Project R-12040

HOUSE. Innovating housing for older adults and subjective wellbeing (Research)

Population ageing is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century (United Nations, 2019). Also in Belgium, the number of older people is growing: in 2019, 25.3% of the population was >60 years. By 2050, this will shift to 32.9%. In 2019, 5.7% of the population was >80 years. This number will reach 10.5% in 2050. These sharp increases will significantly impact our housing sector, which at present is not adapted to this heterogeneous population, and will challenge current and future housing policies. The context wherein people live will always need to address objective architectural parameters, but there is a growing request to also consider issues about people's subjective wellbeing (SWB). The SBO project HOUSE starts from the observation that today, there is a lack of knowledge on the influence of housing design features on the SWB of current and future generations of older people. Four research objectives are proposed: (i) Identify heterogeneity among older adults (ii) Understand how innovative housing (concepts and characteristics) could contribute to older adults' SWB (iii) Test and validate the "housing for older adults' SWB"-evaluation instrument (iv) Develop and evaluate spatial scenarios for innovative housing for older adults' SWB. The expertise gained through the research will generate 2 utilization key-end products: 'Assessment Packages' (diagnostic instruments allowing stakeholders to perform an assessment analysis of their (design of a) home environment regarding its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as to its SWB-potential) and a 'Design Decision Support Tool' (enabling better informed decision making for stakeholders engaging in SWB housing renovation or development). As to dissemination, demonstration projects, training packages and diverse publications, conferences and a website will enable sharing insights on housing of older people and SWB.

01 October 2021 - 30 September 2025