THE ENVIRONMENT OF AGING

The issue of housing and the wider environment for an ageing populatio n is one where there are many unanswered questions. In this paper a nu mber of key issues are discussed and for each of these the focus is on three aspects. These are the current situation, its reasonableness an d what research is needed in order to make decisions about policy and practice. The first three issues relate to the profile of older people themselves and the importance of home to them. The changing profile o f older people is not just about an ageing population but also about t he growing prominence of those with dementia, women, people from black and ethnic minority groups and one person households, yet little is k nown about the type of housing which should be provided. Of equal conc ern is the widening gap between those with a high standard of living ( including housing) and those with a low standard of living. The import ance of home to older people means that research must focus on how peo ple can be enabled to remain there, and also on the costs, financial a nd otherwise, to carers and to society. The next three issues relate t o the type of housing older people live in and moves in later life. Th e startling change in the tenure pattern with a growth of owner occupa tion brings problems as does the decline in social housing. The advant ages and disadvantages of the different types of housing-mainstream an d specialized-for older people are relatively well known. However the balance between the two needs more research as does that on retirement communities. While it is well known that there are peaks of migration in old age and that moves are often made in haste, little is known ab out the process of decision making. The final two topics concern links between housing and other aspects of older people's lives. On health more research is needed on temperature, mortality and morbidity, homel essness and accidents and especially on links between services. These topics have implications for planning and design. The emphasis should be on a multidisciplinary approach using a variety of quantitative and qualitative techniques with an emphasis on dissemination.