Conceptualizing sustainable retirement villages in Australia

The Australian ageing society with baby boomers reaching retirement age has placed a lot of pressures on housing services. The retirement village is increasingly accepted as a suitable living arrangement for older people. Ecological theory of ageing emphasizes a match between environment and older peoples’ competences. As one response to this, creating village environment in a sustainable way is on the agenda. However, it is not very clear what kinds of sustainable features should be incorporated within the village environment to fit residents’ competences, in particular given that baby boomers who have unique requirements have become the main potential customers. In present paper, a sustainable retirement village framework is proposed by building on ecological theory of ageing and triple bottom line. A two-step inductive reasoning research method is adopted in this conceptualization process. The proposed sustainable retirement village framework contains four domains, including senior-oriented basic settings, financial affordability, age-friendly social environment and environmental sustainability. These four domains are interrelated, and a sustainable retirement village stresses a dynamic balance between different domains. This proposed framework not only gives implications for village developers on creating a suitable village environment to better accommodate residents, but also paves the way for future studies on housing older people in an age-friendly manner.

Sustainable retirement living : what matters

There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing number of ageing population and public acceptance of sustainable development. This research aims to gain a better understanding of retirees’ understanding about sustainable retirement living and their attitudes towards sustainable developments via a questionnaire survey approach. The results showed that the current and potential residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of unsustainable resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The cost of energy supply is a concern to majority of respondents. Education is required to residents about recycling household waste and how to use available facilities. A better understanding of retirees’ awareness and attitudes towards sustainability issues helps to improve the sustainable developments of retirement villages in the future.

Sustainable retirement living : what matters

There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing number of ageing population and public acceptance of sustainable development. This research aims to gain a better understanding of retirees’ understanding about sustainable retirement living and their attitudes towards sustainable developments via a questionnaire survey approach. The results showed that the current and potential residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of unsustainable resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The cost of energy supply is a concern to majority of respondents. Education is required to residents about recycling household waste and how to use available facilities. A better understanding of retirees’ awareness and attitudes towards sustainability issues helps to improve the sustainable developments of retirement villages in the future.

Sustainable retirement village for older people: A case study in Brisbane, Australia

Retirement villages are regarded as a viable accommodation option for the ever increasing ageing population in Australia. This paper aims to identify sustainability features and practices adopted in retirement villages and associated benefits to improve the life quality of older people. A case study of an existing retirement village 10kms from Brisbane CBD was conducted involving a series of interviews with the village managers and residents together with documents relating to the village's operations and activities. The environmentally friendly features that were incorporated into the development mainly include green design for the site and floor plan and waste management in daily operation. More importantly, a variety of facilities are provided to strengthen the social engagement and interactions among the residents. Additionally, different daily services are provided to assist independent living and improve the health conditions of residents. Also, the relatively low vacancy rate in this village indicates that these sustainability features offer good value of money for the residents. The paper provides a first look at sustainable retirement villages in terms of triple bottom line sustainability with emphasis on social aspects, reveals the importance in maintaining an appropriate balance, and provides examples of how this can be achieved in practice.

A Sustainable Community for Older People : Case Studies of Green Retirement Villages in Australia

In Australia, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over reached 13.5% in 2010 and is expected to increase steadily to around 20% by the year 2056 [Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2010], creating what has been regarded as a looming crisis in how to house and care for older people. As a viable accommodation option, the retirement village is widely accepted as a means of promoting and enhancing independence, choice and quality of life for older people. Recent research by Barker (2010) indicates that the current and potential residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more sustainable. The aim of this study was to understand the perception of older people toward sustainability ideas and identify the sustainable practices involved in retirement villages to improve the wellbeing of residents. Multiple research methods, including content analysis, questionnaire survey, interviews and case studies were conducted for the research purpose. The results indicate that most retirement village residents understand and recognize the importance of sustainability in their lifestyle. However, their sustainability requirements need to be supported and enhanced by the provision of affordable sustainability features. Additionally, many retirement village developers and operators realize the importance of providing a sustainable retirement community for their residents, and that a sustainable retirement village (that is environmental-friendly, affordable, and improves social engagement) can be achieved through the consideration of project planning, design, construction, and operations throughout the project life cycle. The clear shift from healthcare to lifestyle-focused services in the recent development of retirement villages together with the increasing number of aged people moving into retirement villages (Simpson and Cheney, 2007) has raised awareness of the need for the retirement village industry to provide a sustainable community for older people to improve their life quality after retirement. This is the first critical study of sustainable development in the retirement village industry and its potential in addressing the housing needs of older people, providing a contribution towards improving the life quality of older people and with direct and immediate significance to the community as a whole.

