ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at older people’s housing, their changing needs, and the intersections between housing and aged care. It draws on two large Australian studies of older people’s housing, and the relationships between the built environment, people’s intrinsic capacities, and external supports. The Housing and Independent Living Study was conducted as part of the Sax Institute 45 and Up Study and looked in detail at the homes and neighbourhoods of 202 people aged 75–80 years. The study assessed what aspects of the homes could be considered supportive of people’s ageing, how these related to the people’s own capacities, and to their expectations and future housing plans. The second study involved longitudinal analysis of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health showing changes in women’s housing as they age from their 70s through their 80s, and how these changes relate to women’s use of aged care services. Both studies show the importance of home and neighbourhood in supporting people’s ageing, as well as highlighting many unmet needs and opportunities.
