Housing and the Older Rural Population

Abstract

From a policy standpoint, housing for the rural elderly has essentially been ignored. Among the many reasons are a lack of political power and the general perception that rural populations cannot be served efficiently or economically. However, the changing demographic profile of the older population itself will likely make housing and support services to rural elderly a compelling issue in the near future. Despite the development of various alternative living arrangements, most remain unavailable to all but a small proportion of the rural population. In an effort to encourage dialog, this article reviews the demographic characteristics of the rural elderly population and briefly introduces Home Sharing; Share-A-Home; and Cooperative Living Arrangements as promising alternatives to traditional housing types.