New report from Ambition for Ageing – Social Infrastructure: How shared spaces make communities work

Ambition for Ageing’s new report written by partners at MICRA, Social Infrastructure: How shared spaces make communities work, argues that to reduce social isolation, we need a diversity of social infrastructure to ensure chance social encounters with a diversity of people.

The report suggests that:
• Having shared spaces in our neighbourhoods is vital for reducing social isolation for older people and as a result forms an important part of developing age-friendly neighbourhoods
• Different kinds of social infrastructure, such as cafes, parks and libraries, help support different types and levels of social capital (the social connections individuals have)
• Social infrastructure provides importance spaces to have everyday encounters, which are important for reducing social isolation amongst older people
• Social infrastructure that supports intergenerational and intercultural encounters are important for community cohesion and resilience
• The existence of informal shared places are growing in importance as the responsibility for service delivery continues to move from the state to local communities
• Despite its often informal and unintended nature social infrastructure is not naturally occurring and therefore requires direct investment and support

For further information, and to download the full report and briefing, visit: www.ambitionforageing.org.uk/socialinfrastructure