In With the Old: The Rising Population of Aging Adults
From about 1950 to 2000, the United States saw a boom in age-friendly architectural design, with different types of middle-class housing options becoming available, as well as federal support of independent apartment buildings for low-income seniors. As new typologies came to be regulated by health care codes, senior living also started to become very “medicalized.” The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 also played a major role in shifting the conversation surrounding inclusive design, ushering in more accessible infrastructure and building features.
Fast-forward to about 2000, as the aging baby boomer generation combined with the steady growth of American cities begins to create an urgent need for more age-friendly design options. Today, factoring in growing income inequality and the housing affordability crisis, the need for innovative senior housing is more acute than ever.
Looking to other cultures and regions throughout the world, and simply gaining a better understanding of the global landscape in terms of the aging population, can be extremely useful.
Examining “Global Approaches to Age-Friendly Design” at the 2018 Conference on Architecture
The 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture, held last week in New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, offered a diverse range of seminars, exhibitions, demonstrations, and educational opportunities for architecture professionals. This year’s event, centered on the theme “Blueprint for Better Cities,” featured events focusing on ways to improve the world’s cities, creating a better experience for the people who inhabit them while keeping in mind environmental and social concerns.
The “Global Approaches to Age-Friendly Design” panel — moderated by Christine Hunter, AIA, LEED AP BC+C, principal at Magnusson Architecture and Planning — delved into global design and architectural innovations aimed at meeting the needs of the steadily rising senior population.
Three panelists spoke, each covering a specific area of the world: covering Latin America, Samuel Tellechea, accessibility consultant at Steven Winter Associates; covering East Asia, Chia-Yi Huang, associate AIA at TLiArchitect; and, covering Northern Europe, Jennifer Sodo, PA, LEED AP BD+C, at Perkins Eastman.
How Regions Across the World Are Designing for an Aging Population
Latin America
Like the United States, Latin America is currently seeing a rapidly rising senior population, which is presenting a range of new challenges — especially for poorer countries lacking in sophisticated infrastructure. As Tellechea discussed, the elderly in Latin America contend with a range of issues: loss of income, decreased access to housing and stores, and, in some areas, poverty and inequality.
In this way, the aging population faces both “physical and psychological barriers” in navigating cities, and the region in general is facing an uncertain future, making it critical to establish proper infrastructure quickly and efficiently. To further complicate matters, many Latin American cities — such as La Paz, Bolivia — have mountainous or hilly terrain, making it even harder for older people to travel from point A to point B.
To meet these needs, several cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and Caracas, are implementing gondola transportation systems. Not only do these allow for greater accessibility, they’re also affordable and inclusive; people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can make use of the gondolas to travel to and from different areas within a city. La Paz, Bolivia currently has the most extensive system, with 10 different gondola lines in place.
East Asia
In East Asia, which has the largest population of elderly people in the world, families have traditionally taken care of aging family members by caring for them within their shared home. But this is becoming increasingly harder as shifting family structures, urbanization, and other factors create a need for new forms of elder housing and care.
In Japan, for instance, the mandatory long-term care insurance (LTCI) public program, which was launched in 2000, provides benefits for the long-term care of the elderly. A range of home, institutional, and community-based services are offered through the program, and everyone receives the same benefits regardless of income.
Huang also pointed to the Chang Gung Health and Culture Center in Taoyuan, Taiwan, as an example of innovative elder housing. At this multifaceted center, virtually everything is provided on-site: shops, social events, educational classes, housing, and even farming opportunities. This creates an inclusive atmosphere, in which seniors are surrounded by others and have ample opportunities to socialize and contribute to the community.
And in Hong Kong, Huang noted, some senior housing facilities are actually involving the elderly in the design process. The Welfare Council of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (the Anglican Church in Hong Kong) is working with the government to respond to the rise in the aging population, taking input from the elderly on specific design elements that would help residents move around a home with ease.
Northern Europe
Sodo closed out the panel, ending with a discussion on six different senior communities in Northern Europe, where communal elder living is very popular. Sodo noted that although these communities can take a long time to build, they offer a range of unique benefits.
For instance, at the Woongroep Tuinwijk rental housing complex in Utrecht, the Netherlands, residents are given the opportunity to make the most of their later years, with ample opportunities for socialization. This model is designed to extend seniors’ independent years, keeping them connected to a community and involved in the things they enjoy.
Sodo also cited Belong Villages, which has several locations throughout the United Kingdom. These housing centers are designed for people with dementia, offering a communal atmosphere that allows for both autonomy and a sense of community. Belong Village facilities are typically located on busy pedestrian streets, removing the idea of isolation as a prerequisite to aging. Similarly, at the Reigershoeve care facility, in Heemskerk, the Netherlands, seniors with dementia are encouraged to take part in the community and interact with others as much or as little as they like. Centered on a biophilic model — which takes into account the idea that humans need to interact with nature for fulfillment and a high quality of life — the center includes a farm with animals, an art studio, many gardens, and a greenhouse.
And at Hogewey Dementia Village, in Weesp, the Netherlands, “normalcy” is the key word. The village is made up of 23 households, all individually operated, with occupants housed together based on similar interests and habits. The ample amount of outdoor space provides residents with a connection to nature and the environment around them, while cutting down on the need for traditional physical therapy and staving off the restlessness often experienced by those with dementia.
Looking to the Future
As the aging popular continues to increase in the United States, it’s crucial that we, too, learn from the architectural advancements from global communities dealing with the same issues and concerns.
As shown by Tellechea, Huang, and Sodo, there is an array of already proven, successful models out there, with exciting innovations in transportation and housing allowing seniors to live with a sense of comfort, convenience, and community.
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