Discriminatory and segregationist practices based on stereotyping have lead to social and economic marginalisation for many older people (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2000). While the practice of gathering older people together in segregated housing developments away from mainstream society is considered an efficient way of providing appropriate housing for a ‘special needs’ group of people, such efficiency must be questioned if it is not at the same time effective. Segregated housing is one factor that reinforces negative stereotypes of older people as incapable, incompetent and an economic ‘burden’. Perhaps as a result of this image, the baby boomer generation is seeking longer term independence in a home of their choosing rather than the cloistered atmosphere of age specific settings (Judd, Olsberg, Quinn, Groenhart, and Demirbilek, 2010). This poses challenges for the built environment, both public and private, because many designs have been formed around an archetypal fully capable, mid life adult. Such is the case, that special legislation has been enacted (Disability Discrimination Act, 1992) and building codes adapted, to permit the inclusion of people with a loss of capability in the public built domain. Whilst ‘tacked on’ access specifically labelled for people with disabilities is still problematic (Bringolf 2010), at least there are physical indicators of inclusion if not social indicators in the public domain. However, the notion of inclusion has not yet reached the domain of private housing. This means a person has a legal right to physically access a public building, but such legal rights do not hold in relation to accessing a neighbour’s home, or indeed, their own home.

The aim of this study was to discover why the mass-market house building industry in Australia appears reticent to incorporate universal design principles into project homes. The central tenet of universal design is inclusiveness – designs that are user focused and incorporate the needs of people across their lifespan and all levels of capability.