Abstract
Focus Group Discussions are conducted to yield a more qualitative and in-depth perspective about the ageing community and their everyday urban spaces. It is used to explore the range of views and feelings that cannot be captured in the more quantitative, closed-ended questionnaire of the survey discussed in Chap. 1. The discussions shared the participants’ perspectives on their housing and neighbourhood, amenities and transportation , recreational and social spaces as well as their individuality and community connection as they grow older. Their views revealed some of the key desired characteristics of age-friendly house and neighbourhoods.
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Notes
- 1.
Since 1960s, the public housing authority, the Housing and Development Board has developed 23 new towns and several public housing estates across Singapore.
- 2.
Enhancement for Active Senior Programme (EASE) offers subsidized home modification to older residents in public housing to help them age in place. The improvements include slip resistant treatment to toilet and bathroom flooring, installation of grab bars and ramps. See Yuen and Soh (2017).
- 3.
HDB is the abbreviation for Housing and Development Board, the public housing authority in Singapore. Public housing is popularly referred to as HDB housing/block/flat.
- 4.
These are typically found on the ground floor of public housing apartment blocks. The space has been purposefully left vacant (open space) and typically used for communal activities.
- 5.
Introduced in 1995, the scheme seeks to renew older low-density public housing estates and towns. Small precincts within these estates/towns are selected for demolition and redevelopment. Affected residents are offered new flats close by, giving them the opportunity to continue to live in the neighbourhood. See Phang and Kim (2013) for further details.
- 6.
The first of these apartments were developed in the 1990s. See Yuen and Soh (2017).
- 7.
‘Mamak’ is a Tamil word, meaning ‘uncle’ or ‘elder’. These are small, one-man operated convenience stores (approximately 9 sq m), traditionally owned and operated by Indians, offering friendly and personal service. See Yeoh and Kong (1995).
- 8.
This is one-stop mobile platform on MyTransport.SG, a portal developed by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore to provide information and e-services for all land transport users. Some of the information on the MyTransport.SG portal includes interactive maps to get around Singapore, latest public transport campaigns and initiatives, real time information on bus arrival timings.
- 9.
Local Chinese dialect word for ‘coffee’.
- 10.
- 11.
We note that in choosing the term ‘independence ’, we do not intend to stigmatise the older person’s dependency since a decrease in physical and cognitive function is a normal process in an ageing individual and with it the desire or need for assistance or company. Likewise, in reality, there is no absolute independence , which counter-intuitively means social isolation. Again, this does not represent our objective and the range of older people’s desires. A preferred term may be ‘interdependence’ and to support that would mean enabling the older adult to live independently but be easily connected to social groups, assistance and support. See Luskin School of Public Affairs (2014).
- 12.
FGD showed that wet market, hawker centre , convenience store, supermarket, polyclinic, banks and ATM are viewed as essential amenities and services by participants.
- 13.
Community Design Workshop Report, another qualitative data-collection instrument in our project, See Chap. 10.
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Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the following for their generous support and assistance with the focus group discussions: our colleagues, Debbie Loo, Laura Jasmine and Bernadette Teo for helping us with the focus group organisation, facilitation and translation; and the participants who generously shared their ideas and views during the focus group discussions.
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Yuen, B., Cheong, S.W. (2019). Focusing on Older Residents Views. In: Yuen, B. (eds) Ageing and the Built Environment in Singapore. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92444-1_2
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