Universal design is being promoted as a solution for people who want to age in place. It is about allowing people with various special needs to function independently and therefore feel strong and empowered. This is an important shift in awareness in the design world...
The porch, a bench in front of the house, these are places of view and rest, places of idle emptiness. At a time when most of us are nearing the end of vacations and summer is coming to an end, we continue to long for such places. Sitting on the porch is the symbol...
It takes a village to keep a person of old age in the community and keep them safe. Part of today’s village in the San Francisco Bay Area is an array of service agencies without whom the wheels would stop. Yet these agencies and the services they offer are confusing...
It is obvious that geography impacts the aging experience. There is a difference between countries, between areas within a country, between cities and even between neighborhoods. Sometime during the aging experience everybody has a need for safety, connectedness and...
This topic came up in our last AHWGO get together when we learned about ‘Coming of Age’ that tries to ‘capture the expertise of people 50+. The new middle age (40 to 68 and beyond), the 50+ generation, the ‘new’ old, the second stage of life – all...
‘At old age living becomes dwelling’ (Wohnen im Alter wird “zum Leben selbst”). When home becomes the primary environment the individuality, comfort and functionality of such home is then more crucial than ever. It is our life. How we organize this life differs from...
Do you remember your parents talking about aging? I cannot remember such conversations. Maybe I was too involved with my young self but it was not part of the conversation. Growing old was part of the course of life. My parents were much more ‘settled’...
Planners and city officials in some suburban towns are making efforts to densify their town with the goal to attract retirees who want services close at hand. The European city with their high density and good transportation network is a model planners look to. There...
I am in the 50s age bracket, or as it often called now the ‘coming of age’ bracket. This by the way is also the title of a wonderful book by Simone de Beauvoir who talks about how the old are treated in different societies at different times in history and right now...
