Social and physical environments in senior communities: the Finnish experience

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss residents' views of social and physical environments in a co‐housing and in a senior housing setting in Finland. Also, the study aims to point out important connections between well‐being and built environment. Design/methodology/approach - The data include interviews and survey responses gathered in the cases. The results and analysis are presented at different case study levels, with the discussion and conclusions following this. Findings - The findings show that the physical environment and common areas have an important role to activate residents. When well‐designed common areas exist, a higher level of engagement can be achieved by getting residents involved in the planning and running of activities. Research limitations/implications - This paper discusses residents' experiences in two Finnish housing settings and it focuses on the housing market in Finland. Practical implications - The findings encourage investors and housing operators to design and invest common areas which could activate residents and create social contacts. Also, investors have to pay attention to the way these developments are managed. Originality/value - This study is the first to investigate the Finnish co‐housing setting and compare social and physical environments in a co‐housing and a senior house.