Ageing well, living well : ageing polis : a landscape planning scheme responsive to Hong Kong's demographic transformation

Abstract

It is generally accepted that there is social alienation towards the elderly in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong society, the poor elderly are stereotyped as being a group of weak, handicapped, and lonely people. Often they are regarded as outdated and unable to adapt to rapid changes in society. The virtue of respecting elderly is facing challenges because of rapid social changes. Recently, the government has proposed the elderly move to China to grow old. “Aging in Place” has become harder to archive nowadays and it is common for Hong Kong families to commit their elderly family members to nursing homes away from society due to the changing family structure. People admit that there are challenges and obstacles of letting elders “age in place”. Urban development, social gentrification, poverty and the decline of traditional cultural values have posed a considerable threat to the idea of “aging in place” in Hong Kong. Currently, in order to administrate with higher degree of convenience and effectiveness, nursing homes are often too “institutionalized” and lack relaxing and intimate environments. This thesis is attempting to re-code this planning strategy for an aging population and develop a new precedent of living for the elderly in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, it is attempting to make a rectification on present elderly home and retirement housing settings and to investigate the real needs of elders.