When home no longer fits

why housing must move to the centre of ageing policy

Across the Nordic region, a subtle but significant transformation is unfolding. Populations are ageing, and although this development is gradual, its implications are far-reaching, reshaping how we think about housing, care and everyday life.

A shared ambition is to enable people to live independently for as long as possible. Yet much of the existing housing stock is not suited to ageing, and new solutions are needed.

At the same time, the Nordic welfare model is evolving. Housing has always been a corepart of this, helping to ensure inclusion, stability, and equal opportunities. However future welfare will depend on how well we rethink the relationship between housing, care and community.

While the challenges are similar, the responses differ. This anthology brings together experiences from across the Nordic region, showing how housing, care and policy can be better aligned. It highlights concrete approaches, from integrating healthcare into housing to developing new models and actors within the housing system. The key lesson is clear: many solutions already exist. The challenge now is to create the conditions that allow them to be implemented at scale.

It is our hope that this anthology will inspire further collaboration and learning across the Nordic countries.

Bent Madsen
Chairman of NBO – Housing Nordic

NBO is an association of housing organisations in the Nordic region

Housing Nordic - NBO - is an association of eight cooperative and public housing associations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Members represent nearly 2.5 million homes in the Nordic region.