Retirement communities and housing for the elderly : editorial to the special issue

Abstract

In the spirit of Ralph Waldo Emersons oft quoted sen¬ timent regarding the « place » of ageing and the elderly in society, the ageing of North Americas and Europes populations provides the « fit surroundings » for the col¬ lection of papers on Retirement Communities and Hous¬ ing for the Elderly in this special edition of Geograph¬ ica Helvetica. Currently, over 12 percent of both the Canadian and American populations are aged over 65 U. S. Census Bureau 2001). Approximately 15 percent of Europes population is aged over 65 and over, with Italy having the largest elderly population U. S. Census Bureau 2001). In Switzerland the population over 64 years is 15.5%, comparable to the European standard, and so are the Canton of Zurich 15.25%) and the Canton of Geneva 14.64%), whereas the City Canton of Basel has an above average elderly population 21.6%, according to the Bundesamt fur Statistik 2004). The size of the elderly population in North America and Europe is expected to continue to increase over the next couple of decades as the baby- boom generation enters later life. By the year 2030 projections indicate that 20 percent of North Americas and 24 percent of Europes populations will be aged over 65 U. S. Census Bureau 2001). In an everyday sense the ageing of North Americas and Europes populations are well known. Hardly a week seems to go by without a newspaper story or news report about how the ageing of the population will negatively) impact society. Two issues in particu¬ lar, the costs of health care provision and income sup¬ port policies, have received a great deal of attention and aroused much heated debate in the United States, Canada and many European countries such as Switzer¬ land. The concentration of the elderly in certain places, states or provinces and smaller communities has like¬ wise captured the imagination. Most people in North America are, for example, aware of the concentration of retirees in Florida and Arizona and the develop¬ ment and apparent popularity of Sun City retirement communities in particular and retirement communi¬ ties in general. In a more mundane sense most urban residents are aware of the existence of nursing homes or apartment buildings containing large proportions of older people within their city of residence. In Switzer¬ land, too, housing for the elderly and the type of living arrangements for the elderly, such as rooming in with family members or non family arrangements, are the