'Smart' housing for the elderly: Understanding perceptions and biases of rural America

Abstract

It is commonly acknowledged that 'smart' environments, interactive architecture and 'smart' homes will defi ne the next cutting edge in architectural research. Most critics agree that one of the fi rst problems that 'smart' homes will help to address is that of spiraling costs of healthcare and aging-in-place. This may be true for urban settings where there is the fi nancial feasibility for such technologies but what about rural America? It has been conclusively proven that rural America suffers from a lack of healthcare (delivery and access). Prior research (Mathew 2005) has also established that a rural home is different from an urban home. Will technologies designed for the urban home work in a rural setting? And do rural people carry the same attitudes and biases towards technology? This paper continues our research in the design of 'smart' rural environments. It summarizes fi ndings from focus group studies conducted in rural communities that help us to understand attitudes of people towards 'smart' technology. We will use these fi ndings to examine the feasibility of ubiquitous computing and 'smart' spaces in rural areas. In conclusion, we will present guidelines to help designers in the creation of technology to augment healthy aging in rural home settings.