Housing plans of the oldest: ageing in semi-rural areas in Sweden

Due to the out migration of the young from rural areas and increased life expectancy of the old, the population of these areas in particular is ageing. This changes the demographic structure, with the consequence that older people’s needs become more important and a part of the political agenda when it comes to housing and care needs specifically. The aim of this Swedish study was to investigate the housing situation and housing plans of the very old in semi-rural areas. Research questions analysed for this study concerned the current housing situation and plans for future housing. The results show that most of the respondents were firmly rooted in the area, as most of them had lived in the municipality for more than 20 years and 60% had lived in their current dwelling for more than 20 years. Ageing in place was the dominating plan, although one quarter of the respondents answered that they did not know what would happen in the future