Housing Design for Elderly People in Tanzania; Significance of Adaptable Housing

Access to adaptable housing for elderly people has been one of the greatest challenges in Tanzania. The current trend of designing houses which do not accommodate key needs of elderly people and non involvement of professionals, contribute to this major setback. This paper therefore addresses importance of adaptable house design for elderly people in Tanzania. A case study research strategy was used where Mlalakuwa informal settlement in the city of Dar es Salaam was selected as case study area. Interviews, sketching, measuring and observations were used as data collection tools. Empirical results have shown that elderly people are facing a lot of problems in the use of spaces in their houses consequent upon failure by designers to consider special requirements of this special category of Tanzania population. Most of the houses studied have steep steps which make it difficult to be used by elderly people. Other shortcomings noted are slippery floors, squatting toilets, bathrooms lacking hand rails, user unfriendly kitchens. All these items make it difficult for the elderly to use space. Non involvement of professionals' in house design to realize adaptable housing design is also a major issue in the country. This paper provides undocumented insights about the importance of adaptable housing for elderly people hence the essence for considering special requirements of old people at the onset of house design. Professionals, particularly architects ought to be involved in design solutions to accommodate use of outdoor and indoor spaces at plot and house level for the benefit of elderly people hitherto neglected.