Abstract:In the global political context, a new voice is making itself heard -the third age voice, highlighting the necessity of changing the common perception related to actual aspirations and needs of this category of age. The concern in this direction has been materialized with the recommendation, made by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), on an alternative policy framework. This new approach is founded on the concept of active ageing and proposes a breach between age and dependency. A healthy society must offer the same level of freedom and control of everyday life, to all its members. Therefore, barriers must be overcome, both regarding the institutional, the infrastructure and last but not least, the educational ones. Architecture has the task of providing a built environment that can sustain this philosophy of life. But a legitimate question arises: what kind of space is suitable for this goal? So far, Romanian authorities have not sufficiently analysed the problem of decreasing negative consequences of aging process and even less of an active, healthy ageing. Sociological studies carried out in recent years in our country, on samples of relevant age in this matter, concluded that the elderly shows an increased interest in terms of social reintegration. In order to encourage a national strategy in this direction, this article briefly reviews the major aspects of current civic perception of what it means to be older. Conclusions are then drawn toward overcoming the general level of superficial thinking, and taking into account the new profile of the senior citizens.
Viewed globally, the lengthening of life spans is an undeniable reality. Although on the subject of the third age's problems, we can speak of a thorough documentation regarding the differences in space perception at this age and the effects of relocation in conjunction with a blurred feeling of home, we are in an early stage concerning the translation of these issues into practice. We try to highlight the best practices and concepts in design issues concerning elderly people, reveal the top references of current knowledge which can and will help both architects and residents to raise expectations in this area. It is also important to identify common aspects that reflect large scale trends and particularities which complete these approaches. This article aims to cover a wide range of situations, from rural to urban centers, assessing a variety of social formations and levels of elderly care; also, are taken into account the differences between projects designed to encourage the interest of residents in different areas and projects focused on remedying people's living impairments. Thus, there is a clear direction in recent years to plan strategies for providing support to older people to live an independent and meaningful life, as much as possible. Space is not only defined by its location, takes on different connotations of spatiality, when is interpreted through human interaction. Globalization, so prominent in recent years, does not have to lead to a uniformity of experience where the personal feeling or meaning of every place is lost. Personal identity preserved and a high degree of sociability can have a positive impact later in everyone's life to maintain a sense of affiliation to a certain social community.
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