Creating inclusive living environment in urban residences for Indian elderly

Abstract

The aim of the research is to study the situations of Indian elderly and to generate a framework to create inclusive living environment for the Indian elderly. Through preliminary diagnostic surveys the need of creation of inclusive living environments has been established. An extensive literature review is done to understand ageing. Then field surveys are performed to identify the challenges that the elderly face. The survey is done for the upcoming typologies which are identified with market survey and scientific layering of the data. Then 48 elderly in the age group of 60–85 years representing independent elderly, frail elderly, and dependent elderly are studied using environment-behavior research tools. The collected data is analyzed in layers to identify 20 environmental issues. Based on these identified issues, analysis and synthesis is done to identify the possibilities of interventions at architecture design level. It has been established through testing and validation that the gap can be filled by guidelines. Thus, following a methodology, the guidelines to create “Living Environments for the Indian Elderly” are prepared.