IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i3p722-d135009.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessment of and Improvement Strategies for the Housing of Healthy Elderly: Improving Quality of Life

Author

Listed:
  • I-Ming Feng

    (College of Creative Design, Asia University, 500 Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan)

  • Jun-Hong Chen

    (College of Creative Design, Asia University, 500 Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan)

  • Bo-Wei Zhu

    (Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Taipa 999078, Macau, China
    Graduate Institute of Urban Planning, College of Public Affairs, National Taipei University, 151, University Rd., San Shia District, New Taipei City 23741, Taiwan)

  • Lei Xiong

    (College of Creative Design, Asia University, 500 Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan)

Abstract

Global population is aging, particularly in developed countries and cities. Through the “Friendly Elderly Cities” and “Aging in Place” initiatives, various countries are making great efforts to improve the welfare and quality of life of the elderly, with the aim of catering to the physical and spiritual health as well as social welfare of the elderly. In this regard, the improvement of the housing environment of the elderly is one of the key factors in their quality of life and health. This study aims to effectively assess and improve the housing environment of the elderly in order to enhance their quality of life; it also aims to contribute the knowledge about improving elderly housing by applying an assessment framework using expert interviews and data collected from relevant literature. Using a mixed Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis model, a combination of the DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory)-based ANP (Analytic Network Process) (DANP) and the modified VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) methods, and the investigations and assessments in the case study, this study proposes strategies and directions for improving elderly housing. The study results indicate that, as distinct from using traditional methodologies where the hypothesis criteria are mutually independent, the proposed hybrid model (examining real-life problems by considering the mutual influences of factors) identifies a priority sequence wherein emphasis is placed on improving ventilation and air quality rather than adjustment of temperature. The systemic way of thinking shifts the focus from the most apparent problems to the root cause of the problems. Doing so avoids any mismatch of resource allocation in decision-making and thus maximizes the efficiency and sustainability of the improvement.

