An exploration of live–work housing conditions of low-income older people in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

This article explores live–work housing conditions for low-income older residents in an informal settlement in Bangkok called Klong Toey (KT) via interviews with 12 participants. The aim is to understand the housing and livelihood situation of older low-income inhabitants of KT, to assess the suitability of their physical environment and areas that could be improved to enable it to serve as live–work housing and to facilitate aging in place, and to inform future work. Participants were asked about the housing conditions in KT and their impact on residents; types of housing for older people in KT; design guidelines for live–work housing; and any lessons from other low-income housing projects. The study used content analysis to examine the interview transcripts. Four organizing themes were used to analyze the responses: housing conditions and relation to live–work; situation and requirements of older people’s housing; live–work housing design guidelines; and solutions to older people’s live–work housing. Finally, four global conceptual domains of live–work housing were constructed from mapping the basic themes. The global conceptual domains include “space,” “livelihood,” “support,” and “services” that are essential to the provision of live–work housing in KT.