Feeling happy in a place called home is the ultimate objective. But moving to a new city or a bigger home will not directly increase feelings of happiness. Instead, one’s happiness is influenced by friendships and social interactions with other human beings. 

An ApartmentLife survey “shows that a happy, connected community are more likely to stay [in their homes], even if rent goes up”. It attributes this to one key factor: friendship. Residents with seven or more friends in their building are 47% more likely to renew their lease. The survey is not dissimilar to the work of anthropologist Robin Dunbar, known as Dunbar’s Number theory, which suggests that a community generally consists of no more than 150 individuals.

He posits that people can only maintain a tight inner circle with 5 others, close friendships with 15 individuals and have no more than 150 meaningful contacts. With greater accessibility to their residents, shared living operators have the advantage to facilitate human interactions within properties and build meaningful communities. 

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The Friendship Factor

For the future of shared living, social sustainability might be the bottom line.

“Social sustainability is about identifying and managing your business impact on people”, including employees, supply chain, customers, and local communities. Also known as inclusive growth, social sustainability is creating equal opportunities that raise living standards.

This might focus on social inclusion, building prosperous communities, improving health, cultural engagement, and environmental sustainability, which is in an approach outlined by the University of Manchester (UK). To enhance the lives of their residents, shared living operators ought to consider these factors.

When community building in shared living spaces is undervalued, it can be detrimental to both businesses and residents. For example, at some of the world’s biggest coliving spaces, huge losses were experienced during the pandemic, as residents didn’t feel supported during this difficult time and they didn’t know their co-residents well enough to stay. This problem wasn’t limited to coliving spaces. A survey of UK students found that 50% felt lonely and excluded from their university community during 2020, with 59% of those living in student halls.

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By Students, For Students

Typically in student accommodation, it’s expected that resident interactions are self-organised by students themselves, rather than prompted by community managers. Students only tend to live in specific student facilities for a limited time, which benefits operators as they hike up the prices for each new cohort; over the last 10 years, accommodation costs have soared by 61%, according to the National Union of Students (NUS). Community building simply isn’t on their agenda.

But, there are many shared living operators who do value the essence of “co” in coliving. The hybrid hospitality concept, The Student Hotel (now known as The Social Hub), was founded with the belief that students deserve better living environments, although their spaces are not exclusively for students as they invite anyone with a “student spirit” to stay. By enabling human interactions in various ways, for instance, opening up events to the local community and offering a bike rental service for fun bonding experiences, they not only increase resident satisfaction, but also contribute to one of their internal goals: maximising positive impact on the community.‍

‍UK-based Gravity Coliving started with one building and a small team, whose dream was to make their residents feel at home. Their community-building efforts have been optimised by the use of technology implemented in their spaces. And it worked; in 2020, Gravity Coliving experienced enormous demand from “people wanting to join purely because they knew we had a community”, says COO Robert Birch.

Community-building has had a huge role to play in their success, which no doubt has led to their rapid expansion from one property to five across London. For Gravity Coliving, and The Student Hotel, social value is at the heart of what they do.  

From coliving to student accommodation, to cohousing and housing of multiple occupancies (HMOs), shared living in all its forms is making human settlements more inclusive, resilient and safe, whilst contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 11: sustainable cities and communities. But, shared living should not be limited to accommodating young students and graduates. Nor should it be viewed as temporary housing (and private spaces the size of micro hotel rooms shouldn’t be the norm in shared living properties either).

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Shifting Demographic Trends

By 2030, a sixth of the world’s population will be aged over 60. “This new elderly generation will have far fewer family members to look after them, and specifically fewer younger persons to turn to when they need them”, explains a Space10 article. They’ll require a living solution that supports them in later life, and their needs differ from those of the younger generations. “Genuine community is essential, and a sense of neighbourly-ness, understanding the importance of looking out for each other and getting along”, describes advocate Suzanne Noble.

Shared living spaces for later life ought to be designed as people-first environments that allow an element of choice whilst being future-proof. For instance, if operators choose sites within a town centre, or at least close to public transport links to a town centre, it helps residents maintain a sense of independence, and feel purposeful and empowered, which boosts their overall health and well-being. Shared living spaces for later life are currently few and far between. If they want their spaces to succeed in the long term, operators need to apply an inclusive approach to their businesses. 

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A Utopian Vision

Intergenerational coliving might be an ideal to strive towards. Yet, there are some examples of shared living that break the mould, like Cummari - a place for solo female travellers, digital nomads and artists, but all genders, ages and identities are welcome to experience communal living and working in the Sicilian property, which was lovingly restored in collaboration with local artists.

Since opening its doors, Cummari has broken down age barriers, having hosted women aged between 30 and 60, which meets consumer demands (statistics suggest that 81% of solo female travellers are aged over 45 years). As such, Cummari can be described as a future-proof and multi-generational space.

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The Environmental Variable‍

‍A discussion about sustainability could not be complete without mentioning the environment. Researcher Dr. Penny Clark says that space is “the most valuable thing that residents within northern hemisphere-based” communities can share to reduce energy consumption, with heating contributing to the greatest form of energy usage by UK households. Additionally, integrating technology solutions in smart buildings and shared living spaces, such as sensored lighting and heating, helps to reduce emissions.

With smart buildings, Deloitte claims, “people no longer occupy a space, they engage with a place”. Property developers face the challenge of creating communal spaces that are the right size and in an ideal location that become regularly used. User needs are dependent on habits; technology can heat map usage to create the most efficient designs. SALTO Systems access management solutions gather data to help operators understand resident habits, making new spaces more usable and sustainable.

The results of One Shared House 2030, a participatory experiment conducted with Space10, show that on average, most people value socialising with other people as one of the most important factors offered by shared living spaces. By prioritising social value, community building and human connection in shared living environments, operators can make a positive impact on the lives of residents and their shared living experiences. This is what social sustainability is all about: making people's lives better and happier, which will benefit businesses in return.