Naturally Occurring Retirement Community-Supportive Service Program

Summary

Devolution is defined as the transfer of power or authority from a central government to a local government. This article addresses federal policies on housing for the elderly and the devolution of funding for federal senior housing and describes two aspects of devolution of federal housing policy for the elderly. One, it points out the decreasing interest in senior housing by federal authorities as indicated by the decreased amount of funds allocated for this purpose. Two, it emphasizes the need for supportive, assistive services for residents of senior housing and how federal funds have not addressed this need adequately or sufficiently. As a consequence, there have emerged Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) in New York State, a housing arrangement that provides supportive and health services to all eligible residents. The article concludes with a discussion of policy implications and the need for additional research before replicating this model.     

The Design of Mainstream Housing for Downsizers

ABSTRACT

In the United Kingdom, the supply of new homes to the housing market tends to be focused either on “general-needs” housing on the one hand, or on special-needs housing for the elderly on the other, with relatively few people moving into homes that will support their independence as they age. Against the backdrop of the UK's chronic housing shortage and the UK government's recent Housing Standards Review, this case study of a mainstream housing development—which meets so-called “Lifetime Homes” in “Lifetime Neighborhoods” standards—identifies specific design and locational features that have attracted “downsizers” to buy into it, as well as those they subsequently found problematic.     

Senior Housing in Sweden—A Question of Class Differences and Collective Aging

Abstract

Private senior housing in Sweden has become an alternative to accommodation for elderly in the public welfare system. In the study presented here, the aim was to elucidate this senior housing from the perspective of the residents. The questions that were asked were: (1) Why have the residents chosen senior housing? (2) What are the differences between residents in rental apartments and tenant-owned housing cooperatives? (3) What advantages and disadvantages do the residents think that senior housing has? The interviews showed that: (1) The seniors have chosen the housing for reasons other than its being senior housing; (2) the residents in rental apartments come from the working class and socialize in collective forms, while the residents in cooperatives come from the middle class and socialize through individual initiatives; and (3) the advantages they experience in senior housing are that it involves activities and community. The disadvantages derive from the architectural planning. When the building has a communal yard or entrance, integrity can be threatened and the sense of collective aging can be a Strain.     

The Continuation of Dwelling: Safety as a Situated Effect of Multi-Actor Interactions Within Extra-Care Housing in Sweden

This article examines the space–time situatedness of residing within extra-care housing (ECH) in Sweden. EHC constitutes an example of ordinary housing but is often categorized, along with senior housing, as “in-between housing.” What differentiates the extra-care housing from the ordinary is an age limit for moving in, the provision of communal facilities, and the presence of staff at certain times each week. Two housings with different environmental and architectural conditions have been analyzed through spatial analyses, observations, and interviews with residents (n?=?18). The article concludes that the two different assemblings enabled two very different possibilities for accessing “safe aging.” One offered opportunities for the continuation of identities which contributed to feelings of safety, and one demanded the reconstitution of identities for developing meaning in the new housing.     

Meeting the Needs of Visually Impaired People Living in Lifetime Homes

ABSTRACT

This article explores perceptions on the suitability and effectiveness of Lifetime Homes standards (LTHS) for those with visual impairment in Northern Ireland. LTHS are a series of mandatory United Kingdom public-sector housing design interventions, providing a model for ensuring accessible and adaptable homes throughout an occupant's life span. An aging demographic with increasing incidence of diabetes has led to rising numbers of elderly, visually impaired people wanting to remain in their homes for longer. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 key stakeholders and thematically analyzed. Although findings show that employing LTHS offers benefits to visually impaired residents, shortcomings were also identified. Evidence indicates a need for policy makers, health-care professionals, and housing associations to modify practices to better meet the housing needs of visually impaired people. Findings may also be applicable to those with other impairments and disabilities in relation to housing for elderly residents.     

Housing first: paradigm or program?

