LIFESTYLE QUALITY SERVICES
Lifestyle Quality Services are services
that enhance the quality of life of the residents by
providing opportunities for learning, social interaction,
and building a sense of community. Lifestyle Quality
Services may simply be a lifestyle enhancement that some
of the residents use from time to time or, alternatively,
they may be the prime focus around which the Life Lease
Community is built.
Unfortunately, Lifestyle Quality
Services are often an afterthought to the building design
rather than an integral part of the overall Community
design. In contrast, a focus group process during the
design stages can ensure that the Life Lease Community
plans for service provision as well as the future
building spaces needed for these services. Getting to
know the needs, wishes, and financial resources of the
prospective residents is essential in the planning of
Lifestyle Quality Services.
Recreation
Recreation facilities may include only a simple common
lounge for informal social interaction. Alternatively,
more upscale facilities may include a games room,
exercise room, swimming pool, tennis court, and
privileged access to a nearby golf course.
Life Lease Communities for the newly retired may be
centred around more active recreational opportunities
such as the local golf course or yacht club. These
residents may also be interested in joint travel,
accommodation and insurance arrangements to a sunny
location during the winter.
Alternatively, some Life
Lease Communities for older residents, sponsored by a
church or cultural group, arrange for a range of
recreational activities provided by volunteers. These may
include fitness classes, card games, excursions, or
transportation to church events.
One consideration during the planning process is that
in some cases it is often easier and more cost effective
to arrange for access to existing community facilities
rather than incur the cost of building new facilities.
Vocation/Education
Many people are retiring earlier and looking at
retirement more as an opportunity to start a new
"career" rather than an end to work. Many
retirees are returning to school, setting up home
businesses, or exploring the Internet. Unit designs must
take into account the different use of space by the
residents who are embarking on a new career, possibly
with provisions for a home office rather than another
bedroom. Units must be able to accommodate advances in
computers and communication and be wired for easy access
to the Internet and future entertainment and
communication services.
Life Lease Communities designed primarily for people
of working age, may also need to provide for shared
office facilities, working spaces, and meeting spaces.
The more innovative work/living environments of the
future may actually centre the living units around a
common work space used by residents working in the same
or compatible business.
Artistic
An artist's living environment is often also their
studio and the base from which they derive their creative
inspiration. Many people, particularly those nearing or
at retirement, rediscover an artistic inclination and
seek out a community to facilitate this personal
expression. A Life Lease community can be designed to
create an environment that both attracts artists of
various sorts and encourages their creative expression.
Artistic activity covers a wide range of activities
including writing, music, crafts, painting, landscape
design, dance, theatre, or software design. The majority
of individuals involved in art pursue these activities in
a solitary manner while seeking out similar minded
individuals for inspiration, sharing of techniques and
resources, and social interaction. A Life Lease Community
with a high proportion of residents involved in the arts
may wish to create some common spaces or activities
conducive to this involvement, such as a music room,
movie room, studio, or gallery.
Cultural
Many, if not most, Life Lease communities are designed
and built around a cultural base. Ethnic background,
religion, or neighbourhood are the most common bonds that
encourage people to build a Life Lease community
together.
Ethnic and religious groups often feel strongly about
taking care of their own while providing the opportunity
to live in a community that shares common values,
beliefs, and activities. Similarly, Life Lease
Communities in smaller towns or city neighbourhoods
attract residents who have lived in the same area for
much of their life.
Often these communities encourage cultural and
religious activities, regular involvement with extended
family, large community gatherings, and adherence to
specific cultural values and rules. The careful lifestyle
design of these communities is essential to ensure that
the needs of the residents and the community are clearly
understood and integrated into the Life Lease living
environment.
Communication
All buildings today are wired for telephone and most
are also wired for cable television. However, very recent
developments in communication may prompt new residential
communities to plan for new forms of communication such
as satellite transmissions and the Internet.
Communication specialists anticipate that within 5 to 10
years our communication needs and systems will be
radically different. The future of the Internet promises
visual, audio and data communication almost inconceivable
today. Services such as online interactive entertainment,
shopping, financial services, and multi-person
communication will be common place. Full use of these
services will probably require fibre optic cable with a
much greater bandwidth than is presently available
through the telephone and cable system. Forward thinking
communities may wish to explore the viability of
designing internal communication systems that will
accommodate these advances in technology.
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LIFESTYLE ] [ LIFESTYLE SUPPORT SERVICES ] [ LIFESTYLE
HEALTH SERVICES ]
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