2022 Volume 74 Issue 4 Pages 409-428
This paper focuses on intergenerational homeshare as a type of accommodation that has potential to alleviate the financial and psychological burdens of starting university and student life. It explores the possibilities and challenges of the Kyoto Solidaire Project, which promotes intergenerational homeshare, from the perspective of its development and the actual situation of the students who use it. The Kyoto Solidaire Project consists of four main participants: the prefectural government, matching service providers, students, and elderly people. Towards gaining the trust of elderly persons and students, the government and matching providers play a major role. Students who start living in a homeshare usually do so in the middle of their student life rather than at the time of starting university. This is due to differences in information students have and reliability from matching providers. Furthermore, the students who start an intergenerational homeshare change their lives due to the financial, psychological, and temporal benefits created by home sharing and their relationship with the elderly persons involved. From this perspective, this paper concludes that an intergenerational homeshare can be a home, namely a supportive environment for students as it provides psychological support, a personal relationship, and a place where they feel comfortable. However, in the context of starting university and student life, the home in intergenerational homeshare is variable. In addition, this paper argues that attention should be paid to educational spaces that encompass not only housing but also provide a home environment in which students can comfortably concentrate on their learning.
