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Many of the appliances are remotely controlled: internal temperature, ... The sanitary appliances in the bathroom and the washing machine are ergonomically ...
HOUSING PROGRAMS SUPPORTING THE EMERGING NEEDS OF OLDER PEOPLE Luigi Biocca, Annalisa Morini CNR ITC [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract Housing policies in Italy are promoting a number of local projects including different people’s needs and installation of new home technologies, in order to adjust home routines and functionality to new lifestyles and needs of the changing community and family pattern. We illustrate advancement of housing in some case-studies as regards to smart home applications and tools for running or improving daily activities and home routines in a fast and effective way. In particular, we focus on recent issues and outcomes as follows: - City Councils promoted additional measures (Neighbourhood Agreements) for urban redevelopment plans in the perspective of the Design for All, and include for the first time compulsory and appropriately supportive technologies, from those regarding house to those related to the person’s safety and comfort. - Local Housing Agencies developed urban plans of new/remodelled housing areas, where designing a new house layout adjusted to the changing family pattern (single elderly or young married couples) is a major concern. - Mixed initiatives. We show some relevant case-studies as representatives of above initiatives. 1. Introduction Housing programs launched throughout the last years cover different funding actions and instruments. Local governments and/or municipalities have different fundraising strategies for housing projects: • apply for specific bids or competitions of housing launched by the central government with peculiar criteria (Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports); • start a project independently within their own yearly allotted budget; • co-work with housing agencies in a shared budget system; • co-work with different public and/or private bodies in a mixed funding system. Any type has its own peculiarity, of course, but some fundamental principles are the same, for instance to promote initiatives of renewal rather than new constructions, to integrate building with social and cultural programs, to strengthen the efforts among different partners, both public and private. We illustrate in detail the nature and the scope of some basic types of them, together with related case-studies. 2. Neighbourhood Agreements In these last years the principal Italian public initiatives related to urban renewal are devoted to programs of constructions called ‘Neighbourhood Agreements’ (NA). Within NA, users’ participation, promotion of job creation and private investments are more underlined and integrated. In fact, even if launched by the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports, the program had the contribution also of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The aim is focused to provide not only a new built (or rehabilitated) environment, but also a vital neighbourhood, with a specific attention to build a program of new productive and social activities, which can guarantee that their inhabitants, no more unoccupied, but active workers, can contribute to pay attention to the correct maintenance of their area. From the building point of view, programs regard the whole neighbourhood, with housing buildings and public open spaces, including pedestrian routes, squares, neighbourhood facilities and housing services for people with particular needs, first of all older people but also other age

with some type of impairment. Sponsors of these contracts are Municipalities, together with other associations and productive categories and, through Regions, proposals reach the Ministry of Infrastructures which choose those to be financed, with the support too of the Ministry of Labor. Four aspects can be improved by the program: • the renewal of the building characters, increasing the operating activity of the urban environment, ensuring, in the meanwhile, the saving of natural available sources, particularly energy ones, • the increase of services and green public areas in the neighbourhood; • the improvement of the housing quality. With higher standards also related to the external environment; • the adequacy to the new national technical norms. Therefore, within the description of the proposal, the main aspects regard: • The type of renewal, more devoted to introduce new technical equipment (f.i. lifts, or heating systems) or to reorganize dwellings (f.i. smaller, for singles or elderly couples); • The type of services and social, commercial or cultural buildings which can integrate the neighbourhood and promote social interactions; • The organization of the mobility and leisure systems, which can provide different type of pathways and areas (pedestrian routes, parking areas, green equipped spaces, etc.); • The type of competencies and roles involved, from public bodies to private companies, volunteers, associations, etc. By this program, launched in 1998, 46 proposals became projects. We illustrate one of them located in a small city in the north of Italy, Vigevano, close to Pavia. Vigevano An urban renovation of a degraded district of low-rise houses with 400 residents brought up into three action schemes: housing upgrading, new planning of common areas, and enhancing social community (see Fig. 1). The project started in 1998 and it is now almost completed (Giandelli, 1999). Old houses were remodelled to meet requirements of current lifestyles: particularly, it was included the installation of new technology systems, a new arrangement of layouts and private gardens for ground-floor houses were provided, the construction of new flats for older tenants was realised. Further, some common facilities, thought for older people but not only for them, completed the project: a laundry, a day center, a gym club, a multipurpose room. Public and common areas of the district were newly arranged with green parks, sitting areas, playing areas for children, larger pedestrian zones, green-covered galleries, sport facilities, meeting hall for the community. Some internal areas are not allowed to car circulation, providing therefore quite and safe spaces. The design process and common decisions involved also users’ participation, so that the district can grow in its community life as well as encourage people’s aggregation. 3. Local Housing Agency Local Housing Agencies are in charge of building, remodeling and maintaining their real estate, whose dwellings are usually assigned in ownership or easy rental to low-income people. Agencies can promote their programs autonomously and set up intervention criteria from case to case, with no interference with specific governmental addresses, but rather with local governments and/or municipalities, which provide for direct funds. Housing policy of this kind can then show different purposes, although the main recurring concerns of projects are on families’ splitting, house layouts remodeled inside reduced sizes, re-assignment of single older people to small flats, integration of different age groups of tenants; but also on design/construction/technology aspects, i.e. materials’ sustainability, energy saving, bioclimatic criteria, home automation installations, health monitoring.

