Affordable Housing: Elderly in Tehran and Their Housing Problems

Abstract Affordable housing for elderly people, as an inevitable necessity, is an important issue in Tehran. Since the 1960s, the problem of affordable housing has become visible in Tehran, and today, despite the adoption of various policies and diverse programs, it remains a controversial issue for policymakers in this sector, as well as in academic and scientific scope. In this research, descriptive and analytical techniques are used, and it is conducted in 2018 for Tehran city. The statistical population of this study is the aged population of Tehran. An old age index has been used to measure old age status and density analysis of aged population in Tehran, carried out by Sturge’s Rule. The calculation of this density is prepared based on data from the Iranian Statistics Center for three periods of the 1996, 2006, and 2011 census. In addition, aged housing indices in Tehran have been studied and the most important problems of aged housing have been extracted. The results show that the highest density of the aged population is located in areas 4, 5, and 15, respectively. Failure to provide affordable housing, quality of life, and health threatens many of Tehran's low-income elderly and affects providing other basic needs such as health, medical, social, cultural, and recreational services. Therefore, action in development of housing policies for elderly people in Tehran is necessary due to numerous urban problems and issues such as transportation, Tehran's air pollution, lack of health services, and increasing land price and rent.