No abstract

In recent years, policy formulation for provision of public goods, especially for public housing policy is going to be neoliberalism in both global north and global south under the ideology of so-called new public management. Privatization for public housing provision is regarded as a neoliberal policy agenda which is used by local governments for easing financial burden. In this regard, partial privatization of public housing is deemed as quasi-public goods provided by local government to those low-income groups at an affordable price, which tends to reshape local welfare system. This paper will discuss the recent trend of neoliberalism in public housing policies in Netherlands, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Netherlands, a high welfare state, has taken measures to increase home ownership in private sectors and privatization on its social housings. As a typical laissez-faire market, public housing policy in Hong Kong is tend be much more resilience; and its portion of public housing sector will expand with the increased flows of governmental investments; but it still offers subsidized public housing through various provisions. China, as a socialist market economy, whose central government is expected to provide affordable housing (economic comfortable housing and public rental housing) to those urban residents with local hukou through model of public-private partnership. By comparing the recent changes and trend of public housing in these three regions, we conclude that public housing policy is going to be neoliberalism, which will challenge local governments to balance their social equity and economic development.

The tremendous growth in the ageing population over the past two decades has compelled the Hong Kong government to reformulate its housing policy by redeveloping and incorporating certain age-friendly housing design elements and facilities into the public housing schemes built in the post-war period. This research investigates whether these introduced design elements and facilities satisfy the numerous special needs of the seniors in line with the concept of ‘ageing in place’. Data were collected from 224 seniors through a comprehensive questionnaire survey in four large-scale redeveloped public rental housing estates. Using three designated built environment dimensions, namely micro, meso and macro, the results revealed that senior tenants were generally satisfied with the present living environments (in all the three scales) in the estates. At the micro-scale, seniors were satisfied with the level of privacy and sense of autonomy derived from the present design features in their homes. For the meso-scale, the study revealed that the seniors were particularly satisfied with the design elements such as convenient transportation and accessibility, including convenient walkways. At the macro-scale, the community care service is deemed important for seniors’ wellbeing. However, more attention is needed on safety measures in interior and shower areas, public seating in common areas and provision of sufficient community care services. This study provides insights for policy makers and development authorities on elderly housing provision.

This study investigated the associations between self-reported deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) and informal and formal social participation among Americans aged 65 or older and how their family resources, health, and community social capital may partially account for these associations. Using cross-sectional data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, multiple logistic regressions were conducted to test the research questions. Results revealed that older adults who were D/HH had significantly lower odds of attending recreational and clubs and organized activities. Family resources and health significantly explained the disparity for all types of social participation, whereas community social capital contributed more to the disparity in religious service attendance. Findings provide important intervention directions to reduce the disparity in late-life social participation as a result of experiencing D/HH.

Objectives: This study examined the associations between home and community environmental factors and self-rated health (SRH) among older Canadians and how these associations vary by gender and living arrangements. Background: In social gerontology research, the psychosocial determinants of SRH have been widely investigated. Based on the environmental gerontology framework, this study examined the home and community environmental correlates of SRH. Method: The sample (aged 60 or older) was drawn from the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey (4,086 men living alone; 6,471 men living with others; 9,170 women living alone; 4,876 women living with others). Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between SRH and potential environmental correlates in a hierarchical model. Results: Findings show that older men and women living alone reported lower levels of SRH than those living with others. Regression findings show common and unique home and community environmental predictors of SRH by group. Common predictors of higher SRH were private housing residence, larger living space, satisfaction with dwelling, volunteering, no perceived need for community services, and community safety. Home maintenance needs predicted lower SRH among older men and women living with others; uninhabitable conditions predicted poor SRH among older men living with others and older women living alone. Conclusion: Results support the important effects of place in terms of home and community environments for older adults’ SRH, and associations differed by gender and living arrangements.