Abstract
It is normal for everybody to live together with the handicapped and the aged. That is the idea of normalization now progressing in many advanced countries in Europe, where the governments have given priority to their social welfare policies promoting social facilities such as hospitals and other protective institutions to help the handicapped and the aged pursue an independent personal life as much as possible. In Japan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has recently decided to encourage the development of both social and domestic living conditions so that they may live at home independently with social support. Under the present situation, however, it wonld be almost impossible to enjoy their independent lives at home as long as they wish to without making large repairs on their residences. What is worse, the cold and snowy climate makes the situation more difficult and complicate. In this paper, we consider the present living condition based on a survey of the inhabitants of houses and apartments, and discuss the issues we face in the urban society where the aged population is becoming larger very quickly.
