Supportive public policies are suggested as ways to lessen gentrification’s impact for older adults. While explicit policies designed to help older adults with gentrification are rare, literature on age-friendly cities is a close proxy. We utilized three North American cases undergoing gentrification: New York City, NY, and Denver, CO, in the United States and Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, to present existing neighbourhood-based policies as social determinants of health in housing, resource access, healthcare, transportation, and communal places. Age-friendly policy application gap examples and COVID-19’s impact were included. Using a qualitative comparative case study method, we found policies were not specifically designed to address older adults’ gentrification needs. With the call for age-friendly designations, the role of gentrification in neighbourhoods with older populations must be included. We call for gentrification-specific policies for older adults to provide greater safeguards especially when events such as COVID-19 compete for existing, over-stretched resources.

Although the physical environment can influence people’s activity, there are few knowledge syntheses for indoor environments and older adults’ daily life routines. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed evidence to inform future research and practice. Inclusion criteria were studies with any research designs, across all years and languages focused on older adults 60 years of age or more, on physical activity/sedentary behaviour and the indoor environment. After searching five databases, two authors completed title/abstract and full-text screening. The last search was on December 19, 2020. We screened 1,367 citations, and included 23 studies situated in private or collective dwellings (e.g., assisted living). We identified physical activity-supportive indoor features across three domains: campus (e.g., amenities, pathways), building (e.g., area, floor level), and fixtures (e.g., elevators, hallways). Knowledge of indoor environmental factors for older adults’ engagement in daily activities can guide future research and policy on housing design.

Access to affordable housing is a rising concern, and social housing is one approach to support low-income, older renters. A scoping review was undertaken to understand the characteristics of older tenants and social housing services to identify strategies to promote aging in place. Seven peer review databases were searched to identify relevant articles. A total of 146 articles were included. Almost all examined socio-demographic and health characteristics of older tenants, while 72 per cent examined social housing services, including eligibility policies, staffing, and access to on-site services. This review points to a high vulnerability among older tenants and highlights the importance of co-locating services on-site with a tenant-facing support staff to identify vulnerable tenants and link them to services. More research on tenancy issues (e.g., unit condition, rental management) is needed to identify new opportunities for social housing landlords to help older tenants age in place.

Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) commits the government to eliminating chronic homelessness and promises that realizing the right to housing is a key objective. In this article, we explore how the Canadian government could realize the right to housing in the context of eliminating chronic homelessness. We argue that it is helpful to look at how other jurisdictions have successfully reduced homelessness. In this article we examine Finland and Scotland’s approaches because they offer certain similarities in how homelessness is addressed, yet they also differ, most crucially in how they understand the right to housing. We argue that both of these jurisdictions offer important lessons for Canada to draw on as it seeks to reduce long-term homelessness.

The prevention and management of dementia in Canada is at a crossroads. Despite the low diagnosis rates, the number of persons living with dementia continues to increase. Yet, Canada’s health care policies have resulted in more people living with dementia living at home, and with most of their care being provided by family, friends, and significant others. This Policy Note provides an overview of a joint submission from the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association (CGNA) and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology. This article outlines the background and recommendations in five key areas of dementia care in Canada: health system resources, education and training of health providers, housing, care partners, and the integration of health and social supports. Based on these five key areas, a number of health and social policy interventions are discussed.

Homelessness among older people is a growing concern across Canada and is expected to rise with demographic change (Crane & Warnes, 2010; Culhane, Metraux, Byrne, Stino, & Bainbridge, 2013). Yet current knowledge, policies, and practices on homelessness largely focus on younger populations. Likewise, research and policies on aging typically overlook homelessness. Responses to homelessness among older people must address complex needs related to health, income security, and housing. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article outlines the existing and needed research with regards to homelessness among older people. We clarify the intersections of aging and homelessness; review the relevant statistics, including estimated prevalence; discuss pathways and variations in experience; and identify gaps in knowledge. We conclude with a call for an inclusive research agenda that will help build policies and practices to reduce and ultimately to eliminate homelessness among older people in Canada.

Comparative welfare and production regime literature has so far neglected the considerable cross-country differences in the sphere of housing. The United States became a country of homeowners living in cities of single-family houses in the twentieth century. Its housing policy was focused on supporting private mortgage indebtedness with only residual public housing. Germany, on the contrary, remained a tenant-dominated country with cities of multi-unit buildings. Its housing policy has been focused on construction subsidies to non-profit housing associations and incentives for savings earmarked for financing housing. The article claims that these differences are the outcome of different housing institutions that had already emerged in the nineteenth century. Germany developed non-profit housing associations and financed housing through mortgage banks, both privileging the construction of rental apartments. In the United States, savings and loan associations favored mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family house construction. When governments intervened during housing crises in the 1920/1930s, they aimed their subsidies at these existing institutions. Thus, US housing policy became finance-biased in favor of savings and loan associations, while Germany supported the housing cooperatives.

HIV/AIDS and aging is an important emerging topic with relevance to gerontology. Currently, little is known about the housing experiences of older adults within the context of HIV/AIDS. This article explores the issue and examines interview data concerning the housing experiences of 11 older adults (52 to 67 years old) living with HIV/AIDS in Ottawa, Ontario. Participants’ stories revealed concerns relating to three major themes: acceptance into retirement homes and long-term care communities, barriers to accessing subsidized housing services, and homelessness. Participants reported feeling that they lacked recognition and experienced confusion about their future housing prospects. These data suggest that a shift may be occurring in the housing needs of people aging with HIV/AIDS. This emerging population presents challenges to mainstream ideas of aging. We conclude that increased attention is needed in research, policy, and practice to address housing issues among this age group of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Preparing for the future housing needs of older adults is imperative in countries with an aging population, but little is known about these issues among vulnerable older adults. This study used a qualitative approach to identify key housing concerns in this group. A total of 84 vulnerable older adults including Aboriginal elders, those with various disabilities, and ethnic minorities participated in 10 focus groups. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC’s) standards of core housing need provided a framework for data analysis, along with the identification of additional key housing themes across and within groups of vulnerable older adults. The results provide insight into preferred housing characteristics, regardless of housing form. Additionally, the results provide insight into how to support vulnerable older adults who choose to remain in their homes and communities and how to help ensure that appropriate housing is developed that meets the needs of this diverse population.

Using the 2002 Aging and Social Support Survey (GSS16), multinomial logit regression, and cohort-component projection techniques, this study explored how social support networks, health, and economic characteristics have shaped the residential choices of older Canadians, and predicts how they are likely to do so in the future. It focused on the distribution of 55-to-75-year-olds across three private-dwelling types: general community living, age-restricted housing, and age-restricted housing with nursing care. The analysis shows that social support characteristics are the strongest predictors of dwelling type, meaning that individuals appear to choose their dwellings largely on the basis of their social needs and wants, rather than on their economic or health characteristics. The analysis also indicates an increased age-specific demand for all dwelling types in the future, but with a reduction of over 2 million older Canadians living in dwellings in the general community between 2002 and 2022.

The Canadian population is aging and becoming more ethnically diverse. This paper focuses on South Asian immigrant seniors and examines differences in housing and living arrangements among seniors who immigrated at different life stages. We interviewed a convenience sample of 161 immigrant seniors of South Asian descent in Edmonton, Alberta, to assess type of living arrangement, type of housing and dwelling density (measured in persons per room), activity in the neighbourhood, and means of transportation. Overall, those seniors who came to Canada before the end of mid-life were more likely than those who came at an older age to drive a car and, if married, to live in a one- or two-generation family. Women were more likely than men to be widowed, have poorer English-language skills, or live with a three-generation family if unmarried, and less likely to drive a car. Most respondents were satisfied with their living arrangements, housing, and perceived safety at home and in their neighbourhood. Theoretical implications are discussed.