Local Housing Agencies can also undertake joint programs with City Councils. The following two examples illustrate a project promoted by ITEA of Trento, in the North-East of Italy and one in Rome.

ITEA, Trento ITEA (www.itea.tn.it) is the social housing agency of the Trento’s Province. Just to give an overview, Trento is an autonomous Province, from an administrative point of view and this aspect is an advantage for the bureaucratic processes: further, is not a big Province, with a total population of 447,000 inhabitants, but it included 223 Municipalities, many of them scattered on the mountains. ITEA can not be considered as a representative of the Italian social housing agencies, but one of the most advanced and best examples. The goal that ITEA is trying to reach is to answer users’ needs activating a common effort among three integrating policies: housing, social assistance and healthcare.

Legend: 1. No car access and enhanced pedestrian 10. Rearranged house layouts usability 11. Ground-floor houses for large families 2. Car-free area 12. Installed elevators and heating systems 3. New parking lots 13. Retrofit houses with facilities – laundry, day 4. Garden with fountain centre, gym club and multipurpose areas – to 5. Sport field (football and basketball) accommodate older residents 6. Green-covered galleries 14. Community meeting hall 7. Green park for children 15. Old block to be demolished and replaced by a 8. Gardens of houses new high advanced housing block for older 9. Remodelled facades tenants Figure 1 – Vigevano. Axonometric view of renovation actions (Source: Giandelli, see References)

In the year 2001 an experimental housing initiative started and it is related to the idea of housing share, in which is not the dwelling to be shared but the general idea of the house, trying to create stronger links among the inhabitants to reach a mutual support and to manage directly common activities (Robecchi Defant, 2002). Another initiative regards older people, since 1990 and due to a specific Province law. A third initiative is the technological innovation related to the house in terms of home automation and safety and security aspects or, more generally, what is called smart house, specifically supporting the more frail inhabitants. The goal is therefore related to enhance the comfort of the user. Within this framework, ITEA and the Municipality of Trento carried on the experimental project of the Center for an Independent Life. Devoted to people with motor or physical disabilities who live in Trento area, the project aims to answer to the inhabitants’ specific needs with the support of some technological tools (see Fig. 2). The figure shows one of the flats, devoted to a seriously injured person who needs even the transport system between the bedroom and the bathroom. The flat is composed by a living area, including an open kitchen, one bathroom and two bedrooms, one for the disabled person and one, smaller, for his/her assistant. Many of the appliances are remotely controlled: internal temperature, lights, TV, radio, hi-fi, as the windows, shutters and doors, including the entrance one. The kitchen has electric appliances and automated work desks, in order that anyone can use his/her adapt height. The sanitary appliances in the bathroom and the washing machine are ergonomically suitable for a person with motor impairments.

Legend: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Video Door phone Signal Detection And Transmission System Voice-Commanded Remote Control System Door phone Board On/Off Lighting Control System Motorized Shuttering. Opening/Locking Control System For Main Entrance Door Opening/Locking Control System For Doors And Windows Tv, Radio,Hi-Fi System Remote Control Lifting System

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Remotely Controlled Bed System Motorized Kitchen And Electricity-Powered Cooking Plate Preset Gas Detection And Alert System Ergonomical Washbasin Washing Machine Suitable For People With Difficulties No-Step Shower Area Optionals And Handrail In Fitted Bathroom Wc/Bidet With Easy-To-Operate Flushing Control System Climate Automatic Control System

Figure 2 – Trento. Plan of the smart house with specific tools (Source, Robecchi Defant, see References)

An ex-post evaluation will allow verifying the efficacy of the idea, which includes also a new managerial system in which different actors are involved: not only ITEA and the Municipality

through the Departments of social assistance and housing, but also associations of people who work in the disability field and the Province agency of healthcare. IACP, Rome The project is a residential complex located in the North outskirts of Rome aiming to build a comfortable and enjoyable home environment devoted not only to both older and younger tenants (see Fig.3), but also large families. The building principles which characterized the project are the design requirements for the sustainability, the prevention from electromagnetic pollution (see Fig. 4), the energy saving, and the design style linked to the tradition of the Roman materials and facades (Masi, 2001). The layout of the standard type dwelling is based on a separate kitchen, a living room, a bedroom and one bathroom. Even if the service rooms face a small courtyard, the double natural ventilation is ensured. Although the building has only three floors, lifts are included.

