Designing spaces that support aging with dignity
WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION WITH PROCESS/PRACTICE STUDIO
April 16, 2024
"The bus stop has changed how the staff approaches all residents—the staff has become more amenable to their patients’ insistences and more readily make allowances for a patient’s perceived reality."
Signal 1: The Benrath’s Fake Bus Stops
One of the most physically simple yet psychologically soothing adaptations to the built environment that we've seen to date was designed by The Benrath's Senior Center in Dusseldorf, Germany. It's a fake bus stop. [4]
Why would a senior center install a bus stop where buses never stop? At Benrath, many of the residents have Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. They can easily become disoriented and want to go home (even though they are home). [5] So they wander off. This is a dangerous and, at times, deadly scenario. [4]
To avoid sedating residents or locking them in their rooms, the staff at Benrath persuaded the transit authority to install a bus stop in front of the center. The result? Residents have a physical destination that also serves as a psychologically safe space for staff to soothe them back inside.
"The bus stop has changed how the staff approaches all residents—the staff has become more amenable to their patients’ insistences and more readily make allowances for a patient’s perceived reality. The bus stop was so successful that soon, other senior centers in the city installed their own faux stops..." [4]
For the full story, check out Lulu Miller's conversation with Benrath's Richard Neureither and Regine Hauch on Radiolab. [6]
Signal 2: Design Guidelines for Age-Friendly Built Environments
If given the choice, many older adults say they'd prefer to live in their home as long as possible. Aging in place can prolong independence, autonomy, and social connection. [7] Yet many homes lack the physical, social, psychological, and technical infrastructure to support the diverse needs of our elders. Why? In large part because there's a lack of diversity in architectural design and planning. And co-creation is not widely embraced within the profession. [8]
To fill part of the void, Victoria University professors Dr. Hing-Wah Chau and Dr. Elmira Jamei published a comprehensive list of design guidelines for age-friendly housing. [9] While these resources will be valuable for professionals in the field, Dr. Chau and Dr. Jamei call on policymakers to integrate these age-friendly standards for the built environment into legislation.
"The aim is to foster active ageing by optimising opportunities for older adults to maximise their independent living ability and participate in their communities to enhance their quality of life and wellbeing. An age-friendly built environment is inclusive, accessible, respects individual needs and addresses the wide range of capacities across the course of life... [To this end] Government and local councils should be more proactive." [9]
References
[1] Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. What makes a long life? Look to your zip code. Accessed April 2024.
[2] Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2030: Social Determinants of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed April 2024.
[3] Oswald, F., Hieber, A., Wahl, HW. et al. (2005). Ageing and person–environment fit in different urban neighbourhoods. Eur J Ageing 2, 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-005-0026-5
[4] Taylor, Katie. (2014). The Phantom Bustop. Hektoen International: A Journal of Medical Humanities.
[5] Alzheimer’s Association. (2024). Wandering.
[6] Miller, L. (2011). A Bus to Nowhere. Radiolab.
[7] Stones, D. and Gullifer, J. (2016). “At home it’s just so much easier to be yourself”: older adults’ perceptions of ageing in place. Ageing and Society. 36(3):449-481. doi:10.1017/S0144686X14001214.
[8] Hale, K. (2023). The Blueprint: Does Architecture Need Pop Culture To Increase Diversity? Forbes.
[9] Chau, H., and Elmira, J. (2021). Age-Friendly Built Environment. Encyclopedia 1, no. 3: 781-791. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia1030060
Image Sources: Intro photo by Brandon Lee on Unsplash / Bus stop photo from video Why Germany has 11 Fake Bus Stops by Mind the Map
