Environment Still Matters: Examining Person-Place-Relationships in the Old and the New Normal Across Settings

In environmental gerontology, the home and the neighborhood have always been of particular interest for empirical research. Issues such as orientation and safety, place attachment and biographical bonding, have proven to be important for community dwellings older adults and for those living in care homes. However, with Covid-19, the seemingly stable person-place-relationships have been challenged. This symposium provides a set of applied research contributions that demonstrate the persistent salience of the environment by examining person-place-relationships in the old and the new normal in private homes and care homes. Contributions draw from ideas of “precarious ageing” (Grenier & Phillipson) and “pandemic precarity”, for instance to understand housing insecurity, while concepts from environmental gerontology are used to explain processes of environmental agency and belonging. The first contribution by Mahmood and colleagues introduces an environmental audit tool for people at risk of homelessness to assess built environmental features of housing and neighborhood that support housing stability in the face of insecurity. Second, Wanka provides data from people framed as ‘risk-groups’ through the Covid-19 pandemic and how they dealt with contact restrictions, showing the role of intergenerational neighborhood relations to mediate risks of pandemic precariousness. Third, Elkes examined mobility and wayfinding challenges for residents in a long-term care home and subsequent environmental interventions to improve orientation. Forth, Leontowitsch and colleagues present findings from long-term care home residents during the pandemic to gain understanding of their experiences of social isolation and a biographical sense of resilience. Finally, Amanda Grenier will serve as the session’s discussant.

Environmental Gerontology During COVID-19: Aging in Place Since the Pandemic Onset

The COVID-19 pandemic is fundamentally changing neighborhood landscapes as we shelter in place and adjust our lifestyles. To age-in-place is to live in one’s home and/or community “safely, independently, and comfortably.” The ability to age-in-place is a public health priority for all, regardless of income or health status, and requires a variety of community resources to be sustainable. Since the pandemic onset, access to neighborhood resources was limited to reduce transmission risks. Changes to economic arrangements and socio-spatial norms have profoundly impacted daily life, though how these influence health and well-being is largely unknown. It is likely that these effects may vary in different communities and contexts; for example, neighborhoods that are able to self-organize to safely provide social support and resources may fare better. This symposium brings together cutting-edge studies in urban and rural U.S. places to explicate how the pandemic is transforming aging-in-place experiences and perspectives. The first presentation shows how rapidly community-based services have adjusted operations to meet the needs of their communities. The second presentation explores strategies to provide social support in rural communities. The third presentation highlights the social health needs of a subset of older adults who had not formed friendships with their neighbors. Together, these studies suggest that close examinations of aging-in-place conditions and mechanisms from organizational, socio-spatial, and social network perspectives are evermore important amid a pandemic. We discuss the implications of these empirical findings in relation to emerging theories within environmental gerontology.

From Margin to Center: Intersectionality and the Politics of Environmental Gerontology

As the population becomes increasingly older and culturally diverse, so too does the need for critical scholarship that examines the complex lives of differently positioned older adults in relation to their social and physical ecologies. This innovative symposium reflects the importance of putting intersectional frameworks (Collins & Bilge, 2016) in conversation with environmental gerontology to critically examine structures of power in assessing who matters and who benefits from place-based initiatives that intend to support healthy aging (Phillipson, 2004). Perry et al.’s paper addresses the politics of responsibility, asking who is responsible for keeping older people safe in light of Covid-19 though a citywide senior housing coalition in Detroit. The second paper, authored by Johnson, speaks to the politics of access and structural inequalities that create disparities in end-of-life care for unhoused older adults. The third and fourth papers, by Stinchcombe and colleagues and Oswald, critically examine dominant paradigms of age-friendliness in Canada and the United States though a politics of representation that highlights who is (in)visible in these initiatives. The final paper by Reyes, on the civic participation of Latinx and African American older adults, illustrates how structural change cannot happen without engaging these populations in the political process. Together, these papers exemplify the politics of environmental gerontology and demonstrate that without acknowledgment of multi-layered identities and the structures contributing to their inequities, environmental gerontology is inadequate, as it may overlook important social and environmental factors that connect older people to the places where they live and die.

