Ajani, A A and Olapade, D T (2025) Building design considerations for healthy and active aging-in-place. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 43(6), pp. 1466-1481. ISSN 2398-4708
Abstract
The concept of aging-in-place has gained notable significance in the last decade due to a dramatic demographic shift in global population dynamics that have considerably affected the ability of societies to adequately cater for their aging population. This paper examines some of the barriers to aging-in-place in the context of health needs, housing design and the role of retrofitting/smart home technologies in overcoming these barriers. Using a narrative literature review approach, the authors undertook a comprehensive search of recent relevant literature focusing on five core thematic areas: health and aging, aging in place, barriers to aging in place, retrofitting and smart home technologies for successful aging in place. The authors entered appropriate keywords into interdisciplinary research databases and synthesized a coherent narrative discussing the thematic areas using the data extracted from the literature search. There is a bidirectional relationship between aging and the home environment. Barriers to aging-in-place are mainly related to progressive decline in health, which alters the environmental needs of individuals. Appropriate building designs can significantly facilitate aging-in-place. The authors, therefore, highlight the role of retrofitting and smart home technologies as practical solutions to the challenges of the aging-in-place. Forward planning in building design is essential to guarantee that the home environment is well adapted for the challenges of aging-in-place while also promoting healthy aging. The paper shows the relationship between aging and the home environment and how building design considerations could enhance healthy aging-in-place.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | aging; aging-in-place; artificial intelligence; retrofitting; smart home technology |
| Index terms: | ageing population, dynamics, artificial intelligence, building design, database, narrative, population, housing design, retrofitting, guarantee, society, smart home, literature review, interdisciplinary research |
| Subjects: | systems engineering, data management, qualitative and interpretive research, renovation and retrofit, design practice, contract structure, artificial intelligence, data analysis and analytics, communities and social development, demography, design process, research methods, architectural design |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Procurement, Design Practice, Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here