Creating a sense of home: assisted living in the Timiskaming District

Abstract

With a rapidly growing aging population, there is an imminent need for assisted living. This is especially true for Northern Ontario; specifically, more remote northern communities such as ones within the Timiskaming District. These communities suffer from being under serviced, leaving aging members of these areas unable to receive the levels of care they require. Moreover, when assisted living is offered, it is within the form of facility-based design. This creates a problem as these facilities do not take into account the northern identity, but also, they are not proven to be beneficial to the well-being and independence of senior adults. This thesis presents an alternative way that assisted living can be designed for the well-being of aging individuals through village – based, community design, that takes into account the northern identity. This can be done through creating a strong community amongst the residents, but also within the surrounding external community of Kirkland Lake, Ontario.