Urban ageing: the social inclusion of senior citizens.

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.