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With more extreme climates and frequent 'shock events' like pandemics, boosting the resilience of communities and the built environment is crucial. offers free resources to almshouse residents, staff, social housing providers, and anyone interested in strengthening communities to deal with change.Ìý

¹û¶³Ó°Ôº has led a 30-month research project with seven community partners who provide high-quality accommodation for older residents. These almshouse charities, some of which have existed for centuries, offer valuable lessons on resilience for both their communities and society at large.Ìý

The Knowledge Hub presents 30 themes and several case studies on resilience,Ìýdrawing on the experiences of residents, staff, and trustees fromÌýcommunities whose roots go back centuriesÌýand who are still developing and building new accommodation for their localities.

This project is the largest and most comprehensive research initiative with English almshouse communities.Ìý

Dr Niamh Murtagh, the Principal Investigator for the project, said:Ìý"We are delighted to announce the launch of the Knowledge Hub. We hope it will offer a valuable set of resources to anyone involved in providing housing for older people or, in fact, any form of social housing. The lessons we learnt from our wonderful almshouse community partners can be applied to any community. We looked at resilience through the lenses of social resilience, built environment resilience and governance resilience, and the themes in the Knowledge HubÌýshow how interconnected these are."

Martyn Craddock, CEO of United St Saviour’s Charity, said: "The website looks amazing, and full of brilliant resources. We are proud to be hosting this on our website."

Dr Alison Pooley, Chair of an Almshouse Charity, said: "This is a wonderful output for the project, really useful and totally unique in the world of almshouses!"

Partners

• Members: Niamh Murtagh, Evelyn Callahan,Ìýand Jenny Pannell from ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, and Alison Pooley from the University of Suffolk
• CharityÌýPartners: United St Saviour's Charity, Sir Josiah Mason Trust, Whiteley Homes Trust, Durham Aged Mineworkers Homes Association, Southwark Charities, Legacy East Almshouse Partnership, and Bristol CharitiesÌý
• Funder: The Dunhill Medical TrustÌý
• Supported by: The Almshouse Association, Housing LIN, and Housing Diversity NetworkÌý