Housing LIN Celebrates HAPPI Awareness Week 2024!
For a fifth year running, we are excited to celebrate HAPPI Awareness Week, an opportunity to raise awareness around the Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation (HAPPI) principles and the virtues of designing care-ready accommodation and age-friendly housing services.
The HAPPI principles are based on 10 key design criteria. Many are recognisable from good design generally - good light, ventilation, room to move around and good storage - but they have particular relevance to the spectrum of older persons' housing which needs to both offer an attractive alternative to the family home, and be able to adapt over time to meet changing needs. Read more about this here.
Here's everything we shared this week:
Older People’s Housing Preferences report
A new report, Older People’s Housing Preferences, offers critical evidence on the housing circumstances, aspirations and preferences of older adults in the UK. It was produced by Housing LIN in partnership with Ipsos and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
We invite policymakers, housing providers, and stakeholders to delve into the full findings of this pioneering research. By aligning housing strategies with the aspirations of older people, the UK can rise to the challenges posed by a rapidly changing demographic landscape.
A new housing strategy for all?
Building on the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report and in anticipation of the upcoming government Housing Strategy, which is expected to focus on measures that facilitate the goal of constructing 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, we asked Housing LIN Members to share their perspectives on what should be included in the Strategy to address the housing needs and aspirations of an ageing population.
Designing Multi-Unit Housing for Social Wellbeing: Lessons from the Building Social Connections Toolkit
In this blog, Madeleine Hebert, Senior Housing Specialist at Happy Cities, highlights the importance of social connections in addressing societal challenges such as housing affordability, extreme weather, and ageing populations.
She talks about the key lessons from the "Building Social Connections Toolkit" and how thoughtful design can create stronger communities and improve quality of life in shared living spaces. Read on to find out about designing multi-unit housing that prioritises social wellbeing.
HAPPI Hour - Dementia Friendly Technology - Still Rising to the Dementia Challenge
This week, we hosted the third in the Dementia and Housing Working Group's (DHWG) quarterly 2024 webinar series focused on housing and dementia. This session, chaired by Ali Rogan, DHWG External Affairs Advisor and founder of Hornsey Consulting, explored the ways technology can support people living with dementia, along with their families and carers, by addressing both challenges and practical solutions.
Ali also shares her reflections on the insightful discussion and the powerful messages it conveyed, in her latest blog.