for his family to share meals together but stressed that it is challenging because of conflicting work schedules. There was a consensus amongst interviewees that multi-generational housing, while beneficial, may also have some challenges. According to one of my roommates, Natalie Longoria who has Mexican roots, multi-generational housing, requires maintaining a positive environment which relies heavily on good communication between family members.
This feedback proved to be very informative, but I also wanted to know more so I decided to conduct a few more interviews with some people who had slightly older perspectives. I invited three people aged 51, 62, and 73 to share their stories. What I found was surprising yet encouraging. The older generation talked positively about the same sustainable practices from their childhoods as my peers. They all reported participating in recycling, donating clothes, using hand-me-downs, saving grocery bags, etc.
They all agreed that the behaviors they had learned as children living in multi-generational households carried over to adulthood. My older participants also stressed the importance of good communication amongst family members and how “everyone in the household must do their part”.
Multi-generational housing not only helps to aid familial relationships, but it also results in the passing down of practices that can aid more sustainable approaches to living. I also gathered a bit more of background on my roommates: Izzy Lurie's grandmother on her father’s side was first generation with ancestry from Poland. Her maternal grandfather’s lineage is from Scotland and Ireland. She told me that her maternal grandmother lived with her family for five years from middle school to high school. When they lived in San Francisco, Izzy remembers the grandmother would usually be at home. Family dinners were always eaten together and everyone watched TV together.
Izzy remembers that as the kids got older, her brother started spending a lot of time going out with friends. Eventually, she did the same until less family time was spent together. This scenario is probably typical for most families. Izzy also remembers that her family would compost food waste every week, recycle and save grocery bags as well as buy reusable bags. She said her family also tried to conserve as much water as possible and never used water bottles. Being from California, they were aware of preserving water and they’d take timed showers, avoid watering the lawn or washing cars in the summer. Izzy believes that having a multi-generational household opens your eyes to new experiences and finding ecofriendly solutions
Natalie Longoria said having a Mexican cultural background naturally lends itself to having multi-generational homes which are great and she also stressed that it comes with challenges. Natalie said that in her culture it is common for grandparents to live in the same house for many years with the family. Having more family members in a household can help raise children and provide more hands around the house to help with chores. Natalie’s mom always made her aware of proper recycling, minimizing waste when it came to household items and food, and they all had chores to do starting from a young age. This teaches basic life skills. Natalie also stressed that her mom and aunt were similar because they both look at things and never view them as a “one time use” thing. Everything can be used again for something.
Tomas Galindo is also a student at NewSchool. He grew up in a Hispanic home, however it was one where most of his family spoke English, so he never learned Spanish. He has two sisters and one brother from his mom’s side, and a sister from his dad’s side. His parents divorced when he was two and he lived with his mom. He said that if one of his younger siblings ever needed a favor or ride, he was always available. That’s how families support one another.
