Housing managers and researchers in the related field are interested in the study of lifestyle as a contributing factor to understanding the management of the housing estates in Hong Kong. Traditional studies in housing management are related to enhancement of building functions and design, improvement of service delivery and introduction to a variety of quality systems. However, these studies were limited by not acknowledging the key to housing management: the residents. Instead of a client-owner relationship, residents should be treated as part of the living environment of the housing estate, as their behavior is deeply embedded in the living place. They are “living in the place”, which is a type of lifestyle choices that is fostered by the living environment, and it is particularly the case for elderly residents. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature by using a sample of 300 elderly residents residing in two public rental housing estates in Hong Kong, namely Ming Wah Dai Ha and Oi Tung Estate. In order to examine the relationship between frequency of participating in activities that take place at home, at estate common area, or activities that are organized by the management offices, and the lifestyle of elderly residents, this study uses descriptive statistics and comparisons by tables, with primary data collected in questionnaires and interviews. The survey results indicate that certain extent of correlations exists between the lifestyle of elderly residents and the living environment including living spaces, facilities, and the management of the estate itself. Different attributes of the housing estates lead to different behavioral patterns of the elderly residents. Lastly, recommendations will be given as to reinforce the social network established in the living environment and to promote “new” lifestyles through housing management practices. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Ageing population has been an urging problem all over the world. Planners from the respective governments are thus requested to review the existing housing provisions to cater for the increasing housing demand of the elderly persons. With almost 19.5% of the total population are classified as persons over the age of sixties in year 2011, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Government) has been taking proactive measures to plan for this group of the silver-haired. With public rental housing and other scheme like the Home Ownership Scheme being offered in the market by both the public and private sectors, it was noted that the housing need for the middle income group elderly persons was often left unattended. More than that, housing units provided with necessary health care service are required to fulfill the requirement of “health ageing”. In this respect, the Hong Kong Housing Society (the HKHS) has introduced a program named the Senior Citizen Residence Scheme (the SEN Scheme) a decade ago. Currently there are two housing estates, offering hundreds of housing units, with purposely built housing design. This type of residential care development with health service is planned to target the housing need of elderly persons from the middle income group. Not only their housing demand is addressed, the requirement for medical and nursing care services is also entertained. This paper is then written to study the various aspects of the SEN Scheme, from both the hardware and software perspectives. Based on the comments received from the questionnaires distributed to the elderly persons residing in the two housing estates, recommendations will then be given for future improvement of the program. With the number of recommendations to be given, the problems of the SEN Scheme could be addressed and make it more comprehensive and appealing to the elderly persons. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

In Hong Kong, the population of the elderly are even growing with longer expectation of life. In the past decade, Chinese elderly have their traditional preference to live with their children and children take up the responsibility to care of the elderly during the late adulthood. The Government’s elderly policy also encourages elderly are the best living with their children by launching housing policy to promote this concept. But challenges come from the ever-changing preference of the elderly in living arrangements. More of them are prefer to live alone or with their couples in order to avoid conflicts with the younger generations or being the financial burden of their children. In the situation that the increasing number of elderly to choose to live as singletons or with couples, the housing needs are increasing as well. This study is then conducted to understand the livability of elderly housing in Hong Kong, in order to investigate how the living environment affecting the physically and psychological conditions of the elderly and review of the existing housing policy in Hong Kong. In the past, there are many study had reviewed the policy of the public rental housing provided by the Government. We could only find few studies on reviewing the housing conditions of the private housing for the elders. It was because they are being considered having stable financial conditions as owning private properties. However, we could easily find out the elders who have suffered from great pressure on living although they have having own properties in Hong Kong. It might greatly relate to decreasing earning power in late adulthood, without a viable retirement protection and demanding responsibility of being owners in maintaining the housing conditions. With the conditions of deteriorating physiological and psychological on the elderly, they have great difficulties to cope with the situation. We would like to find out how the livability of housing conditions and living environment of the elderly in private housing in Hong Kong, after going through all over the chapter in this research study, a conclusion would be made in which recommendations on further housing policy could be summarized on providing better support to the elderly and secure that they could enjoy the living during the late adulthood. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Since the hygiene condition and medical services improved in the past few decades, the expectation of life has been lengthened generally. With the baby boom effect, the mass increase in fertility following the World War II result in the problem of ageing population around the world nowadays. The phenomenon alerts the governments of global countries to solve the anticipated ageing problem by catering the needs of the elderly. In addition, the needs of the elderly are changing with the improvement of education level and affluence level. It contributes to elderly in middle-class occupying a larger proportion of the elderly in Hong Kong nowadays. Even though the government has introduced various kind of social policies to deal with the increasing demand and changing needs of the elderly, it is still not enough to satisfy the rising aspiration of the middle-income elderly. In order to fill the market niche for the elderly in the middle-income group, the Hong Kong government invited Hong Kong Housing Society to undertake a tailor-made housing scheme for the elderly on a basis of leased-for-life. Under the Senior Citizen Residence Scheme (SEN), it aims to provide an affordable and quality accommodation with integrated service for the middle-income elderly. As the SEN scheme is built upon the concept of "ageing-in-place" and "continuum of care", it seeks to strike an excellent to enhance the quality of life for the elderly residents. Since the SEN scheme is a pilot project, it would be considered as a relatively new and initiative development of elderly housing project comparing to the overseas' housing development. It is valuable to carry out a comprehensive assessment on the achievement of the SEN scheme. As the scheme is developed upon the concept