Frame your Design Challenge #1 - Family Care

1) What is the problem/question you’re trying to solve?

How does the concept of care change within non-traditional family models and alternative living situations?

2) State the ultimate impact you’re trying to have

Give people the feeling that they are being cared for.

3) What are some possible solutions to your problem?

Multigenerational living concepts, community meals, platform/space for interaction and communication (games, workshops, events, service exchange…)

4) Write down some of the context and constraints that you’re facing

Demographic differences in the definition of ‘family’ and ‘care’

5) Does your original question need a teak? Try it again.

How can we give people the feeling of being cared for when apart from a traditional (ideal) family structure?

Temporary projects/ services or complete lifestyle redesign?

Hi @Pauline,

Since you’re into family care I thought Alberto’s post about 3 adult couples going into an alternative living situation together might help. They are doing this as a personal project and a way of tweaking their own needs. Here it is, let us know if you want to connect to other people who have experienced this or new models, as a way to go deeper into your design.

I don’t know if this is about family per se anymore. Most often I hear about initiatives where you have supplementary support offered to a group - through projects that are services, like co-work/ living spaces for mobile travellers (although it doesnt get to solving the deeper care problem).

A more interesting movement I keep coming across is around downshifting and how that redefines the way we relate to the very idea of family and connections - the latest I’ve read about is @vvorski’s idea of smart villages, let me know if this is interesting for you:

Ultimately, what we crave are more meaningful moments and life-experiences; more time to spend following our curiosity. Time to build nourishing relationships and friendships. Time to enjoy the simple things in life and really experience the world. Time to be present with our loved ones, our friends, acquaintances and the strangers we meet along the way. Yet too often our jobs starve us of what is most precious — the time and space to express who we truly are — social, curious, playful and purposeful humans. […]

We believe that there is a growing demand for smart villages where we can design our ideal balanced lives. Places where we can live in harmony with nature. We can create a safe and happy home for our families. And we don’t have to sacrifice our careers and dreams to make this happen. We can continue to build and participate in virtual companies, occasionally travelling to cities for important meetings or conferences.

Hi Noemi,

again, sorry for taking so long to reply. I’ll try to be better with catching up on comments (somehow I don’t seem to be getting notifications when somebody comments my post and then I forget very quickly).

Thank you for your input! As you might have seen, our project group have now settled on a slightly different topic as part of the mental and spiritual resilience challenge. Still, I think we wilI keep these reflections in mind, particularly the idea of smart villages. I’m not sure I quite understand how it works yet, I’ll have to look into it.

Yet too often our jobs starve us of what is most precious — the time and space to express who we truly are — social, curious, playful and purposeful humans. […]. We believe that there is a growing demand for smart villages where we can design our ideal balanced lives. Places where we can live in harmony with nature. We can create a safe and happy home for our families. And we don’t have to sacrifice our careers and dreams to make this happen.

We are still a little unsure what direction we are headed in, but I do think this relates to the question of emotional wellbeing and the starting point that @NeleG set with her post on the pressure to function and succeed at the risk of burnout, as well as @Omri_Kaufmann’s thoughts on who we share our feelings with and how we might facilitate sharing with people close to us - if that is ‘family’ by any definition or something else.