Urban ageing: the social inclusion of senior citizens.
Date
2013-08-28
Authors
Caldeira, Ryan
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Abstract
“Old age can be a time when the reasons for living seem uncertain. Prospects for
future fulfi lment, even enjoyment, seem remote, not just on the basis of how older
people view their condition, but also from dominant social ideas about the inevitability
of future decline.” (Scrutton: 1989, p161)
Most fi nancially independent senior citizens will relocate from a family home to a
retirement village as the pressures of daily activities become diffi cult to achieve without
help. A retirement village is an environment that allows the elderly access to quality
health care and assistance with daily activities. Retirement villages offer security to the
residents, generally as walled off estates, paroled by security guards. Although these
estates offer the solution to the concerns of growing old, health care and security of
self and belonging, these estates isolate residents form the general public and limit
access to public facilities. The community established within the village is amongst
people of the same age group and many residents feel that this interaction is not as
positive as expected. Many residents are constantly looking for activities outside the
walls of the retirement village and often feel confi ned within the village itself. There is
a need for social interaction, purpose and identity.
This thesis aims to fi nd an appropriate architectural solution for re-integrating the
elderly into contemporary society by pursuing an architecture of social integration.