Wander of life: An agora to facilitate elderly's autonomous and connected life in Johnsonville

<p>New Zealand is experiencing a demographic transitional period when there is increasing percentage of the elder population out of the total. Researches and scholars overseas have investigated in architecture’s role of improving environments for the elderly, primarily from the perspective of disability. However, these considerations which solely come from the physicality point of view and can be easily treated just as after thoughts, sometimes still leaving the elderly in dilemmas. As an attempt to response to such an issue, this thesis asks if accessible architecture can enable the elderly to be included in public space as community members rather than an isolated group. It aims to explore possibilities of creating accessible public space for elderly, which is also thoughtful towards other community members’ interactions. These explorations are set on the intersection of environmental gerontology* and phenomenology, focus on making space accessibly to the elderly physically, sensorially and psychologically. To re-introduce the elderly as community members who are as significant as others, the diversity and complexity of their conditions and needs should be considered, which requires the design explorations to be site-specific to avoid over-generalization. To contextualise the question, Johnsonville is chosen as the site for study, thus, the character of local elderly can be considered for appropriate design iterations. To extend current design discourse about the role of architecture in the context of environmental gerontology, the theory of phenomenology and relevant case studies will be investigated. To highlight implications and limitations for elderly-accessible public space design, reflection will be made regarding the design explorations against the broader discursive arguments. One of the primary implications of this design-led thesis is for the discourse on elderly-friendly environments. The other implication is an advocacy for designing public space for a wider public interaction. It means taking everyone in the community into equal consideration and creating public space that is equal for every user.</p>

Wander of life: An agora to facilitate elderly's autonomous and connected life in Johnsonville

<p>New Zealand is experiencing a demographic transitional period when there is increasing percentage of the elder population out of the total. Researches and scholars overseas have investigated in architecture’s role of improving environments for the elderly, primarily from the perspective of disability. However, these considerations which solely come from the physicality point of view and can be easily treated just as after thoughts, sometimes still leaving the elderly in dilemmas. As an attempt to response to such an issue, this thesis asks if accessible architecture can enable the elderly to be included in public space as community members rather than an isolated group. It aims to explore possibilities of creating accessible public space for elderly, which is also thoughtful towards other community members’ interactions. These explorations are set on the intersection of environmental gerontology* and phenomenology, focus on making space accessibly to the elderly physically, sensorially and psychologically. To re-introduce the elderly as community members who are as significant as others, the diversity and complexity of their conditions and needs should be considered, which requires the design explorations to be site-specific to avoid over-generalization. To contextualise the question, Johnsonville is chosen as the site for study, thus, the character of local elderly can be considered for appropriate design iterations. To extend current design discourse about the role of architecture in the context of environmental gerontology, the theory of phenomenology and relevant case studies will be investigated. To highlight implications and limitations for elderly-accessible public space design, reflection will be made regarding the design explorations against the broader discursive arguments. One of the primary implications of this design-led thesis is for the discourse on elderly-friendly environments. The other implication is an advocacy for designing public space for a wider public interaction. It means taking everyone in the community into equal consideration and creating public space that is equal for every user.</p>

Envelhecer em casa: contributos da terapia ocupacional /Aging in place: contributions from occupational therapy

