THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENT - HOME, TECHNOLOGY, AND FUTURE AGING

Two issues of technology and aging that need to be resolved before pot ential residential environments for older adults become habitable are (a) the extent to which technological advances that would support habi tability are user-friendly to this population and (b) the extent to wh ich retrofits or inclusions in new architecture are affordable. The no tion that older people are uncomfortable with new technologies or unab le to adapt to them does not seem credible, considering that all manne r of electronic devices have been adopted by this cohort. Engineers wi shing to apply new technologies to housing must consider the future ne eds of individual households. To the extent that most Americans will c ontinue to prefer to age in place, methods of centralizing information systems must be developed, so that a wide range of services can be lo cally delivered. If electronic communication and control systems are t o function on behalf of the elderly or disabled within the home, singl e-call backup and repair services, at a local level, must also be imme diately available. Older people's priorities in daily living dictate w hat they need in terms of new technologies.