Are we asking the right question about ageing at home? Insights from the HOUSE-research

We often ask how we can help people stay in their homes for longer. But are we asking the right question? Perhaps the more important question is: what makes a place a good place to grow older?

Across Europe, ageing in place has become an important ambition. Most older people want to remain living independently, and housing and care policies increasingly aim to support this. Yet staying in the same home does not automatically mean ageing well. A home may become difficult to navigate, local services may disappear, social networks may change, or everyday activities may become harder to maintain. The right place to grow older is therefore not necessarily the place where someone happens to live today.

This tension was one of the starting points of HOUSE, a four-year interdisciplinary research project in Flanders exploring how housing and the wider living environment contribute to the wellbeing of current and future older people. Our research suggests a shift from simply ageing in place towards ageing well in the right place: growing older in a place that fits the person, supports everyday life and can respond to change.

But what makes a place ‘right’ cannot be captured by objective housing quality alone. Accessibility, safety, size and proximity to services matter, but so do more subjective experiences such as autonomy, control, identity, belonging and feeling at home. HOUSE therefore looked at housing wellbeing across different scales, from personal belongings and the layout of the home to the street, neighbourhood and wider living environment. The right place is not just physically suitable, but also personally meaningful.

Nor is the right place the same for everyone. People differ in their health, income, tenure, household situation, social networks, past experiences and expectations for the future. These differences shape both what they need from their home and what options are realistically available to them. For some, planning ahead is possible and they have the resources and opportunities to act on their preferences. For others, financial constraints, insecure tenure or unexpected life events leave far less room to choose. Ageing well in the right place therefore requires not one ideal housing model, but diversity, adaptability and meaningful, affordable choices.

During our upcoming Housing LIN HAPPI Hour, we will give a short introduction to HOUSE and share some of the insights and tools developed through the project.

More information on the project: www.HOUSE-research.be.

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Elke will be speaking at the HAPPI Hour webinar 'A HAPPI future: Designing age-friendly homes and communities for wellbeing', on 22nd September, 4- 5pm