Suggested Citation

  • I-Ming Feng & Jun-Hong Chen & Bo-Wei Zhu & Lei Xiong, 2018. "Assessment of and Improvement Strategies for the Housing of Healthy Elderly: Improving Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-32, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:3:p:722-:d:135009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/3/722/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/3/722/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ottoni, Callista A. & Sims-Gould, Joanie & Winters, Meghan & Heijnen, Myrthe & McKay, Heather A., 2016. "“Benches become like porches”: Built and social environment influences on older adults’ experiences of mobility and well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 33-41.
    2. Ormandy, David & Ezratty, Véronique, 2012. "Health and thermal comfort: From WHO guidance to housing strategies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 116-121.
    3. Li, Jun & Ng, S. Thomas & Skitmore, Martin, 2017. "Review of low-carbon refurbishment solutions for residential buildings with particular reference to multi-story buildings in Hong Kong," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 393-407.
    4. Wen, Ming & Hawkley, Louise C. & Cacioppo, John T., 2006. "Objective and perceived neighborhood environment, individual SES and psychosocial factors, and self-rated health: An analysis of older adults in Cook County, Illinois," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2575-2590, November.
    5. Ståhl, Agneta & Horstmann, Vibeke & Iwarsson, Susanne, 2013. "A five-year follow-up among older people after an outdoor environment intervention," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 134-141.
    6. Eriksen, Michael D. & Greenhalgh-Stanley, Nadia & Engelhardt, Gary V., 2015. "Home safety, accessibility, and elderly health: Evidence from falls," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 14-24.
    7. Oiamo, Tor H. & Luginaah, Isaac N. & Baxter, Jamie, 2015. "Cumulative effects of noise and odour annoyances on environmental and health related quality of life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 191-203.
    8. Henshaw, Victoria & Guy, Simon, 2015. "Embodied thermal environments: an examination of older-people's sensory experiences in a variety of residential types," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 233-240.
    9. Nomura, Mika & Hiyama, Kyosuke, 2017. "A review: Natural ventilation performance of office buildings in Japan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 746-754.
    10. Bo-Wei Zhu & Jia-Rui Zhang & Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng & Shan-Lin Huang & Lei Xiong, 2017. "Public Open Space Development for Elderly People by Using the DANP-V Model to Establish Continuous Improvement Strategies towards a Sustainable and Healthy Aging Society," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-29, March.
    11. Song, Yan & Knaap, Gerrit-Jan, 2003. "New urbanism and housing values: a disaggregate assessment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 218-238, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Linghan Zhang & Junyi Zhang, 2018. "Impacts of Leisure and Tourism on the Elderly’s Quality of Life in Intimacy: A Comparative Study in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Emma Mulliner & Mike Riley & Vida Maliene, 2020. "Older People’s Preferences for Housing and Environment Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    3. Zan Yang & Yuqi Fu, 2019. "Physical Attributes of Housing and Elderly Health: A New Dynamic Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Marius Constantin PROFIROIU & Carmen Valentina RADULESCU & Sorin BURLACU, 2019. "Aspects Of Quality Of Life In Urban Areas Of The European Union," Proceedings of Administration and Public Management International Conference, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(1), pages 3-11, October.
    5. Sung-Shun Weng & Yang Liu & Yen-Ching Chuang, 2019. "Reform of Chinese Universities in the Context of Sustainable Development: Teacher Evaluation and Improvement Based on Hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, October.
    6. Jingyu Yu & Guixia Ma & Shuxia Wang, 2021. "Do Age-Friendly Rural Communities Affect Quality of Life? A Comparison of Perceptions from Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-13, July.
    7. Lingchao Meng & Chun Zhu & Kuo-Hsun Wen, 2020. "Research on Constructing a Healing Environment for the Street Spaces of a High-Density City: Using Street Spaces in Macao’s Old City Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-24, July.
    8. Tien-Li Chen & Chin-Chuan Chen & Yen-Ching Chuang & James J. H. Liou, 2020. "A Hybrid MADM Model for Product Design Evaluation and Improvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Tzen-Ying Ling & Hsien-Tsung Lu & Yen-Pin Kao & Szu-Cheng Chien & Hung-Chou Chen & Li-Fong Lin, 2023. "Understanding the Meaningful Places for Aging-in-Place: A Human-Centric Approach toward Inter-Domain Design Criteria Consideration in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-21, January.
    10. Jung-A Park & Byungsook Choi, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Intention of Multi-Family House Residents to Age in Place in a Potential Naturally Occurring Retirement Community of Seoul in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-22, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emma Mulliner & Mike Riley & Vida Maliene, 2020. "Older People’s Preferences for Housing and Environment Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Marie Geraldine Herrmann-Lunecke & Cristhian Figueroa-Martínez & Francisca Parra Huerta & Rodrigo Mora, 2022. "The Disabling City: Older Persons Walking in Central Neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Lin, Sheng-Hau & Zhao, Xiaofeng & Wu, Jiuxing & Liang, Fachao & Li, Jia-Hsuan & Lai, Ren-Ji & Hsieh, Jing-Chzi & Tzeng, Gwo-Hshiung, 2021. "An evaluation framework for developing green infrastructure by using a new hybrid multiple attribute decision-making model for promoting environmental sustainability," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Daniela D’Alessandro & Andrea Rebecchi & Letizia Appolloni & Andrea Brambilla & Silvio Brusaferro & Maddalena Buffoli & Maurizio Carta & Alessandra Casuccio & Liliana Coppola & Maria Vittoria Corazza , 2023. "Re-Thinking the Environment, Cities, and Living Spaces for Public Health Purposes, According with the COVID-19 Lesson: The LVII Erice Charter," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Kevin Credit & Elizabeth Mack, 2019. "Place-making and performance: The impact of walkable built environments on business performance in Phoenix and Boston," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 46(2), pages 264-285, February.
    6. Lingchao Meng & Kuo-Hsun Wen & Zhijie Zeng & Richard Brewin & Xiaolei Fan & Qiong Wu, 2020. "The Impact of Street Space Perception Factors on Elderly Health in High-Density Cities in Macau—Analysis Based on Street View Images and Deep Learning Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-19, February.
    7. Burlinson, Andrew & Giulietti, Monica & Law, Cherry & Liu, Hui-Hsuan, 2021. "Fuel poverty and financial distress," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    8. Sung-Shun Weng & Yang Liu & Yen-Ching Chuang, 2019. "Reform of Chinese Universities in the Context of Sustainable Development: Teacher Evaluation and Improvement Based on Hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, October.
    9. Paul C. Cheshire & Christian A. L. Hilber, 2008. "Office Space Supply Restrictions in Britain: The Political Economy of Market Revenge," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(529), pages 185-221, June.
    10. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Sinning, Mathias G., 2011. "Neighborhood diversity and the appreciation of native- and immigrant-owned homes," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 214-226, May.
    11. Hans R.A. Koster & Jan Rouwendal, 2012. "The Impact Of Mixed Land Use On Residential Property Values," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 733-761, December.
    12. Sung-Chin Chung & Yi-Pin Lin & Chun Yang & Chi-Ming Lai, 2019. "Natural Ventilation Effectiveness of Awning Windows in Restrooms in K-12 Public Schools," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-14, June.
    13. Mara Hammerle & Paul J. Burke, 2022. "Solar PV and energy poverty in Australia's residential sector," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 822-841, October.
    14. Wang, Bin & Zacharias, John, 2020. "Noise, odor and passenger density in perceived crowding in public transport," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 215-223.
    15. Abdullah Addas & Ahmad Maghrabi, 2021. "Social Evaluation of Public Open Space Services and Their Impact on Well-Being: A Micro-Scale Assessment from a Coastal University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    16. Kristin F. Butcher & Kelsey Moran & Tara Watson, 2022. "Immigrant labor and the institutionalization of the U.S.‐born elderly," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 1375-1413, November.
    17. Paul Cheshire, 2008. "Reflections on the nature and policy implications of planning restrictions on housing supply. Discussion of 'Planning policy, planning practice, and housing supply' by Kate Barker," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 50-58, spring.
    18. Adriana Luciano & Federica Pascale & Francesco Polverino & Alison Pooley, 2020. "Measuring Age-Friendly Housing: A Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-35, January.
    19. Liwei Wen & Kyosuke Hiyama, 2018. "Target Air Change Rate and Natural Ventilation Potential Maps for Assisting with Natural Ventilation Design During Early Design Stage in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, May.
    20. Zhonghua Gou & Xiaohuan Xie & Yi Lu & Maryam Khoshbakht, 2018. "Quality of Life (QoL) Survey in Hong Kong: Understanding the Importance of Housing Environment and Needs of Residents from Different Housing Sectors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:3:p:722-:d:135009. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.