Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

D2.1 Defining The LandscapeThe defining features of this welfare landscape map onto the featuresof the real landscapes of Finland in which it is embedded. This landscapeis described by the structures and properties of the built environment,the infrastructural network, the social fabric, and the product and servicedelivery systems of Finland.Therefore, understanding the structures and properties of the urban,suburban, and rural ecosystems of Finland is the key to engaging the welfarelandscape. In order to begin strategically rethinking the welfare systemof Finland, one must begin by considering the designs of the various environmentsin which it is situated.Based on the conclusions of a Social Services Needs Assessment—abasic right, conducted by a panel of experts at age sixty-five or older—asan elderly person begins his journey across this landscape, he faces a bewilderingarray of possibilities as to how his life will be framed and choreographedduring the ageing process.D2.2 Physical EnvironmentsThe question of where to live is perhaps the most fundamental decisionaffecting the elderly and the infrastructure systems connected to theseenvironments. The primary options of living at home, in service housing, orin an institution are each located within different urban, suburban, or ruralcontexts. Together, these factors determine an elderly person’s surroundingsand their mobility options.Live at HomeThe option to remain at home is currently the one favoured encouragedby the Finnish government. As stated by the Ministry of Social Affairs andHealth’s National Framework for High-Quality Services for Older People,the nationwide goal for 2012 is to have 91%-92% of persons over the age ofseventy-five living at home. As of 2006, the reported figure nearly met thegoal as a recorded 90.1% figure (Facts about Social and Health Care).Living at home is defined as living outside of the welfare state’s physicalcare infrastructure (composed of institutions such as retirement homes andhospitals). Home living is characterized by independent living within one’sown apartment, with a family member or within an informal cooperative.Persons unable or unwilling to live at home, even when a supportingnetwork of home care and support services is available, will likely opt for aresidence where care and services are more explicitly and tightly integratedinto the design of the living environment. There are a number of differenttypes of such facilities, whose entry is generally contingent upon the288