Retirement villages: an alternative form of housing on an ageing landscape.

• Author: Grant, Bevan C.

Abstract

Retirement villages are a relatively new form of housing to appear on the ageing landscape. The demand for this style of living by a small, but increasing, proportion of the older population suggests these places provide a viable alternative lifestyle to that in the broader community. This seems to be the case particularly for those older people who experience changing circumstances that detract from the quality of life to which they had been accustomed. What research is available suggests that these places can engender the feeling of community and provide the basis for, and a constructive way of, influencing an individual's social and psychological identification. However, retirement villages are not free from controversy, nor are they an antidote to ageing. Hence, we would do well to learn more about the way these places function as well as examine the experiences of the people who live there. Such information would be useful to inform future policy initiatives with regard to these age-segregated communities.

INTRODUCTION

The later years of life afford unique challenges and possibilities, but the choices are partially shaped by the demise of welfarism (due to economic and social restructuring) and living in a deregulated society. This places greater emphasis on individuals to figure out their own future by taking more, rather than less, responsibility for their lives. It is, therefore, not surprising that the salience of the home and community increases with age (Kellaher et al. 2004). Being able to choose the type of community in which to live may seem preferable, but as Giddens (1991) points out, where you have choice there is greater risk because you are confronting an open future. Furthermore, in many of the new risk situations there is often no historical experience with which to make well-informed calculations. This situation applies to increasing numbers of older people who for a variety of reasons (e.g. health status, lack of security, difficulty managing a large property, social isolation, poor public transport, loneliness, desire for alternative lifestyle) contemplate whether or not to "replace the community of their past with new identities which affirm a new stage in life" (Gilleard and Higgs 2005:20). In a sense, they are addressing the real as well as the perceived limitations of their current living arrangement, and some consider a retirement village is an attractive alternative. In this article I discuss how the emergence of retirement villages reflects a changing landscape, and how the villages have become an attractive option for an increasing proportion of the older population.

A PERSPECTIVE ON AGEING

As in other countries, the older (i.e. over 65 years) population is increasing. Currently in Aotearoa New Zealand this age group accounts for 475,000 (11.5%) of the population and is expected to number approximately 826,000 (19%) in 2025 and 1.2 million (25%) by 2050. Furthermore, the over-80-year-olds are the fastest-growing cohort (of any age group) and increasing at a rate of around 5% per annum (Ministry of Social Development 2001). It is evident the changing structure of the population along with the eventual doubling of the over-65 age group is going to have an unprecedented and significant impact on all aspects of society. This demographic change will have social and economic consequences for such things as the availability of resources, community services, pensions, health care, the work force and the provision of alternative housing for older people (United Nations 2002). It is, therefore, not surprising that the ageing population is attracting increasing attention from insurance brokers, politicians, entrepreneurs, researchers, multi-national companies and community groups. As more people live closer to the limits of their natural lifespan there is some anxiety, particularly at the political level, about how this will affect the economy of a country. Meanwhile, many of the social and cultural implications remain largely unexplored (Gilleard and Higgs 2005). But irrespective of the intentions and/or appropriateness of any developments, Neugarten (1982:27) cautions that although:

policies and programmes aimed at the old have been intended to compensate for inequalities and disadvantage, they could unintentionally lead to age segregation, or reinforcing the misrepresentation of the old as a problem and of stigmatizing rather than liberating older people from the negative effects of the label old. As part of planning for the changing demographic, the government commissioned a Prime Ministerial Task Force in 1997 to consult widely about the future needs of a society with a much greater proportion of older people. This resulted in the report Facing the Future, which raised ideas about what might be considered, and provided the foundation for the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy launched a few years later (Ministry of Social Development 2001). The purpose of the Strategy (which is in line with work being undertaken in other countries) is to reposition ageing in the public and political arena so it becomes more noticeable, and find ways to dismantle the perception that old age is mostly about dependency and decline. It also aims to encourage government and non-government organisations to work in a more collective way towards creating communities in which all people feel they belong and can age with a greater sense of identity, belonging, freedom and independence. The strategy recognises the later years as a time to celebrate, rather than rue, the richness and diversity of the ageing experience. Thus ageing is seen not only as a fixed biological or chronological process but also as a complex open-ended subjective and socio-cultural experience. It is a time when an individual's perception of self is based not only on what society defines as old, but also on what is happening in their life.

In order to maximise opportunities for growth and development, the Positive Ageing Strategy highlights the need to overcome both real and perceived barriers that currently hinder the ageing experience. This includes addressing the person--environment fit and all forms of ageism that impact on the everyday experiences of older people. But as noted by the Prime Ministerial Task Force, achieving such a goal in the short term will be difficult. When discussing the challenges that confront such a mission, Thornton (2002) noted how the myths of ageing perpetuate false images of being old, and how stereotyping ageing individuals unwittingly works to "displace older people from their communities into situations of being undervalued, unproductive and dependent" (p.303). Older people have typically been placed on the margins of society and are generally aligned inappropriately with the degenerative process. In addition, the all-to-often pervasive negative images of ageing have infiltrated public opinion, thoughts about policy development, and the attitudes of young and old alike. According to Gilleard and Higgs (2005:143), the "specific interests of older people have been treated as benefits of social citizenship rather than issues of identity". But in spite of this precarious position, older people are malleable and will go to great lengths to sustain a coherent sense of self and find ways to stay in touch with their community.

Increasing numbers of older people--and not only the well resourced--are making a transition to a new life rather than seeking a continuation of the old. They are bypassing and resisting the negative expectations and stereotypes of what growing older is supposedly about. In so doing, they revere self-reliance and rebuke the public negative perception about ageing as well as offering some resistance to ageing. People in later life wish to neither embrace nor choose the identity "old" (Vincent 2003). The preference for many is to embrace what Kaufmann (2000) refers to as the ageless self. Although altering stereotypes and images is an uphill battle, each act of identity establishes new possibilities of being. "None of us wants our age to subsume our entire identity. We don't want to be our age. We want to be ourselves" (Pogrebin, cited in Overall 2003:114). But with the prolonging of life, change is afoot with regard to the way older people are able, as well as choosing, to live. For those with the means and...