ABSTRACT
113In this closing chapter we reflect on where we are with our understanding of the housing needs and wants of older people and what we have learned in the course of writing this book. Things have undoubtedly moved on in the ten years since the first HAPPI report and design has played a very significant role. Even so, too few of us consciously think about how we want to live our ever-lengthening lives. When we do, far fewer of us actually do something about it. Why is it that we still find it much easier to advise our friends and family than to reason with ourselves?
There are many unanswered questions but the fact that questions are being asked – by our politicians, our institutions, academics and housing professionals, and all of us – is progress in itself. And answers are beginning to emerge; new approaches to health and social care, as well as housing, are likely to make the next decade even more interesting than the last.
