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How Does Community-Based Housing Foster Social Participation in Older Adults: Importance of Well-Designed Common Space, Proximity to Resources, Flexible Rules and Policies, and Benevolent Communities

ABSTRACT As supporting active and healthy aging calls for different community-based housing alternatives, integrated knowledge of their impacts on older adults’ social participation is required. This study aimed to explore how community-based housing fostered social participation in older adults. A scoping review was used to systematically identify relevant studies according to 32 keywords in 8 electronic databases. Published during 2000–2021, the 46 studies were carried out in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia, documenting older adults’ social participation in six community-based housing models. Targeting different clienteles, these models mainly promote older adults’ social participation by providing: 1) accessible common space in a design favorable to social interactions; 2) proximity to resources; 3) flexible rules and policies that facilitate residents’ interactions with not only co-residents but community neighbors; and 4) benevolent communities. These results highlight the interactions between the physical and social environments; they suggest the importance of building benevolent communities as well as of sharing resources among residences and local communities to create a supportive living and neighborhood environment for active and healthy aging. Future studies should further explore the role of different stakeholders in developing benevolent communities by considering the dynamics between the person and the environment.