abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Leeds, 1999.

Population aging becomes a serious social problem when the society develops into a certain stage, and it has a close relationship with the national economy and people’s livelihood, as well as the future of a country. Also, the improvement of medical level and social welfare help people prolong their life expectancy. As a developing country, which includes nearly 1/4 population of the world, China also faces the severe aging problem. After the establishment of People’s Republic of China, the population grows with a very high rapid. Later, the Chinese government implemented the One Child Policy at the beginning of 1980, this policy gradually modified the family structure in the micro dimension and the population structure in the macro dimension. There are more and more 4-2-1 families, which means there are 4 grandparents, 2 parents and only one child in one family, and this family structure causes some troubles and challenges to the traditional model, which is taking care of the old at home. The government and families all have difficulties to take care of the elderly people. As a result, the elderly housing emerges at the right moment. The world pays more attention to taking care of the elderly people, and many relative concepts have been introduced around the world. Such as the healthy ageing and active ageing pronounced by the WHO, and some other concepts like the ageing-in-place and community care, etc. All of these concepts give us a theoretical foundation when research on the development of elderly housing in China. Beijing Suncity Living Community is one of the best elderly communities in China, this dissertation tries to do a case study about the elderly housing in Suncity. After the data analysis, the author found that the Suncity does well in the design of the community, which suits the physical characteristics of the elderly people. Also, the services and facilities for the elderly people are relative complete, which can help the elderly people to spend their spare time in a more interesting way. However, the management in the Suncity is not good, and this may give the elderly people a sense of unsafety. Also, it may bring bad impact to their psychological health. Then, the recommendation about both the Suncity and the development of elderly housing in China will also be given. For the Suncity, it must change the poor management, and one method is to employ some professional people to enhance the management level. For the later development of elderly housing in China, recommendations are given from design of the elderly community and management of the elderly community. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

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

Elderly planning has been a very important topic all over the world, including Hong Kong, as we all fully understand that the population ageing we are facing is unprecedented and irreversible. In light of this, different measures and planning are studied and explored to mitigate the negative impact of ageing population to a society. Public transportation system, however, is not widely studied to be utilized as a means to help tackling the problems associated with ageing population. In other words, the potential of public transportation system is obviously under-developed currently. Therefore, this study is conducted to evaluate the role, and its potential, of public transportation system in Hong Kong in increasing the mobility of elderly. It is also to evaluate the existing problems of public transportation system in Hong Kong, in terms of their elderly-friendliness and efficiency in promoting elderly travel. Primary data will be collected and analyzed to evaluate the general characteristics of elderly travel, their perception towards public transportation and the relative importance of factors governing elderly’s travel behaviour. These findings will guide us to fully explore the potential of public transportation system in Hong Kong, in promoting elderly mobility. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning