Housing for Special Groups contains the proceedings of an international seminar held in the Netherlands on November 8-13, 1976 under the auspices of the Committee on Housing, Building and Planning of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The seminar provided a forum for discussing the special housing requirements of certain groups, including the elderly and the handicapped. The emphasis is on the scope and size of special housing problems and their likely future evolution, as well as the general lines of approach adopted by various countries to tackle these problems.
The discussions are organized around three themes: specific housing needs in relation to overall housing policy; social principles, including financial aid; and architectural, planning, and technical aspects. The issues covered include the right to housing and the integration of such housing into the community and the avoidance of segregation; the possibility of housing choice; the relationship between the life-cycle of households and housing needs; and the architecture, planning, and technical aspects of housing for special groups in western Europe and eastern Europe. The possibilities offered both by new production and by alterations to existing buildings are considered.
This monograph will be of interest to housing officials and policymakers.
