Making the Case for Centralized Dementia Care Through Adaptive Reuse in the Time of COVID-19

Abstract

It is estimated that 5.4 million Americans have some form of dementia and these numbers are expected to rise in the coming decades, leading to an unprecedented demand for memory care housing and services. At the same time, infectious disease outbreaks like the COVID-19 pandemic have raised great concerns for the future of care settings for people living with dementia. In searching for innovative options to create more autonomy and better quality of life in dementia care settings, while at the same time improving infectious disease control, repurposing existing structures, in particular vacant urban malls, may be one option for the large sites needed for the European model of dementia villages. This editorial paper makes the case for the Dementia Friendly City Center model for centralized dementia programs, medical services and housing. By working across multiple disciplines, this research team has simultaneously addressed numerous issues, including community revitalization, building sustainability, and the strengthening of infectious disease control in care sites which are inclusive, progressive and convergent with the needs of an aging population.

A framework for sustainable adaptive reuse: understanding vacancy and underuse in existing urban buildings

“…The fascination of redeveloping old building forms for new novel experiences is growing (Lynch, 2016). Increasingly, nonheritage buildings, perceived to be obsolete, vacant, or underused, are connected with adaptive reuse, including commercial offices Hamida et al, 2020), industrial buildings (Petković-Grozdanovića et al, 2016;Vardopoulos, 2019), and retail (Lesneski, 2011;Roberts and Carter, 2020).…”

“…These changes demand a deeper understanding of vacancy among stakeholders so that sustainable reuse opportunities can be maximized or alternatives sought. Educating current and future stakeholders about what can be, rather than what is, is imperative (Roberts and Carter, 2020). This is the goal of sustainable, adaptive, reuse approaches, transforming vacancy into potential, as explored in this article.…”

“…A further emerging argument is the need to repurpose space to mitigate the sudden and dramatic economic and social shifts brought by social distancing restrictions during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The need for additional space through adaptive reuse in medical emergencies also needs to take account of patients' psychosocial needs on a day to day basis whilst receiving medical care (Roberts and Carter, 2020). More adaptive reuse cases and examples should be developed to show how care settings can improve, be inclusive, progressive, and convergent in the era of an aging population (Roberts and Carter, 2020).…”

“…,,Yung et al (2014b),Conejos et al (2016),Petković-Grozdanovića et al (2016),Camocini and Nosova (2017),Fianchini (2017),Hong and Chen (2017),Mohamed et al (2017),Giuliani et al (2018),Plevoets and Sowińska-Heim (2018),Riggs and Chamberlain (2018), Tan et al(2018),Bottero et al (2019),Kee (2019),Turok et al (2019),Vardopoulos (2019),Williams (2019), Abastante et al(2020),Abdullah et al (2020),Aigwi et al (2020),Hamida et al (2020),Paschoalin and Isaacs (2020),Roberts and Carter (2020),Vizzarri et al (2020) Lesneski (2011), De, Foster(2020) Wilkinson and Reed (2011),Yung et al (2014b),Misirlisoy (2020),Vehbi et al (2021)Costa et al (2019) Extent of intervention: WBAR, whole building adaptive reuse; MUML, Mixed-Use Multiple Levels; PAR, pocket or partial adaptive reuse; TAR, temporary adaptive reuse. Source: Authors.…”