Communal Intimacy: Formalization, Egalitarianism, and Exchangeability in Collective Housing

This article uses collective housing, a voluntary form of shared living positioned in between the conventional intimacy sphere and public life, to explore the relation between the organized and the intimate. Combining multisited observations and interviews, the study reveals collective housing to represent fairly depersonalized homes characterized by residential transition and formalization. Rather than addressing the dwellings in terms of detachment, however, the article demonstrates that they are exchange(st)able structures with existential bearing. It is through, not despite, the partially organized framework of daily chores and routines that closeness emerges. Grounded in these findings, the article calls for a reframing of intimacy outside of its traditional contexts and proposes the term “communal intimacy” to conceptualize a sociality of closeness that is bound not to exclusive dyads but to an inclusive relational infrastructure characterized by the strength of many weak ties.

OLDER ADULTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH FRAILTY: A FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY STUDY

It is essential to evaluate frail older adults understanding and execution of survey tools to improve data quality and accurate representation in research. The study tested the feasibility and acceptability of a survey that assesses various measures of functional status in frail older people. The study evaluated: 1) recruitment rate; 2) time to complete questionnaires and difficulties encountered; and 3) acceptability by participants. Validated tools including: FRAIL Scale, EuroQoL 5D-5L, Charlson’s Comorbidities Index, Baecke’s Physical Activity Questionnaire, Life-Space Assessment, Katz and Lawton ADL and NEWS Walkability Scale were assessed. Twenty-five older patients (63% recruitment rate) of a post-acute restorative program (residential Transition Care Program) in Adelaide, South Australia were interviewed. Although not statistically different, time to complete the overall questionnaire differed between robust, pre-frail and frail participants. Overall, the survey was considered acceptable and feasible, with consideration with NEWS and Life-Space assessment regarding length, phrasing and layout.

A review of adults with disabilities transitioning from their family home to community settings

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the experiences of adults with disabilities (AWDs) transitioning to community based residential settings. This field of study has not been sufficiently researched despite being a key aspect of adulthood.METHOD: A literature review of articles relating to residential transitions for AWDs was undertaken.FINDINGS: The literature review findings could be grouped around three main categories: AWDs’ perception and self-determination, caregivers’ perceptions of the process and, lastly, the insights from service providers and social policies. The review and feedback identified issues experienced during the residential transition, such as feelings of readiness to transit which relate closely to the person’s self-determination. As the study delved deeper into the residential transition process in Aotearoa New Zealand, AWDs are noted to be vulnerable persons always requiring support in order to develop and maintain their independence.IMPLICATIONS: Substantive state recognition, such as a social compact, is the key groundwork for this marginalised group to develop self-efficacy, have successful transition experiences and sustain good lives. Eventually, this must be in the form of Crown-binding legislation, where vulnerable adults are served through restorative and protective policies.

Racial Residential Transition at the Periphery

This chapter compares the process of racial residential transition and patterns of interracial encounters in Glenville and the various neighbourhoods of Southeast Cleveland, finding differences mostly traceable to the white residents’ ethnic and class composition as well as the built environment. With most Jewish residents having left these areas, African Americans’ interactions with Roman Catholic Southern and Eastern Europeans took on greater significance. Aggressive real estate tactics seeking to promote rapid housing turnover became increasingly systematic and racial clashes (notably in the public schools) more common – including violent incidents which nevertheless remained on a low level overall, compared to Detroit and Chicago. Attempts at interracial neighbourhood mobilization continued, although the remaining white ethnics proved less receptive and demographic transition proceeded to the point where the population of these areas became overwhelmingly African American.