Housing Needs of Older People in Poland as Exemplified by the Warsaw, Poznań and Szczeciń Urban Areas

Abstract

Due to an ageing population, local governments are facing new challenges in the field of addressing the housing needs of older people. Seniors are not a homogeneous group; three basic categories may be distinguished in terms of independence level and the resulting needs. The first category would include independent people, the second one - the elderly with limited independence, and in this case it is necessary to adapt their dwellings to the needs of people with partial disabilities, e.g. dedicated housing. The last category is comprised of people with considerable dependence for whom there is a need to create special dwellings such as sheltered housing or assisted living housing. The aim of this paper is to diagnose the housing preferences of the elderly and to explore the solutions of the selected municipalities in the field of addressing the housing needs of seniors. The issue is analyzed based on desk research and information collected within field research in the Warsaw, Poznań and Szczecin urban areas.

Demand for a Housing Offer Addressed to Senior Citizens in Poland

“…This also refers to the group of senior citizens. The number of people at advanced age, i.e., 85 and over, will increase, which is associated with the aging of the birth cohorts recorded during the demographic summit after World War II [28]. Developed societies will be increasingly burdened with providing social care for the aging and growing part of the population.…”

“…The research conducted in three Polish cities (Warsaw, Szczecin, and Poznań) [28] showed that when asked about their readiness to change their current apartment, the respondents provided the following answers: nearly 70% of those living in Poznań marked “definitely not’”, while for Warsaw and Szczecin, this answer was selected by approximately half of the respondents. A quarter of the respondents from Szczecin would be willing to change their place of residence, but only if it was in the same estate/in the same neighbourhood; in Warsaw, the respective share was 16.3%, whereas in Poznań, it was 8%.…”

“…The authors of the recently published studies [28] present the following opinion: ageing in place is an idea evolving in Western Europe, according to which the elderly may maintain independence and self-reliance by adapting their dwellings to the specific needs of older people [29,30]. The research conducted on seniors’ preferences shows that they want to live in their familiar environment as long as possible [31].…”

“…The research conducted on seniors’ preferences shows that they want to live in their familiar environment as long as possible [31]. An analysis of the housing preferences of the elderly in big Polish cities (Warsaw, Szczecin, and Poznań) was carried out by Iwański, R; Rataj, Z.; Cieśla [28], but this does not cover the current housing situation of senior citizens.…”

Housing Preferences of Seniors and Pre-Senior Citizens in Poland—A Case Study

“…Some recent research on the identification of housing needs was prepared by Przybyła et al [17] and Iwański et al [18]. They used survey research in order to identify the housing preferences of the respondents.…”