Accessible and affordable housing can enable community living, maximize independence, and promote health for vulnerable populations. However, the United States faces a shortage of affordable and accessible housing for low-income older adults and individuals living with disabilities. This shortage is expected to grow over the coming years given the population shifts leading to greater numbers of older adults and of individuals living with disabilities. Housing is a social determinant of health and has direct effects on health outcomes, but this relationship has not been thoroughly investigated. In December 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a public workshop to better understand the importance of affordable and accessible housing for older adults and people with disabilities, the barriers to providing this housing, the design principles for making housing accessible for these individuals, and the features of programs and policies that successfully provide affordable and accessible housing that supports community living for older adults and people with disabilities. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
This book embeds the principles of how we should approach the design of future housing for an ageing population, reminding us that this is not about ‘other people’, but about each of us. This book focuses on anticipating the needs and aspirations of the next generation of older people, and touches on what this implies for our communities, our towns and our cities, as well as for our living spaces. It will look at how well-designed buildings can facilitate the provision of care, support independence and wellbeing while providing companionship and stimulation. It will also examine how to ensure that buildings remain flexible over a long life. Dealing mainly with new-build, but with a section on adaptation and refurbishment, this book sets out the underlying design principles that should be applied and the early decisions that must be taken.
“Longer lifespans and the needs of the oldest old are challenging the senior living industry to find bold and compassionate solutions to combine programs and services with housing. Victor Regnier's latest research provides a thoughtful and insightful roadmap that arrays new ways of thinking from small-scale settings to community based options. International case studies offer possible solutions with the best thinking from around the globe...all with Vic's unique perspective of extracting themes and concepts that are broadly applicable and essential to addressing the needs of those that live on life's fragile edge.” —David Hoglund, FAIA “Supporting the independence of the oldest-old is a tough problem Victor Regnier addresses in his latest book on aging and housing. Like previous work, Victor relies on the best practices of northern Europeans to outline a three-prong approach. First, providing extremely comprehensive home care services in an "apartment for life" setting. Second, reforming the conventional nursing home by exploring small group style accommodations. Third, combining new technology with community based services to age in place. Case studies document the experiences of others in making these programs work here and abroad. The magnitude of the 90+ and 100+ population increases in the next 50 years make it clear how important it is to address this concern today.” —Edward Steinfeld Darch “The movement of health care from the institution to the home is a theme that Regnier identifies as one of the most important lessons in rethinking the issue of how to support the ever growing and increasingly aged older population here and abroad. He examines simple but profound approaches we can take in making long-term care a more humane proposition. Familiar themes like humanizing technology and optimizing the impact of the natural environment are brought together with clear policy thinking about what we need to do. The timing is good because the impact of this growing segment of society will have major repercussions on health care for the next 50-70 years.” —Stephan Verderber, Ph.D. A comprehensive guide to designing housing for the world’s aging population The dilemma of helping older people maintain their independence through better housing with services is growing. This book presents innovative solutions for those who create and provide housing for the world’s increasingly longer-living population. By focusing on three specific housing and service arrangements, it offers alternatives that provide greater freedom of choice than the current living arrangements that exist today. It presents selected examples of housing and service solutions from the US, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands to stimulate thinking about the possibilities of community-based service models. Housing Design for an Increasingly Older Population looks at a trio of options for housing the “oldest-old:” the Dutch Apartment/Condo for Life Model (AFL); decentralized Small/Green Houses; and the provision of enhanced personal and health care for people who want to stay in their own home. It offers unique and eye-opening chapters covering: what older people want; what age changes affect independence; demographics and living arrangements; how long-term care is defined; concepts and objectives for housing the frail; care giving and management practices that avoid an institutional lifestyle; innovative case studies; programs that encourage staying at home with service assistance; therapeutic use of outdoor spaces; how technology will help people stay independent; and more. Based on the author’s numerous conversations with other experts, as well as his examinations of high quality settings from Northern Europe and the US Building case study examples showcase innovative and compassionate solutions In-depth coverage of three major systems that work Examines successful programs such as PACE, Friendly Cities, NORC, and the “Village to Village Network” to demonstrate the progress made in helping older, frail people stay in their own homes for as long as possible Housing Design for an Increasingly Older Population: Redefining Assisted Living for the Mentally and Physically Frail is an important book for those who create, design, and manage assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, as well as for those who set policies regarding health, and personal care for our world’s aging society.
