Project summary:

Specialist housing is an integral part of the housing offer for older people in many countries and plays an important role in accommodating the ongoing readjustments between people and their environment as they age. It is an important welfare service and an integral element of long-term care policy, which can enable the delivery of flexible care and support and improve quality of life, have a positive impact on health and well-being and allow people to live independently in a home of their own for longer. Little is known about the geography of specialist provision for older people – about who gets what, where and why – and the extent to which this maps onto need at various scales. This project will fill this gap in knowledge, drawing on a new model of demand and supply in England at the local authority level.

This study will make two key contributions to knowledge and understanding. First, the geography of specialist housing provision for older people will be exposed and the extent to which this maps onto need at various scales will be revealed. Second, the multiple intersections and complex interactions between the state, market and charitable sectors that inform the provision of specialist housing for older people will be analysed to aid understanding of the variable geography of provision. Third, policy advice will be generated relating to the relevance and appropriateness of the opportunities generated through the operation of this mixed economy of specialist housing.

Team: Professor David Robinson (co-investigator), Ian Wilson (co-investigator) and Dr Gareth Young (Knowledge Exchange)

Timeline: September 2019 – October 2020

Theme: Choice