Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2006 , Vol 52 , Num 1

Designing Physical Environment for the Elderly People

Şafak S. Karamehmetoğlu 1
1 ‹stünbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpafla Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, ‹stanbul

Physical environment seems as one of the most affecting factor for the quality of life. The living environment is far from being ideal in order to have a better quality of life, especially for the elderly. The details of the architectural properties of the environment can have a direct effect on the quality of life indoor as well as outdoor. To be able to build up a suitable architectural environment for all of the stages of the life, from the childhood to the old age, does not seem feasible. But, an optimal solution is possible if the architectural environment could stand on an elderly friendly plan. On the other hand, there are always some modifications to perform in an already builded environment. Every piece of effort in order to build up a physical environment for the elderly would increase the quality of life of every body living in the community.

Keywords : Elderly, physical environment, architecture, environmental desig