As life expectancy increases, older workers and the retired form a large and growing proportion of the world’s population. Professionals working to develop systems and environments need to better accommodate the user needs of the older adult. This new guide provides a practical introduction to human factors and the older adult. It considers the subject primarily from an engineering psychology perspective, heavily grounded in today’s scientific knowledge. The authors show how current understanding of age-related issues of perception, cognition, and movement control can be applied in practice. They also provide a reference source with guidelines and advice for design issues ranging from lighting, computer input device selection, and web site design, to training program development and work task design. The text draws on research-oriented work and presents this in a form that can be used by the broad audience of product designers, health care practitioners, managers, and others who need answers to problems and require sound recommendations for design.
Live longer and bring more control, meaning, and joy to all your days -- an illustrated book full of smart, simple ideas to help us experience it that way. New Aging invites us to take everything we associate with aging—the loss of freedom and vitality, the cold and sterile nursing homes, the boredom—and throw it out the window. As an architect, Matthias Hollwich is devoted to finding ways in which we can shape our living spaces and communities to make aging a graceful and fulfilling aspect of our lives. Now he has distilled his research into a collection of simple, visionary principles—brought to life with bright, colorful illustrations—that will inspire you to think creatively about how you can change your habits and environments to suit your evolving needs as you age. With advice ranging from practical design tips for making your home safer and more comfortable to thought-provoking ideas on how we work, relax, and interact with our neighbors, and even how we eat, New Aging will inspire you and your loved ones to live smarter today so you can live better tomorrow.
"Quality living in old age is one of the key topics of our time. This book presents innovative forms of living, intelligent concepts and individual solutions for people with physical or cognitive limitations. Integrative forms of housing transcending the boundaries between individual, collective and assisted forms of living. The updated new edition includes new current international case studies on integrated housing and neighbourhood concepts"--
Provide a comfortable living environment for the aging! Aging in Place: Designing, Adapting, and Enhancing the Home Environment gives you a complete examination of current trends in adaptive home designs for older adults. As a therapist, designer, architect, builder, home planner, social worker, community organizer, or gerontologist, Aging in Place will show you innovative home designs and studies for creating environments that offer optimal living for aging adults. Complete with diagrams, floor plans, and tables, Aging in Place helps you to improve the quality of life for the elderly by offering them state-of-the-art designs that encourage independence and dignity. This unique and exciting book covers topics such as universal design which strives to create everyday environments and products like door handles and light switches that are usable by all people to the greatest extent possible, regardless of age or ability. Aging in Place will also show you how to: use follow-up visits by occupational therapists to ensure successful use of home modifications create environments that are helpful for vision rehabilitation by using controlled lighting and color schemes evaluate the quality of life for elderly people living in personal dwellings, specialized housing, and nursing homes explore architectural barriers and the uses of helping devices for elderly people examine research critiques of adaptive toilet equipment investigate modifications that have been made in homes for the elderly in India analyze ways in which elderly people have changed their homes to make the telephone more accessible Aging in Place is a complete guide to understanding the needs and latest trends in optimizing the living space of elderly persons. The book gives you access to several studies on elderly people's environmental needs and preferences in regard to modifications in personal and public dwellings. This information will assist you with better serving the elderly by helping them live more independently.
Destined to become the defining work on the subject, this timely reference addresses the single fastest growing segment of the senior living industry -- assisted living for those who are unable to live independently but who do not need intensive nursing home care, meals, housekeeping, or twenty-four hour access to medical assistance. Victor Regnier?s visually rich guide includes dozens of design solutions from successful assisted living facilities along with fifteen case studies from the U.S. and Europe. The book also covers recent developments in the industry including major changes in financing, growth of dementia, and interest in aging-in-place. All in all, this is the most comprehensive guide to assisted living design that you'll find in any single volume.
The guide is aimed primarily at urban planners, but older citizens can use it to monitor progress towards more age-friendly cities. At its heart is a checklist of age-friendly features. For example, an age-friendly city has sufficient public benches that are well-situated, well-maintained and safe, as well as sufficient public toilets that are clean, secure, accessible by people with disabilities and well-indicated. Other key features of an age-friendly city include: well-maintained and well-lit sidewalks; public buildings that are fully accessible to people with disabilities; city bus drivers who wait until older people are seated before starting off and priority seating on buses; enough reserved parking spots for people with disabilities; housing integrated in the community that accommodates changing needs and abilities as people grow older; friendly, personalized service and information instead of automated answering services; easy-to-read written information in plain language; public and commercial services and stores in neighbourhoods close to where people live, rather than concentrated outside the city; and a civic culture that respects and includes older persons.
