SUSTAINABLE ELDERLY VILLAGES AS ALTERNATIVE SHELTERS FOR OLDER PEOPLE

The place of living, residence, constitutes an important dimension of the quality of life in terms of housing, especially elderly individuals. Along with the increase of the elderly population in the total population of the world, the life span of the elderly population is also increasing. According to statistical estimations about our country, it is suggested that Turkey will be in the forefront among the countries that will show the fastest increase in the elderly population over the next 25 years. Several researches have pointed out that various health problems and physical limitations associated with aging have had negative effects on daily life activities, social relations and active participation in life of the elderly individuals. On the other hand, the inadequacy of the arrangements made for the neighborhood elderly people live in might adversely affect their quality of life and diminish their life satisfaction. Thus, approaches to focusing environmental design or planning to improve the quality of life and life satisfaction of the elderly allow the individual to spread biological losses over time due to the goal of longer and healthy aging. Therefore, universal design envisages useful and flexible arrangements for the elderly in the living space. One of the viable housing alternatives that can provide care and shelter for elderly individuals who are rapidly increasing in population is "Retirement Villages". Retirement villages are considered a viable alternative to housing for increasing aging populations in countries such as Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the Netherlands. This study aims to explore the retirement village practices all over the world which enable elderly individuals to have active participation in life, increase their quality of life and their life satisfaction and that are an alternative to the need for housing. At the same time, an assessment of the situation with regard to retirement villages in Turkey has been presented.