Healthy ageing and the built environment

Notwithstanding the present high unemployment among young people in Europe, the society opines that older people should continue to work longer and remain responsible for their own care for a longer period of their lives. As a result, this will mean that attention needs to be given to the physical environment required by older people, in regard to their accomodation, since their needs differ from those of younger people. These different needs are brought about by the natural deterioration in the sensory, physical, neural and cognitive functions of the older person. Under the present law, as well as the standards and guidelines, there are no specific requirements for elderly people. Consequently, under the current circumstances, housing for the elderly is more often a handicap than a comfortable, inspirational or safe environment. The vital elderly especially have a lot to offer to the society of (disused) knowledge. In any event, it is in everyone's advantage if the group of vital elderly is larger than the group of non-vital elderly. This article is a beginning of a positioning relative to the challenges of the built environment for this subject, with an emphasis on the building services.