Changing Patterns and Cultural Attitudes in Housing

The culture of a country has a strong influence on the way people behave. It plays a significant role in determining the ethos of older population. Without a clear understanding of what constitutes acceptable cultural attitudes to housing of older persons, any policies, strategies, and programs introduced by the government can fail to be useful, and might not fulfil the needs and wants of those 60 years and above. A view of the future need and choices in housing is therefore essential for policy development. This paper briefly discusses a new deterministic paradigm that considers cultural values in the successful provision of housing-accommodation for older persons, the Culturally Modified Housing Accommodation Model (CMHAM). The model adopts seven general assumptions covering the dimensions of cultural values, the housing accommodation system, physical planning and policy responses. A stimulus-response approach is the motivation and operation of the CMHAM, and, an adapt-modify-move approach in decision-making is employed. The model is tested on a sample of elderly Malays, Chinese and Bidayuh in an urban and rural setting. The results suggest possible implications for policy and practice in the public sector.