Introduction

These quotations illustrate a point about the image of housing for older people in the UK at the beginning of the 21st century. The first, an estate agent's description of a property on the open market, emphasises its attractiveness, privacy and convenience: a place which sounds pleasant to stay in, nice to visit, easy to get away from. The second presents the property as a provision for a particular group – by implication needy people more concerned about being cared for than caring about the place where they live (but not presenting behavioural problems). This reflects attitudes to ‘ordinary – age-integrated’ and ‘specialised – agerelated’ housing as much as the differences between the two places, raising issues about integration, segregation and the capacity of the environment – built and social – to support ‘ordinary life’. Social exclusion is currently a major political issue. The divisions between people who are able to take part fully in the life of the community, and those who are hindered from doing so by material and cultural deprivation, are seen as harmful to the whole of society, and the present rhetoric is one of inclusion and enablement. Older people – particularly the very old – are among those groups which, by virtue of their relative economic disadvantage and increased propensity for long-term limiting conditions and disabilities, are most at risk from social exclusion and its consequences. Our particular focus in this book is the environment of old age, which can help or hinder the integration of older people within their communities. We will explore some of the ways in which forms of housing and attitudes to the housing needs of older people have changed and will continue to do so as the 21st century progresses.