Sobriety, treatment compliance and celibacy have traditionally been behavioral requirements for housing persons who are homeless, regardless of the circumstances leading to loss of home. This remnant of the British Poor Laws is based on the premise that personal and behavioral flaws lead to housing loss and must be remediated before a person can live in permanent housing. A recent approach has reversed this logic and predicates the ability to change based on first providing stable and long-term housing. Termed “housing first,” it is both a housing philosophy or paradigm that everyone deserves a home of their own, regardless of personal circumstances, prior to engaging in any rehabilitative efforts, it also describes specific program models. A review of the research indicates that the success of “housing first” relies more on political support than wide-spread scientific evidence of “best practices”. This report examines the development and scientific evidence for “housing first” programs in North America and suggests that future housing first research examine modifications necessary for distinct geographies and groups of homeless persons.     

A Comparison of Spanish and American Housing Policy Frameworks Addressing Housing for the Elderly

Abstract

Housing policies in Spain and die United States have important similarities and dissimilarities mat affect housing for the elderly. Spain, even more so than me United States, promotes homeownership. Bom countries face significant challenges in addressing the housing needs of the elderly, particularly those challenges associated wim aging in place. The paper reviews me broader housing policy frameworks in bom countries in order to understand me context for elderly housing policy. The paper identifies lessons from the American experience mat can expand housing policies in Spain.     

Belgium and the Netherlands: Two Different Ways of Coping with the Housing Crisis, 1945–70

ABSTRACT

Belgium and the Netherlands are very different in their spatial outlook and in the way housing is organized. In Belgium individual private dwellings predominate whereas in the Netherlands social housing and planned neighborhoods are much more common. This article aims at unraveling the histories and sensibilities that led to this situation. It argues that the well-known diverging histories of architecture and urbanism make up only one explanation, which needs to be complemented by understanding the different processes of mediation between producers and consumers adopted by both countries. In tackling the postwar housing crisis, Belgium chose to stimulate private initiative by providing tax incentives for home builders. The Netherlands, on the other, hand mitigated the housing crisis by planning new estates of social housing, using new techniques of prefabrication that led to standardized flats. In the Netherlands the process of mediation, oriented towards “correct living,” was dominated by a national organization, which resolutely advocated modernist design as the most rational way to organize the home. In Belgium the task of mediation was taken up by “pillarized” social organizations rather than by a national institution. This resulted in a much stronger bottom-up influence from ordinary dwellers, who convinced their organizations to soften the modernist approach in favor of more traditionally inspired homes and interiors. The Belgian way of organizing home cultures thus came to resemble much more an “American way of living” than its Dutch counterpart—contradicting the prevailing literature that tends to stress the Americanization of Dutch culture while ignoring such patterns in Belgium.     

The Internet and Demystifying Power Differentials

Abstract

Over the course of the past three years, a group of women residents of a forty-five-year-old public housing project have struggled with the housing authority to participate in the revitalization of that project. This article examines the emergence of a “critical consciousness” and action on the part of these women as a consequence of their going on-line on the Internet with their own home page. This article also looks at the historical and social context of their relationship with the local community and the housing authority as well as the women's ultimate challenge to the housing authority's sense of “exclusive” possession and use of information and data.     

Linking Housing,Social Services and Family Well-Being

Abstract

Securing adequate housing is a key component in achieving family well-being and a decent quality of life. It is expected that as many as twenty percent of the families currently on welfare, many of whom are disproportionately female and African American, may not be employable by the end of their lifetime benefit. These families, classified as “hard-to-serve” or “hard-to-employ,” are headed by an adult who may be struggling with substance abuse, physical or mental health problems, as well as low literacy and social competency issues that inhibit achieving self-sufficiency. This author will examine existing literature on welfare-dependent households coping with substance abuse and mental health problems, and how the lack of affordable housing impacts their ability to achieve self-sufficiency. This article presents a case study     

Telling Others How You Live—Refining Goffman's Stigma Theory Through an Analysis of Housing Strugglers in a Homeowner Nation

