Erskine-Doucette, Sally E. "Planning for an Aging Society: Housing for Older Nova Scotians"

The thesis focuses on the relationship between the housing preferences of older people and government housing policies in Nova Scotia. Characteristics of the older population in Nova Scotia and their housing preferences are established according to the perception of local community workers. These are then compared to the perceptions which planners in the province have about current policy direction and the housing preferences of older people. An international context for. this relationship is provided by a literature review. Personal interviews were conducted with ten community workers who are knowledgeable about the housing preferences of older people, and with eighteen government planners, community planners and program administrators. Fifteen municipal planners were questioned through telephone interviews.

Two distinctive concepts of housing are revealed in the thesis. Traditional government policy has attempted to provide "shelter" for those who could not provide for themselves. However, community workers expressed the idea that housing is more than shelter; in fact, they perceive housing in terms of the ' holistic concept of "home". Planners in Nova Scotia are somewhere in the middle, showing an appreciation for community preferences, but working within their departmental mandates. Current housing programs in the province attempt to go beyond the provision of minimal shelter, but a piecemeal approach prevents a satisfactory result. The thesis recommends that in order to incorporate the concept of "home" into housing policies, a comprehensive approach which encompasses housing, social services and health care is necessary.

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This document was last modified on February 14, 2001.