of "ageing-in-place" and "continuum of care", this paper will focus on assess the effectiveness of the scheme in facilitating the concept of ageing-in-place in various aspects. Also, it will investigate the effectiveness of the scheme in affecting the expectation on the future housing arrangement of the elderly. The result of the assessment would be provide a reference for the authority to foresee whether there is any improvement for further development of ageing-in-place policy. As a result, it believed that the assessment of this paper is significant to gives a recommendation for the development of the upcoming project to build a quality living place for the elderly to age-in-place.iii / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Aging population is a worldwide phenomenon and Hong Kong is of no exception. Around 13% of the total population was aged over 65 in mid-2011 and it is projected to follow a remarkable rising trend in the future. In view of this and the increasing housing demand of the elderly people, the Hong Kong Government has adopted the concept of “Aging in Place” and “Community Care” to initiate a serious of housing policies and provisions to cater for the various special needs of the low-income elderly. For those middle-income elderly who are outside the “welfare net” of the government, the Hong Kong Housing Society has implemented the “Senior Citizen Residences Scheme” a decade ago which offers a choice of residence for them to live a safe, comfortable and independent lifestyle with provision of integrated elderly care services. In this paper, the eligibility, scheme features, housing facilities, provision of services, operation arrangements and community supports of Housing for Senior Citizens (HSC) provided by the HKHA and Senior Citizen Residences Scheme (SEN) provided by the HKHS will be studied to evaluate the effectiveness of the housing schemes provided by both organizations. Factors that contribute to life satisfaction and successful aging of the elderly will be further looked into. Based on the comments collected from the questionnaires distributed to the elderly residents of the HKHA and HKHS housing estates under study, recommendations will then be given for future improvement of the housing policies. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Like most of the developed cities in the world, Hong Kong has to prepare for the challenges of ageing population after decades of sweet economic growth brought by the baby boom after World War II. According to the projection by the Census and Statistics Department carried out in 2011, the number of people aged 65 and above will rise significantly from 13% in 2011 to 30% in 2041. While almost 40% of the elderly are living in public housing; and numerous researches suggest “Ageing in place” is the unarguable preference of the elderly for them to live with dignity and autonomy in their familiar community, this study is therefore focusing on two questions: First, whether the prevailing housing provisions and policies could facilitate ageing in place for the elderly in the public rental housing estates. Second, what is the way forward for successful and sustainable ageing in place in public rental housing in the coming era of ageing. Three key elements for ageing in place are identified including adequate provision of affordable housing; suitable “environment” meeting the elderly’s needs in physical and social aspects; and a living arrangement assisting formal care by professionals and informal cares by families. Empirical findings concluded that the accessibility of public rental housing for the elderly in the past decade was adequate. However, analysis on the trends of demand and supply for waiting list applicants revealed the potential shortage in future by reference to the lengthening waiting time despite the priority schemes for the elderly all along. The main reasons are the strong resistance to new estate development; and ageing of existing stock. A thorough research in the current housing policies revealed that the Hong Kong Housing Authority has implemented vigorous maintenance and improvements works; and numerous management policies in facilitating the aged people living in public rental housing estates. Their effectiveness was assessed through a case study on a representative old public rental housing estate viz. Kwai Shing West Estate comprising a questionnaire survey with a sample of 49 elderly respondents; field study on the estate facilities and services; and interviews with five knowledgeable stakeholders of government official, resident representative, elderly services providers and District Councillor sharing insights from different perspectives. Case study findings supported that the elderly were satisfied with their living conditions and community in public rental housing estate. However, they generally looked for better transport; more recreational facilities and open spaces; as well as social gathering opportunities to enhance their social lives. On the dark side, the social and community support services were inadequate as limited by the historical establishment and imbalanced allocation amongst estates. The current policies have also failed to identify and assist those “Hidden” elderly. Furthermore, the elderly were not much aware of the social services and housing policies fostering harmonious families. At last, the deteriorating trend of co-residence of the young and elder generations has been weakening the family support and increasing demand on social services of daily living assistance. Based on the empirical findings in my study, several recommendations on the way forward in enhancing ageing in place in public rental housing are attempted. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

A critical concern for society at the present time is the detrimental effects of human activity on the ecosystems. However, while there is raised awareness about issues such as global warming and the thinning ozone layer, humans still plan and develop the urban landscape from the perspective of the Cartesian worldview. This is also apparent in planning for the aging population. Although there is a large body of literature on population aging and sustainable urban development as well as a significant amount of material on aging and urban planning, the three issues of sustainability, urban planning and population aging are seldom addressed simultaneously. This thesis addresses the question of how sustainability planning principles can be integrated with planning for population aging. To this end, I investigate the underlying paradigms of both planning and the sociology of aging to gain an understanding of the values that underscore the policy directions in both these fields. I also review the literature on population aging, as well as housing and health service planning to highlight some needs, preferences and beliefs of the older population. Finally, I survey the literature on sustainable urban planning to elucidate some points of intersection between the needs and preferences of an aging population and the dominant principles underwriting a more sustainable lifestyle. The most significant themes arising from this investigation are the need for social and physical restructuring through changing paradigms. It is clear that older people are treated as a special group and have been segregated either covertly or overtly from mainstream society. Therefore, a change in values is required normalizing the older population within the societal structure. At the same time, traditional urban planning supports increasing consumption of material and energy resources leading to greater environmental degradation. Physical urban restructuring that reduces fossil fuel consumption and waste production will move society towards sustainability. Social ecology and ecological planning principles underwrite such social and ecological restructuring.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 102-107). Also available in print.

