Technology is playing a much bigger role in our existing senior housing and new Ecumen senior housing developments.  Businessweek has a great article on technology’s growing role in improving seniors’ life quality and independence.  Following is an excerpt and link:

Senior Momentum

Can design and technology deliver a golden age of aging?

by Juanita Dugdale

One of life’s cruel ironies is that half of society is always dying to grow up while the other half begrudgingly grows ready to die. The halves used to balance out, with an ample labor pool of young people around to look after the elderly, who, likely as not, expired soon after retirement. But today it’s impossible to escape the sobering news that seniors will not only double in number within two decades, they will also live much longer. In 2011, the first members of the baby boom generation will turn 65. If they survive another 20 years, which is highly possible, the ranks of what demographers call the “oldest old” will swell to epic proportions. Considering that today’s seniors already compete for care, aging boomers face a radically compromised lifestyle—and society as a whole will suffer—unless we quickly develop economical ways to bridge the care gap.

Scared by the scenario? Then consider this for relief: The next decades may prove to be the first time in history when it will be really interesting, if not downright cool, to grow old, especially for technophiles. Since 2000, the global race to develop high-tech solutions for problems challenging the elderly has accelerated, particularly where critical shortages of caregivers already exist, as in Asia . . . . Read Entire Article

Juanita Dugdale is a contributing writer to I.D. Magazine. She last reported for I.D. on the new design initiative at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is collaborating on a book about wayfinding design and also planning a seminar about the spirituality of aging.