Aging in the Right Place

by Stephen Golant

Overview

“If there’s one place to go for everything you need to know about housing and aging, it’s Stephen Golant. He brings a lifetime of deep scholarly knowledge to this book.”— Harry Moody, Ph.D., Retired Vice President, AARP“[provides] deep knowledge about the great variety of places in which elders can thrive no matter their limitations.”—David J. Ekerdt, Ph.D., Director, Gerontology Center, Professor of Sociology, University of KansasEncouraging new ways to look at the question of how to grow old successfully, this book explores many pathways to thriving in old age, ranging from aging in place to moving to housing and care settings specially tailored to match a person’s lifestyle and vulnerabilities. At the heart of it all is a deep discussion of the impact of residential settings on physical and mental well-being.Using his theoretical model of residential normalcy, Dr. Stephen Golant helps readers understand the variables affecting older people who are trying to find the optimal place to live and experience maximum well-being, comfort, independence, and life satisfaction amidst changes in their health and personal circumstances.Expansive in its coverage, the book examines all types of housing options and everything from the current role of family assistance and private sector initiatives to government programs as well as potential smart home technologies and innovative housing, planning, and long-term care solutions.Aging in the Right Place paints a vibrant picture of the diverse experiences of today’s older adults and abounds with engaging and illustrative case studies, opinions, stories, and quotes. It is an essential text for professionals, service providers, and academics in the fields of gerontology, long-term care, healthcare, public service, and housing and urban planning. It will also inform elders themselves about their many choices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938870361
Publisher:	Health Professions Press
Publication date:	03/30/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	818,873
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	17 - 18 Years

About the Author

Stephen Golant, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Florida (Gainesville). His research focuses on the housing, community, mobility, transportation, and long-term care needs of older adult populations and he writes and lectures extensively on these topics. Dr. Golant is a Fellow of the Geronotological Society of America and a Fulbright Senior Scholar award recipient. He has written or edited more than 140 papers and book, and serves on the editorial boards of The Gerontologist, Journal of Aging Studies, CSA Journal (Society of Certified Senior Advisors), Journal of Housing for the Elderly, Research on Aging, and Seniors Housing & Care Journal.Dr. Golant is frequently called on by corporations, universities, state government agencies, and national organizations as a lecturer or an adviser. He also served as a consultant to the Congressionally appointed Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors in the 21st Century (Seniors Commission), a bipartisan 14-member panel created by an act of Congress to study the housing and healthcare needs for the next generation of elderly Americans and to offer specific policy and legislative recommendations to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Editorial Reviews

"Professor Golant has brought a masterly, balanced account to the deceptively simple but contentious concept of 'aging in place.' He correctly observes that 'place' is the missing concept in the 'New Gerontology' that has a valued positive approach but risks neglect of people who continue with proactivity and meaning in their lives notwithstanding challenges as they grow older. Golant’s framework of ‘residential normalcy’ charts a sensible, rigorous path that respects diversity among older people themselves and addresses opportunities to improve the social, political and environmental worlds that shape all of our lives. This ‘must read’ book brings rigorous thought and sound evidence to constructive approaches to ageing for gerontologists, planners and health and welfare professionals, and most of all to older people themselves and their advocates.

Reviews - Australian National University

"In host most recent book, Aging in the Right Place, Stephen Golant has brought into focus the complex, multi-layered intersections of older people and their living environment in the most refreshing and innovative monograph on this topic to date. What is most impressive is the author's ability to explicate how the lived experience of individuals transitioning along different life courses in inextricably linked to an environmentla realism rooted in theoretical synthesis, research knowledge, and real work application."

Reviews - Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre and National Seniors Council of Canada

Dr. Golant’s new publication has made a major contribution to our understanding of what it means to ‘age in place’ and ‘age in community’ and how we might achieve these goals. Aging in the Right Place provides a comprehensive overview of these important concepts, using the lens of environmental gerontology to examine the range of challenges and opportunities. Throughout the various chapters, he weaves in the notion of residential normalcy and how that can be achieved at the individual, family, building and community levels. Dr. Golant ties his analyses together by concluding that we need to replace the idea of ‘aging in place’ with the concept ‘aging in the best possible place’—a timely message for our aging society.

Reviews - LeadingAge

"In proposing a theory of 'residential normalcy,' Stephen Golant considers how complex coping strategies allow an understanding of environmental change in later life which he tests across a continuum of contexts and settings. This book is a very welcome addition to the field of environmental gerontology with international relevance for concerned with the interaction of person and place."

