Promoting interaction of elderly and Place(Case study: Iranian-Canadian community in Toronto)

Contemporary residential environments are not well-designed for the activities and needs of seniors. It is essential to address the quality of the elderly's interactions with the physical environment. The senior's ratio to the total global population, Iran in particular, has been increased in the coming decades. Therefore, a theoretical and practical framework for promoting the interaction of ageing-in-place is a necessity. This study seeks to address the interrelation of seniors and their environment. The kind of research strategy is qualitative to pursue the research objectives. Interview protocol executes at five thematic sections (Contexts Features; individual's goals; home and neighbourhood services evaluation; Age-in-Place or relocation decision-making process; the intended or applied changes for the elderly formed in the place and house modification for meeting current needs). Seniors of the Iranian-Canadian community in Toronto scoped as the research samples population. The data from the open interview reveal common themes about the feelings of old age at the site and the process of reflection on the decision to stay or move. Five Thematic Coding: The Importance of Home; Comfort and convenience of home; Characteristics of the neighbourhood and community; managing home affairs difficulties; security and safety concerns followed up through qualitative data. The results show that the elderly mainly look at the home from a functional perspective and immediately point to those environmental features that are non-supportive. Several physical characteristics seem to be age-friendly from a practical perspective for the elderly. In sum, guidelines for designing elderly-friendly housing based on the research findings are explaining.