Sustainability literacy of older people in retirement villages

With many developed countries experiencing the aging of the population, older people play a large role in contributing to environmental problems but also to environmental solutions. The purpose of this research is to understand the awareness and behavior of current older people living in retirement villages towards sustainability development. To achieve this, a sustainability literacy survey was conducted with 65 older residents of a private retirement village located 10 Km outside the Brisbane, Australia’s central business district (CBD). Most of residents recognized the importance of environment protection and would like to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. In addition, the majority were willing to pay higher prices for a living environment with sustainable features. The importance of positive social communications was emphasized with most residents having established good relationships with others in the village. The findings provide an important insight into consumer perspectives regarding the sustainable features that should and can be incorporated into the village planning and development.

Valuation methods for resident funded retirement villages in Australia : a practitioner's perspective

Designed for independent living, retirement villages provide either detached or semi-detached residential dwellings with car parking and small private yards. Retirement village developments usually include a mix of independent living units (ILUs) and serviced apartments (SAs) with community facilities providing a shared congregational area for village activities and socialising. Retirement Village assets differ from traditional residential assets due to their operation in accordance with statutory legislation. In Australia, each State and Territory has its own Retirement Village Act and Regulations. In essence, the village operator provides the land and buildings to the residents who pay an amount on entry for the right of occupation. On departure from the units an agreed proportion of either the original purchase price or the sale price is paid to the outgoing resident. The market value of the operator’s interest in the Retirement Village is therefore based upon the estimated future income from Deferred Management Fees and Capital Gain upon roll-over receivable by the operator in accordance with the respective residency agreements. Given the lumpiness of these payments, there is general acceptance that the most appropriate approach to valuation is through Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis. There is however inconsistency between valuers across Australia in how they undertake their DCF analysis, leading to differences in reported values and subsequent confusion among users of valuation services. To give guidance to valuers and enhance confidence from users of valuation services this paper investigates the five major elements of discounted cash flow methodology, namely cash flows, escalation factors, holding period, terminal value and discount rate. Whilst there is dissatisfaction with the financial structuring of the DMF in residency agreements, as long as there are future financial returns receivable by the Village owner/operator, then DCF will continue to be the most appropriate valuation methodology for resident funded retirement villages.

Submission to discussion paper : Queensland retirement villages

This submission is directed to addressing Issue 4 only – Entering a village and closure – implications for residents; and one question only – What particular items do you consider should be particularly addressed as part of the disclosure requirements for prospective retirement village residents? The recommendations below are premised on the basis that information to enable informed choice needs to be clearly presented, easy to understand and, while legal advice and assistance remains essential for any form of ‘conveyancing’ process, should enable decision making by prospective residents independent of that legal advice.

Submission to the 2012 Review of the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (Qld)

The submission addresses matters relevant to Issues for Comment numbered 1, 3, 5, 22 and 32 of the Issues Paper released by the Transport, Housing and local Government Committee of the Queensland Parliament. It concludes by making five recommendations for consideration by the Committee.

Retirement villages : time for a change?

In retirement, many Australians relocate to a less onerous form of home occupation. Some downsize their house, or move to a strata title complex. Others, attracted by lifestyle perceptions, move into a retirement village. However, research shows Retirement Village documentation is complex and more analogous to commercial leasing than home ownership. The most recent government review by New South Wales, confirms the need for change. This paper identifies the current retirement village tenure models generally available in Australia. By comparing the various State/Territory systems the authors draw conclusions regarding the adoption of standardised documentation and uniform Australian Retirement Village legislation.

Review of community facilities in Australian retirement villages : a content analysis

Aim Facilities in retirement villages form a supportive environment for older residents. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the provision of these facilities in retirement villages, which are regarded as a viable accommodation option for the ever-increasing ageing population in Australia. Method A content analysis of 124 retirement villages operated by 22 developers in Queensland and South Australia was conducted for the research purpose. Results The most widely provided facilities are community centres, libraries, barbeque facilities, hairdressers/salons and billiards/snooker/pool tables. Commercial operators provide more facilities than not-for-profit organisations and larger retirement villages normally have more facilities due to the economics of scale involved. Conclusions The results of the study provide a useful reference for providing facilities within retirement villages that may support the quality lifestyles for the older residents.