In 1986 there were nearly 2.7 million Canadians 65 years of age and over. During the next several decades, the number of elderly Canadians is expected to continue to grow more quickly than any other age group. The growth of the elderly population, in conjunction with their basic right to adequate, affordable housing, necessitates that planners recognize and attempt to satisfy the unique housing needs and desires of elderly Canadians. In order for planners to appropriately meet the housing needs and desires of current and future cohorts of elderly persons, they must strive for the creation of a continuum of housing options and living arrangements suitable for a diverse range of housing needs within each community. This thesis provides a strategy for the creation of a continuum of housing options and living arrangements for elderly persons in a small city: the City of Terrace in northern British Columbia. The process is divided into three phases: (1) an examination of a range of housing options and living arrangements encompassing independent, supported independent, and dependent living, (2) a profile of the City of Terrace which will identify the types and locations of existing housing and services for the elderly and clarify directions for future development, and (3) an analysis of the financial costs and the locational requirements of the housing options and living arrangements in order to determine which options are best suited to the present and future housing needs of elderly Terrace residents. The findings of this research indicate that there are a wide range of independent and dependent living housing options and living arrangements for elderly Terrace residents; however, there is a lack of supported independent housing options for seniors. Consequently, there is an emphasis on encouraging the development of supported independent housing options in the first five years of the ten year strategy. A relatively small percentage of the total population of the City of Terrace is 65 years of age and over. Therefore, in an attempt to offer a range of housing options for a small seniors' population in the City, many of the housing options that are recommended can be developed in single family detached dwellings. The benefits of developing these options in single family homes include the ability to make more efficient use of uncrowded single family homes, the ability to create and dissolve an option for a single household without affecting other households, and the ability to create small scale developments of group living arrangements in existing single family homes and neighbourhoods. The creation of a variety of options throughout the community on a smaller scale helps to ensure that there will be a range of housing options encompassing independent, supported independent, and dependent options without risking the viability of these options because of the limited numbers of seniors in the community. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

A critical concern for society at the present time is the detrimental effects of human activity on the ecosystems. However, while there is raised awareness about issues such as global warming and the thinning ozone layer, humans still plan and develop the urban landscape from the perspective of the Cartesian worldview. This is also apparent in planning for the aging population. Although there is a large body of literature on population aging and sustainable urban development as well as a significant amount of material on aging and urban planning, the three issues of sustainability, urban planning and population aging are seldom addressed simultaneously. This thesis addresses the question of how sustainability planning principles can be integrated with planning for population aging. To this end, I investigate the underlying paradigms of both planning and the sociology of aging to gain an understanding of the values that underscore the policy directions in both these fields. I also review the literature on population aging, as well as housing and health service planning to highlight some needs, preferences and beliefs of the older population. Finally, I survey the literature on sustainable urban planning to elucidate some points of intersection between the needs and preferences of an aging population and the dominant principles underwriting a more sustainable lifestyle. The most significant themes arising from this investigation are the need for social and physical restructuring through changing paradigms. It is clear that older people are treated as a special group and have been segregated either covertly or overtly from mainstream society. Therefore, a change in values is required normalizing the older population within the societal structure. At the same time, traditional urban planning supports increasing consumption of material and energy resources leading to greater environmental degradation. Physical urban restructuring that reduces fossil fuel consumption and waste production will move society towards sustainability. Social ecology and ecological planning principles underwrite such social and ecological restructuring. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate