The Elderly and Environmental Perception in Collective Housing

AbstractThe interaction of people with physical spaces happens in reciprocal association, where the person-environment system is influenced by and causes an impact on human behavior. Bearing this in mind, this paper sets out to show how elderly residents perceive the environment in collective housing. What is therefore sought is to understand how the elderly perceive their space, in response to their wants and expectations, by applying different techniques for assessing perception in groups of elderly people. The findings in three institutions, in which elderly people reside, have shown a similarity in results, which are seen to be less than enlightening, probably due to the cognitive impairment of the elderly