Abstract
The mid-twentieth century was a formative period in the elaboration of the cultural imaginary of old age and the development of architectures for aging in the United States. The vertiginous rise of this demographic segment was overwhelmingly framed as a problem, one with distinct architectural implications. As families scattered across suburbia, it became more difficult for younger generations to provide consistent care to aging relatives. At the same time, the media increasingly framed multigenerational living as an unnatural arrangement. The unvoiced question that rang through period discourse was, in a society that centers individual freedoms and responsibilities, who provides care when one is no longer able to take care of themselves? This paper locates an important tipping point in the rerouting of eldercare from family to architecture in the post-World War II United States. The paper investigates the role of city, state, and federal governments and non-profit organizations such as the Ford Foundation in developing housing standards for the nation’s elderly. These standards conceptualized the aging body as little more than a cluster of ailments and, in the absence of familial aid, hailed architecture as the prosthesis that would reduce the friction between the body and the surrounding environment. The paper considers the sites of care in the process of aging and the way architecture makes visible or obfuscates care. By examining the spatialities and materialities of care, the paper brings to light the transformation of caring practices and relations in the second half of the twentieth century.
Presenters
Dora VanetteStudent, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Southern California, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Architecture and Aging, Material Culture, Care, Midcentury, USA, Senior Housing