Introdução: O termo envelhecer em casa tomou uma dimensão orientadora para dar resposta às necessidades dos idosos, adiando a institucionalização. O conceito “Aging in Place” dá a oportunidade para que as pessoas idosas permaneçam nas suas casas e mantenham os seus laços afetivos e as rotinas significativas. Objetivo: O presente estudo tem como objetivo explorar o contributo da Terapia Ocupacional na Gerontologia Ambiental, com a temática “Envelhecer em casa”. Métodos: Assim, recorremos a uma revisão integrativa da literatura, a qual se desenvolveu em 6 etapas: definição do tema, identificação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, organização dos estudos pré-selecionados, categorização dos estudos analisados, discussão e interpretação dos resultados e revisão do conhecimento obtido. A recolha de dados foi feita de setembro a dezembro de 2019, tendo como critérios de inclusão estudos dentro do horizonte temporal de 2012 a 2020 publicados em bases indexadas em português e inglês. Resultados: Foram selecionados 26 estudos, sendo categorizados em i) Avaliação, que diz respeito às metodologias de avaliação utilizadas pela Terapia Ocupacional, no âmbito da Gerontologia Ambiental; e ii) Intervenção, com estudos direcionados às intervenções feitas pela Terapia Ocupacional no contexto domiciliar. Conclusão: Os terapeutas ocupacionais são indispensáveis para avaliar e intervir no contexto domiciliar da pessoa idosa, de forma a manter e/ou melhorar a sua capacidade funcional, além de a manter num ambiente que lhe é significativo. No entanto, há pouca evidência sobre os tipos de instrumentos de avaliação na área da Gerontologia Ambiental, sendo importante realizar mais estudos nesta temática.Palavras-chave: Gerontologia. Ambiente. Terapia Ocupacional. Envelhecimento. Domicílio. AbstractIntroduction: The concept ''aging in place'' became more instructing based, in order to answer the needs of the elderly, postponing institutionalization. Such concept offers elders an opportunity to remain in their homes as well as keeping their affective bonds and meaningful routines. Objective: Objectively, this study means to explore the contribute of Occupational Therapy in Environmental Gerontology, with the aging in place theme. Method: Therefore, we resorted to an integrative literature review, in which 6 steps were developed: the definition of the theme, recognition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, organization of pre-selected studies, categorization of analysed studies, discussion and interpretation of results, and lastly, review of the gathered knowledge. The assembly of information was done from September to December in 2019, bearing as principles the inclusion of studies from within the years of 2012 to 2020 published in Portuguese and English. Results: From the 26 selected studies, these were categorized in: i) Evaluation, following the grading methods used by Occupational Therapy, on the scope of Environmental Gerontology; ii) Intervention, with studies aimed at interventions by Occupational Therapy in a household context. Conclusion: Occupational therapists are fundamental to evaluate and intervene on the elders' household context, in order to maintain or improve their functional capabilities, besides allowing the home environment to prevail. However, there is little evidence on the types of assessment instruments in the field of Environmental Gerontology, and it is important to carry out further studies on this topic.Keywords: Gerontology. Environment. Occupational Therapy. Aging in Place. ResumenIntroducción: La palabra envejecer en el hogar surgió de la necesidad de dar una respuesta a las necesidades de los mayores y sus familias. Las personas hacen su vida a diario, sus rutinas y evita una institucionalización de los mayores en centros. Los lazos de relación entre la familia y comunidad se mantienen al largo de la vida, no existiendo un hueco. Objetivo: Este estudio pretende conocer cuál el papel de la Terapia Ocupacional en áreas como Gerontología Ambiental y “Envejecer en Casa”. Método: Nos basamos en información variada y publicada que refiere 6 pasos tales como: definición del tema, definición de los criterios de inclusión/ excusión; organización de los estudios seleccionados, análisis de los estudios, discusión y debate de los resultados y un repaso del conocimiento obtenido. La recogida de información fue con encuestas y experimentos entre los meses de septiembre a diciembre de 2019. Resultados: Los estudios, un total de 26, entre los años 2012 y 2020 en publicaciones especializadas en lengua portuguesa e inglesa. Todos ellos siguen orientaciones: i) evaluación, métodos utilizados en Gerontología Ambiental, ii) intervención con basis en los estudios hechos en contexto de la familia. Conclusión: En esta parte destacamos el papel fundamental ejercido por los terapeutas ocupacionales que con su intervención permiten el desarrollo de capacidades en el medio en que viven. Hemos concluido que los estudios sobre la intervención de especialistas como los terapeutas ocupacionales aún son reducidos, necesitando investigación y conocimiento.Palabras Clave: Gerontología. Ambiente. Terapía Ocupacional. Envejecimiento. Hogar.