Reviews - The Open University

"Aging in the Right Place is a truly outstanding contribution to the field of gerontology and multiple related disciplines. Golant provides what is now the most comprehensive treatment of the subject of housing our aging population, describing the challenges and opportunities of relocation in later life, traditional and new housing options and the critical relationship between housing and services. The work is extremely well-referenced and clearly organized. It should reach a wide audience of researchers, students, practitioners, policy-makers and consumers... no small achievement."

Reviews - Indiana University

Stephen Golant goes beyond traditional and often simplistic perspectives on the demographics of aging populations to address the foundational need for living environments that maximize quality of life. A much needed resource for a world in which ‘Global Aging’ may be the seminal event of the 21st century.

Reviews - Founding Director

This important and welcome book weaves together theory, public policy, and statistical and demographic data to explore the meaning and significance of place to older persons and their families. The question of where to live, whether to stay or move, under what circumstances, and when, is central in the lives of most older persons who fear making the wrong decision and losing their sense of identity and their community. This book explains, through an empirically-grounded conceptual model, that people just want to feel normal in the place they live, whether they remain in their current neighborhood or choose one of the carefully described housing options currently available in the United States. This book is accessible and easy to read that should be of interest to a general audience as well as to academics, housing providers, and policy makers.

Reviews - Associate Professor

Where are the best places to live in later life? Golant brings readers his deep knowledge about the great variety of places in which elders can thrive no matter their limitations. ‘There are many pathways to aging successfully,’ he writes, and many places where feelings of comfort and mastery can be achieved. [This] book is a great resource for elders, families, professionals and students.” Director, Gerontology Center, Professor of Sociology, University of Kansas

Reviews - Gerontology Center Director

This outstanding and important book addresses its theme ‘Aging in the Right Place’ by discussing the psychology of aging as it relates to autonomy, control, coping, adaptation and self-esteem. The context is the desire to achieve ‘residential normalcy.’ After addressing the many challenges to older adults and their families of remaining in their homes, Golant continues to draw on a strong foundation of research to describe why some older adults choose to move to age-restricted communities of varying types to achieve not only normalcy but stimulation and continued engagement. This is a must read for professionals in the field of housing and aging services.

Reviews - Brecht Associates

"If there's one place to go for everything you need to know about housing and aging, it's Stephen Golant. He brings a lifetime of deep scholarly knowledge to this book. Aging in the Right Place is the right bok to go for what you need on these issues."

Reviews - AARP

This is the most important, beautifully conceived, and well-written book on housing and residential alternatives for elderly populations written to date. This creative, thoughtful, and problem-focused book confirms why Dr. Stephen Golant is recognized internationally as a foremost leader in environmental gerontology. It should be required reading for all researchers, students, applied professionals, community planners, and policy-makers concerned with improving the quality of life of elders. Golant has provided a major service to gerontology in this sweeping, evidence-informed treatment of why place – both objective and experienced – is central to understanding and improving the well-being of diverse groups of older adults. It is a timely ‘pendulum-corrective’ for the New Gerontology paradigm of successful aging, which holds older adults themselves responsible for many of the problems they experience within residential settings. It usefully evaluates the current ‘aging-in-place’ mantra, showing the upside as well as the limitations it places on alternative housing options.Golant uses his theory of residential normalcy – and the common need of older adults to experience a sense of comfort as well as mastery in one’s abode – to illustrate how and why places may no longer suit these needs and what diverse groups of elders do when this occurs. Importantly, he offers practically-oriented options that address coping, housing modifications, alternative housing options, as well as caregiver and community-level supports to achieve improved fit between the housing needs of older persons and their resources.Psychologist Kurt Lewin once said, ‘There’s nothing so practical as a good theory.’ Golant’s book illustrates this beautifully. It succeeds because Golant’s focus doesn’t divert down intellectual rabbit holes. It is a scholarly book based on a wide array of solid evidence; at the same time, it is an inviting, interesting read because it remains practically and realistically focused on the well-being of older adults themselves. Their voices inform this book and have informed Golant’s theory from its inception. I wish I had written this book! Failing that, it provides a perfect model of translation research, one of the best produced in environmental gerontology.

Reviews - School of Family Studies and Human Services

"Aging in the Right Place is a truly outstanding contribution to the field of gerontology and multiple related disciplines. Golant provides what is now the most comprehensive treatment of the subject of housing our aging population, describing the challenges and opportunities of relocation in later life, traditional and new housing options and the critical relationship between housing and services. The work is extremely well-referenced and clearly organized. It should reach a wide audience of researchers, students, practitioners, policy-makers and consumers... no small achievement."

Reviews - Indiana University