The Effect of Age Desegregation on Environmental Quality for Elderly Living in Public/Publicly Subsidized Housing

A random sample of elderly living in age-desegregated public housing for the elderly is compared with a random sample of elderly living in age-homogeneous Section 202 housing in the same urban area. Findings suggest that the current trend of mixing young handicapped persons with elderly tenants is associated wifh a decline in environmental quality on three dimensions-social networks, territoriality, and global measures of satisfaction. The differences are not explained away by preexisting factors, such as social and economic resources and service provision.