Figure 3 – Rome. View of the housing complex (Source: A. Follini)

Figure 4 – Rome. Floor plan of a standard living unit with detection of natural radioactivity levels (Source: Progetto Casa Natura srl)

4. Mixed initiatives Generally there can be some projects for specific purposes, which may be involving, besides the ordinary local or municipal bodies, other partners of different roles, as research or university

centres, labour trades and associations of older people, etc. Genoa is the chosen example of this section. Genoa, pilot-project The City of Genoa stands out for its initiatives for remodelling large housing stocks, thanks to agreements with various local bodies and private sectors. In particular, a remarkable pilot-project, led by the City Council, the Faculty of Architecture, the Association of the Third Age and the Union of Retired People, developed a full renovation design scheme into an existing obsolete apartment, inclusive of furniture, fittings and details new design and remodelling (see Fig. 5)

Figure 5 – Genoa. Floor plan of the two dwellings remodelled from an existing apartment (Source: Spadolini, Casiddu, see References)

The project purpose was to create a tailored and user-friendly home environment, in spite of the constraints coming from the size and shape of the old building (Spadolini, Casiddu, 2003). Throughout redesigning tools, details and objects of daily use, this project also intends to demonstrate how an older tenant can be living here comfortably for all his/her future lifetime. Some interesting design features include: - shower area with no slip floor tiles (see Fig. 6); smoothed edge furniture (see Fig. 7). The size of the dwelling is much reduced, due to the constraints of the existing structure: a small living area including an open kitchen, a small bedroom, and one bathroom. The installation of a lift allows an easy access to both flats.

Figure 6 –Genoa. Shower and spiral-shape tiles.

Figure 7 – Genoa. Bed closet with grab bars and no sharp corners

5. Conclusions The case-studies we selected seem to offer interesting directions for the future trends of designing housing and defining intervention policies to allow ‘ageing in place’ or ‘living in its own environment’ in the most comfortable and effective lifestyle for all citizens. We chose two examples of flats, one new for an injured person (Trento) and one renewed for older people (Genoa) and two examples of residential complex, again one new (Rome) and one renewed (Vigevano). Further, we chose two metropolitan areas, Genoa and Rome and two small cities, Trento and Vigevano. In this way, even if with few examples, we try to give an idea of the different situations which are now going on in Italy thanks to the public policy efforts. Although these experiences and their outcomes are not yet in the full practice mainstream, they will certainly record remarkable practising tracks for the next season of policy and projects.

The experiences can be successful also thanks to the involvement and strengthening of various partners, which can effectively result in specific consortia where skills coming from different stakeholders can be appropriately assembled in a background of common direction and interests.

References Morini, A., Biocca, L. (2002). ‘Sites of historical interest: the potential of Design for all in redevelopment projects’. CIB W84 Meeting Proceedings. Roma, Italy. www.roma.itc.cnr.it. Morini, A., Biocca, L. (2002). ‘Universal Design in public facilities and spaces: relevant casestudies in Italy’. Universal Design Conference Proceedings CD. Yokohama, Japan. Sotetsu. Morini, A. (2002). Soluzioni abitative per anziani: esperienze europee. AeA. Salemi Pro. Edit., Roma, pp. 6-12, 32-36, 61-63 (in Italian) Giandelli, V. (1999) Vigevano L’identità ritrovata. Edilizia Popolare no. 261-262, Roma, pp. 68-79 (in Italian) Robecchi Defant, E. (2002) Nuove tipologie abitative e nuovi servizi a sostegno degli anziani, Verso la casa intelligente: domotica, tipologie abitative e utenza debole (in Italian) www.itea.tn.it. Spadolini, M., Casiddu, N. (2003) L’alloggio prototipo di Vico del Duca. AeA Informa, no. 3/4, Salemi Pro. Edit., Roma, pp. 29-41 (in Italian). Masi, M. (2001) Bioarchitettura nell’edilizia pubblica. Edilizia Popolare no. 272, pp. 86-93 (in Italian).