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The goal of this book was to progress our understanding of the older person's relationship with their neighbourhood and see a society – government – that is better able to meet the needs and support the aspirations of an ageing population. Given that ageing is malleable and that environment can have an enabling or disabling impact, there is a need to ensure that the agenda around ageing in place considers the importance of supportive environments in which we commit people to ageing.
This last chapter summarises the main points raised in the book under each of the key overarching parts – revisiting, rethinking and refocusing the person–environment relationship. The chapter will bring together the key findings and points of learning from the book. It will argue that given new empirical findings there is a need to rethink and refocus the person–environment fit to better support ageing now and in the future.
Revisiting the person–environment fit
Part One aimed to take stock of the empirical data and knowledge gained within environmental gerontology over the last 40 years. Lawton's Ecological Model of Ageing (1980, 1982, 1986, 1990), often referred to as a ‘pivotal’ (Golant, 2003) or ‘landmark’ (Wahl and Weisman, 2003) theory, was examined as to the contribution of this model to our understanding of the individual's relationship with their environment. Key concepts and hypotheses evolved: personal competence and environmental press revealed the factors that interact in the person–environment relationship and the two hypotheses – environmental docility hypothesis and environmental proactivity hypothesis – explain the direction of the relationship. Lawton (1982, p 43) envisaged the framework to function in the following way:
Behavior is a function of the competence of the individual and the environmental press of the situation … a behavior (or affective response) is seen as the result of a combination of a press of a given magnitude acting on, or perceived by, or utilized by, an individual of a given level of competence.
The literature around ageing in place and place in ageing was also revisited as to its contribution to our understanding of older people and their environment. The literature overwhelmingly supports the idea of older people ageing in place. The reasons stated for this are financial benefits and familiarity. From the perspective of the state and the older individual, ageing in place appears economically viable.
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