Home as Identity: Place-Making and its Implications in the Built Environment of Older Persons

Abstract

The need for appropriate and affordable housing among all individuals is severe, regardless of age, sex, income, race, or ethnicity. The need for such housing is particularly great, however, among the elderly population as they tend to face significant changes in their housing status as they continue to age. Current housing options available to the elderly are neither vast nor favorable, as a significant portion of this population would identify “aging in place” as their ideal housing preference. The reality of aging typically includes a new or continued need for acute or permanent care, emotional and physical support, and appropriate and affordable shelter, which characteristically eliminates the option of growing older in current locales. This review of literature aims to explore links between four theoretical frameworks surrounding the concept of “housing as identity” in order to create a better working definition of an individual’s self proclaimed meaning of home and place that can influence research, the design of housing, and programs for older adults. Determining how identities are formed and perpetuated within a home setting has implications on how housing is created and developed to influence a better future for individuals as they age. Since housing preferences within the aging population often point to the ideal of’aging in place, “ the concept that allows individuals to maintain their habits, routines, memories, and daily activities makes the focus of “home as identity” a feasible, warranted, and necessary course of research.

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Notes on contributors

Laura L. Lien

Laura Lien is a graduate student seeking her M.S. in Housing Studies, Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.