This article revisits Goffman's stigma theory from the perspective of housing studies. We elaborate on Goffman's approach by exploring how housing tenure can work as a proxy for moral character. We interviewed twenty‐seven people who are excluded from access to homeownership in two cities in Norway, which is a “homeowner nation.” These individuals are unable to enter the dominant “homeowner class” for different reasons, including drug‐dependency, mental illness, refugee background, low socioeconomic status; thus, they must access housing through other tenures; private renting or social housing. To many of them, housing becomes a stigma, in Goffman terms, an “undesired differentness.” Social housing is known to carry stigma in Norway. It was thus a paradox, that those with the softest differentness—private rental—were most likely to practice (Goffman:) “information control” over their housing situation. Goffman's theoretical apparatus, and his distinction between the discreditable and the discredited in particular, helped us make this paradox comprehensible. Through this analysis, refinements to Goffman's theory were discovered. We suggest that “multiple stigmas,” which was not seen clearly by Goffman himself, should be a key notion in stigma studies. We use this notion to distinguish between possible sub‐types to the discredited‐discreditable distinction.     

Searching for Innovative Design: Architectural Competitions in the Silvering Swedish Welfare State

The new millennium has seen an increased interest in appropriate housing for the senior part of the Swedish population, defined as those aged 65 years and older. In 2010, the Swedish government launched a 2-year program called “Growing Old, Living Well” that targeted the living conditions of not only older people with few or some needs for homecare services, but also the smaller group of dependent and frail older persons whose everyday living depends upon regular caregiving. The program promoted architectural competitions as a tool for innovation. This article assesses the outcome of 3 architectural competitions that were carried out by 3 municipalities in accordance with the program. It concludes that existing notions about appropriate space for aging populations prevailed, since the competition briefs evolved from existing data and consequently allowed for only a low degree of innovative thinking. Hence, the relationship between architectural design and older people's age-related needs was only addressed indirectly. Further work needs to be done in the area of housing for the Swedish silvering welfare state in order for this factor to become an essential criterion for creating innovative architecture and urban design.     

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Abstract

Data from a longitudinal study of older adults in an upstate New York county (N = 333) show that poor housing “fit” increases the likelihood that older adults are currently considering a move, as does lower residential satisfaction. Those adults who said only that they “might consider moving” focused on health transitions that might signal a need for a new housing situation. Residential satisfaction predicts actual moves even when controlling for moving plans. Older adults may be “pushed” to make a move by a crisis, but those older adults planning moves tend to be “pulled” into housing arrangements with desirable features.     

The Role of Design in Inhibiting or Promoting Use of Common Open Space

Abstract

Redwood Gardens is a housing project for the elderly on the Clark Kerr campus affiliated with the University of California at Berkeley. A post occupancy evaluation study done in 1994 indicated that outdoor spaces were not well used, and a follow-up set of interviews and observations over a decade later in 2005 shows that the spaces are still underutilized, despite being greatly appreciated as an amenity. This paper explores reasons for the under usage, describes the design of the spaces, and makes proposals for improvements in seating and other environmental props that might facilitate both solo and group use of outdoor spaces. Design and policy recommendations are directed both to this immediate site and other such housing sites elsewhere.     

DNA of the House

ABSTRACT

The article aims to illuminate the hidden path by which a symbolic dimension in a traditional society is transferred to the modern world. The modernization process in Seoul during the second half of the twentieth century was one of the most intense and radical. The traditional courtyard house, which had been the single form of dwelling in the city for centuries, was replaced by modern houses within a few decades. Apartment housing became the most dominant housing type, and this new spatial setting reshaped domestic lifestyles. At the surface level, there seems to be no connection between the old and new housing culture. A series of analyses reveals, however, that there exists a hidden dimension of “level distinction,” i.e. a conceptual differentiation between high- and low-level floors that has not only survived the radical change, but also guided the direction of contemporary housing development.     

