Home > All articles The Future of Living : Independently People begin life with no control over their living environment, dependent on their parents’ capacity to provide the physical, social and economic conditions for their childhood development. In adulthood, people do control, or at least influence, where and how they live. Toward the end of life, older adults face a variety of choices for their living environment. Some choose aging in place at home, while others move to communities and institutions for older adults, and often they end life in a nursing home or a hospital. In effect, many older adults with diminished energy and capacity can, and do, lose control over their living environment and conditions. This is not a popular scenario since studies show (and experience confirms) that most individuals growing older want to live as independently as possible for as long as possible. In a society in which people are living much longer than they once did, the need for thoughtful, systematic solutions to independent living and living independently is self-evident. The Baby Boomer generation has witnessed the previous generation living into their 80s, 90s and beyond, and many play a major role in housing/living choices for their parents. These choices are not made against some ideal solution, but from among available resources and alternatives. With little evidence of advance planning, Boomers, their parents and other older adults often confront less than satisfying choices for living independently. > Download the report     By KS Date 03-04-2009 Print this article | React to this article