Environmental Gerontology: Making Meaningful Places in Old Age

The environments in which people live out their later lives have a strong impact on their identity and opportunities for nourishing social interactions. This volume synthesizes contemporary research on residential environments and public spaces that enhance well being, and provides practical recommendations for the design of such beneficial community environments that encompass private and public spaces. With contributions from researchers in North America, Europe, and Asia, the text bridges the worlds of research and practice by translating the expanding body of environmental gerontology research into applied contexts. It is grounded in conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of current research on place attachment, environmental meaning, and community living in later life. Emphasis is on how to design residential spaces that facilitate the development of a sense of place or home, and investigation into the kinds of lifestyles such spaces foster and support. A major theme pervading the text is the juxtaposition of private and public space. The book also considers how emerging public policy agendas affect the development and management of environments for the elderly. With its strong interdisciplinary focus, Environmental Gerontology will be of interest to senior undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers in environmental gerontology, community planning, occupational therapy, architecture and the design professions, social policy, and public health.