Environmental assessment of housing for older adults facing housing insecurity
Gurung, S., Mahmood, A., Qureshi, M., Chaudhury, H., Canham, S., Weldrick, R., & Elkes, S. (2021, November 13). Environmental assessment of housing for older adults facing housing insecurity [Paper presentation]. 2021 Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. Virtual.
Abstract
The Aging in the Right Place Environmental Audit (AIRP-ENV) and Secondary Observation (AIRP-ENV-SO) tools were developed to conduct observation-based audit of the built environment in shelters, transitional housing, independent housing with offsite/onsite supports, and permanent supportive housing with onsite medical and/or specialized services for older adults experiencing (or at risk of) homelessness. The 241 item AIRP-ENV tool is used to audit the presence/absence of exterior and interior built environmental features that support housing stability. The seven open-ended questions in the AIRP-ENV-SO tool is used to collect contextual data on function, safety and land-use of surrounding neighbourhood. Data were collected at four sites of a transitional housing program in Vancouver, Canada as part of a multi-year, multi-city partnership project on aging and homelessness. Preliminary results demonstrate that built environment and urban design features (e.g., access, privacy, flexible and supportive spaces) contribute towards tenants鈥� residential resiliency and aging in place.