THE LIVING PRECINCT

Abstract

The Committee of Aging Issues (CAI) defines ageing-in-place to be “growing old in the home, community and environment that one is familiar with, with minimal change or disruption to one’s life and activities” (CAI, 2006). Populations are projected to age rapidly in the near future, especially in developed cities (UN, 2013). In a developed city like Singapore, ageing-in-place has become an important concept, with it being a preferred living arrangement for seniors (Goh, 2006). However, the deterioration of physical and cognitive conditions of a person, as he ages, poses a challenge to his ability to live independently in a familiar environment. To allow for ageing-in-place, where residents can live independently in a familiar environment, a residential precinct needs to be adaptable to ensure that independent daily living is possible even with declining physical and cognitive conditions due to ageing. This would prevent the need for relocation of these seniors, which causes a loss in ties and connections with the community that he is familiar with. In this thesis, the needs for ageing-in-place are investigated and applied into a model precinct that fully accommodates the different aspects for a senior to continue living independently in a familiar environment.