ABSTRACT
75Most young city dwellers now live in apartments; many others will have flat-shared as students or young professionals. Future generations of older people will be therefore accustomed to accessing their home via a communal entrance and a corridor, and managing with a balcony rather than a garden, before they grow old.
But it is important to remember that many of today’s older people will have lived in a house for their entire life; perhaps not the same house, but a self-contained home on more than one floor, with a front door and a garden. The prospect of moving to an apartment, whether within a mainstream or specialised development, may create psychological barriers, despite the promise of removing physical ones. The challenge for designers is therefore to create practical, accessible, care-ready environments that look and feel like home, are adaptable to changing needs and will continue to delight.