Creating New Patterns of Social and Economic Activity Through Planned Housing Environments

Abstract

HOPE VI programs have transformed distressed public housing areas into “planned neighborhoods.” This research highlights key results from an evaluation request by the Tampa Housing Authority to assess the social and economic impact of the local HOPE VI community. Findings suggest that the majority of residents enjoy the new neighborhood. Questions remain regarding the social cohesion among the mixed-income community residents and the potential for economic revitalization of the surrounding area. Implications for social workers are addressed.     

My Collection is Bigger than Yours: Tales from the Handcrafter's Stash

ABSTRACT

This analysis of how Bulgaria coped with socialist modernization in the field of housing takes the concept of “consumption regime” as its point of departure. Applying the lens of “regulated consumption” (as opposed to a laissez- faire regime) allows a differentiation between state care and state control. Bulgarian housing policy relied on the notion of the state as the main actor. The article argues that this state did not contradict traditional values in Bulgarian society but made concerted efforts to meet the essential wishes of the people vis-à-vis their own home. During the late 1940s and 1950s, this tradition was reflected in the way construction was organized as well as in the types of housing provided. By contrast, in the time of socialist large-scale slab building (from the 1960s to 1980s) this tradition was reinterpreted to cover favorable conditions of loans for housing—in the first place for building second houses (villas). The regulation of housing supply through the use of tradition explains the very high percentage of private housing in Bulgaria after the fall of socialism. Housing in socialist Bulgaria corroborates the argument that the appropriation of tradition is an important factor in the domestication of socialist modernization.     

Eschew Obfuscation in Discussing Political Correctness

ABSTRACT

Despite the spectrum of available resources, homelessness is a persistent societal and public health challenge throughout the United States and in San Diego County. Beginning in January 2014, San Diego began the integration of a Coordinated Entry System into its homeless system-of-care. This historical prospective study examined the predictors of establishing eligibility for permanent housing resources among 15,042 single homeless adults enrolled in the Coordinated Entry System Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to assess the relationship between client vulnerability as measured by the triage tool VI-SPDAT and establishing client eligibility for permanent housing. Overall, being of moderate or high vulnerability was associated with establishing eligibility for a permanent housing resource. Veterans established eligibility faster and more frequently than others, regardless of their vulnerability score. However, the demand for services far outweighed the ability of the system to respond to those with moderate to high vulnerability. More housing navigators and fewer client “hand-offs” between housing professionals are recommended to increase the efficiency of the process. Additional research examining the second and third steps is also needed to more fully understand the factors that promote permanent housing solutions for those seeking services.     

Chapter 2. Housing and Household Movement in Later Life

ABSTRACT

In most developed countries housing policies are focusing on enabling elderly and very elderly people to remain in their own homes. Attention is also turning to people in the Third Age to see how their housing needs to be different from earlier stages of their lives but also as a preparation for old age. This paper presents evidence from the United Kingdom (UK) about choices and policies at different stages of middle and old age and on the developing range of housing options to meet these needs.     

Moving Past Picket Fences: The Meaning of “Home” for Public Housing Residents

The literature on the meaning of “home” has generally focused on creating lists without giving much attention to the context that shapes meanings. Recently, scholars have argued that to understand “home” it is important to know the range of meanings that different people in different contexts give it. In this article, we focus on the meaning of “home” for public housing residents and consider how they construct the meaning of “home” and if they find that meaning in public housing. Our findings suggest that respondents consider their public housing residences to be “home,” and they construct this meaning using the dimensions of home identified in the literature. However, how respondents used these dimensions were, in some ways, different because of the context of living in public housing. Respondents emphasized the social dimension, and this dimension appeared to organize the other dimensions. As such, our findings support arguments that context matters to the meaning of “home.” They also suggest that policymakers need to broaden their understandings of public housing, as places that can be “home,” and use this understanding when making decisions about housing transformations.