The purpose of this study was to learn lessons from North America on housing an ageing population, both in terms of supporting people to “age in place”, and available options for those who need/wish to move.
The project, funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, comprised a six‐week travel fellowship to the USA and Canada to meet with housing professionals from the public and private sectors and find out about best practice initiatives and efficient models for housing older people.
This report is written in two parts. This, the first, considers models which are successfully facilitating individuals and communities to support each other to age in place, for example, the Beacon Hill Village model which has taken off in the USA in a big way. Technology can, and will, also play an important role in enhancing the lives of older people in the future, but housing is really about people and it will be people who will make the real difference on this issue.
This was a unique opportunity to learn lessons from North America on how to effectively meet the needs of the older population, now and in the future.
