How can design and artistic practices contribute to shaping and envisioning futures and new ways of living and caring? This question grows increasingly urgent amid ageing populations, geopolitical conflicts, climate change and a housing crisis. Some of the proposed solutions, both from governments and society, take an individualistic approach, such as preparing emergency kits or investing strategically in housing. Others, however, emphasize collective resilience through care circles, collective housing and neighborhood networks. These latter approaches highlight care as a relational and collective practice that co-exists with caring for the environment and is rooted in equality and justice (Puig de la Bellacasa 2017). As such, communities of care are emerging as promising realm for bringing care into the public sphere. This study explores how communities of care form, what infrastructures support them and how design methods might active and sustain them. In short, we ask: What are ‘caring communities’, and how can design play a role in enabling and sustaining them?

Research in healthcare governance has shown that care has become increasingly professionalized, regulated and re-placed (Oldenhof, Postma and Bal, 2015). While this has led to more specialized services, it has also distanced care from local needs and everyday practices. In line with this, scholars in community development argue that traditional, place-based care structures often no longer meet people’s needs. Family ties and neighborhood bonds, once seen as reliable forms of support, do not always meet the needs of modern life. It is therefore essential to examine how people connect today, and what care means to them now and in the future. This asks for a shift beyond language and policy, towards emotional, embodied and spatial dimensions of care. Design-thinking can understand and evoke sensory experiences to deepen engagement within communities of care. Moreover, design practices can play a vital role by bridging formal healthcare systems and community initiatives.