Mobility Important When Planning Housing
April 8th, 2009I recently attended a professional conference on retirement issues where one of the presentations really gave me something to think about. The presentation concerned the new Building Code in the United Kingdom where all new homes are now required to have a bedroom on the main floor AND an accessible bathroom.
With this single change, the UK will make a significant step toward making sure that there is adequate, suitable housing available as the population ages.
The presentation raised two issues for me. First, are we doing enough in Canada at a government policy level to make sure that there will be adequate housing for our aging population?
Second, it brought home to me that as individuals we also have to address and plan for the changes which are likely as we age. Mobility impairment is a common challenge for seniors. Given that, does it make sense to buy a retirement home with no provision for main floor living? These kinds of considerations are easy to address when selecting or designing a home, but much more difficult and expensive to address after the fact.
William Jack
Tags: Housing, life style
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