Portierato Sociale e Custodia Sociale nei contesti abitativi per la longevità: nuove figure di prossimità per la costruzione di legami comunitari

The experience of Buurtzorg in the Netherlands—an innovative model of community-based home care—provides a reference point for rethinking housing environments for longevity. In Italy, regulatory and design frameworks have introduced the roles of social custodian and social concierge, particularly in Lombardy (Regional Law 16/2016) and Liguria, as tools of housing welfare. These figures, multidisciplinary yet characterized by a strong educational function, are part of ageing in place programs and of social housing and cohousing experiences, fostering the building of community ties, combating isolation, and supporting personal agency and life projects. In line with the WHO’s Age-Friendly Cities framework, this paper proposes a pedagogical interpretation of the social custodian as a new professional profile able to integrate care, education, and urban proximity. Operational domains (public housing, cohousing, condominiums, senior housing, mixed neighborhoods), outcome indicators, criteria for assessing social impact, and especially competency profiles can therefore be outlined, with the aim of developing recommendations for policy and professional training.