A Conspectus of Types,Options and Conditions of Elder-accommodation in the European Continent

A European housing typology for older people does not exist. There is a need to formulate a workable typology of elder-housing to enable planners and providers to make use of a meaningful categorization of accommodation within public, voluntary, private and mixed housing in a highly diversified Europe. This paper proposes an overarching typology, incorporating the notion of independent living accommodation and of assisted living accommodation as major categories, embracing 21 housing options. The usual use of the category of social housing is excluded because in Europe it has conflicting and overlapping meanings. Using the suggested typology, the provisions of independent living and of assisted living are commented upon in centre-periphery terms. Finally, the paper indicates that although the EU is the main European provider of welfare, it has virtually no housing policy, and its planning and provision are hindered by long-term constraints.