To mark the current Center for Architecture exhibition, Reset: Towards a New Commons, members of the interdisciplinary design team for the project Aging Against the Machine will present diverse interventions in the built environment that contribute to an intersectional, community-based approach to aging. Aging is not a problem to be solved. The problem is the range of barriers—physical, social, financial, and cultural—that make it difficult to grow older with dignity and in community. Older people in the United States are often either isolated at home or subjected to institutionalized forms of care. Sited in West Oakland, Aging Against the Machine advocates for alternative housing and community development scenarios for aging that open up multiple options for care, improve physical access to the city, enhance resource sharing, and strengthen community ties. The program will feature presentations by Aging Against the Machine’s lead designers, followed by a discussion with the larger team, moderated by Emanuel Admassu.
