Lifelong
Overview
New York City must act now to care for older adults and all New Yorkers as we age.
One in five New Yorkers is over 65 years old, the fastest-growing age group in the city, and the population is only expected to boom. However, many older adults are facing their golden years with little support. A long history of housing segregation and disinvestment has left older adults with few options for dignified, affordable, and accessible housing.
In 2022, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development released Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness, identifying older adult housing as an urgent priority. Last year, City Council passed #AgeInPlaceNYC, expanding the rights and improving the lives of older New Yorkers. With these priorities to guide us, we must do more to create affordable and accessible housing opportunities that allow older adults to experience stronger social connections, greater independence and autonomy, and better health benefits. We also need to design spaces, policies and programs that equip older adults to move accessibly through the city, build multigenerational connections, and navigate the climate crisis.
How can we reimagine housing for older adults that facilitates stronger communities? And how can we creatively design and program other spaces to provide holistic care and support the agency of older adults?
We invite you to join the 2024 Forefront Fellowship, Lifelong, to imagine a New York City where older adults can thrive with support and dignity.
Fellows
The 2024-25 Forefront Fellows are an interdisciplinary cohort of architects, planners, designers, developers, aging advocates and artists shaping the future of New York City.
Events
06.27.24
On June 27, candidates interested in the Forefront Fellowship are welcome to attend an information session to learn more about the program.
About Forefront
Forefront is an annual leadership development fellowship dedicated to cultivating emerging leaders in urban design, development, policy and advocacy.
Each year, an interdisciplinary cohort of 25 Forefront Fellows investigates how design can address a social or political challenge facing New York City. Over the course of 10 months, Fellows explore wide-ranging approaches to the program topic in partnership with a city agency and through independent projects. Fellows build new skills and knowledge, expand their professional community and develop meaningful projects with impact beyond the fellowship.
Forefront is grounded in an equity-based approach to urban design, which shapes the composition of each cohort, the selection of the program theme and the program’s ethos.
Partners
We are pleased to partner with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the first phase of the Forefront Fellowship.
Support Our Work
Forefront is supported by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. This program is also supported by our Board of Directors, Director’s Circle, and company and individual members. Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
To learn more about supporting Lifelong, please contact Miranda Bellizia, miranda@urbandesignforum.org.