Building a Better Built Environment for Older Australians’ Ageing-in-Place

This project examines how the built environment, understood as a connected system of homes, neighbourhoods, and community infrastructure, supports or hinders older Australians’ ability to age in place. Although most older Australians prefer to remain in their communities as they age, much of the existing Australian built environment has not been designed to meet the requirements of later-life independent living.

​

The project aims to generate new knowledge about ageing-friendly communities through an innovative combination of citizen science, Bayesian Network analysis, design charrettes, and spatial investigation. It seeks to identify the built environment elements that most influence independent living, determine their causal relationships, and translate these findings into design innovation and practical guidelines.

​

The project has three core objectives: to articulate the built environment elements affecting older Australians’ ageing in place, to model the causal effects of the built environment as a system on independent living, and to develop design strategies and guidelines that improve built environments for ageing populations.

​

This research is significant because it moves beyond isolated design features and instead examines the built environment as a system shaping daily life, mobility, participation, and wellbeing. Its outcomes are expected to support evidence-based design and policy innovation for more inclusive and age-supportive communities across Australia.