Collective self-build for senior friendly communities. Studying the effects on social cohesion, social satisfaction and loneliness

Abstract

Neighbourhood social cohesion is important for the health and well-being of the ageing population. It is therefore crucial to study how we can create neighbourhoods with high levels of neighbourhood social cohesion where senior citizens can age in place. We test the hypotheses that collective self-build is positively related to social cohesion and (directly and indirectly) to social satisfaction and lower levels of loneliness. The study is based on survey data from 326 respondents of 50 years and over living in 25 collective self-build development projects and 19 conventionally developed housing projects in the Netherlands. The results of a structural equation model (SEM) reveal that collective self-build is directly related to neighbourhood social cohesion and lower feelings of social loneliness. We find an indirect effect on social satisfaction. These positive relationships hold while controlling for personal and household characteristics. This quantitative study adds scientific knowledge on the collective self-build development method and its relation to social cohesion, loneliness and satisfaction.