[Caring communes and locally responsible communities. Model approaches to securing successful aging and care in the neighborhood].

Background: This article reports on two projects both concerned with how to initiate and support independent and satisfying aging in community settings and how to promote social participation in neighborhood solidarity in the future. The community plays an important role in this context, supporting independent living, social connectedness and individual well-being in old age.

Aim: Against the background of demographic and social changes and the related social challenges, the pilot projects focused on the problems of how the process of aging, which from an individual perspective can be seen as a life period with declining mobility and reduced options for action, can be influenced in a positive way.