Overview
Idealized images of a rural milieu, including deeply entrenched informal social supports, are often evoked by thoughts of growing older in a rural place. However, aging rural populations, population out-migration, and economic restructuring have complicated the ability of older people to age in place, including the suitability of rural housing.
Led by Dr. Elizabeth Russell, the Rural Aging Research Program supports research on aging in place in rural communities, including housing alternatives for older rural adults. Projects include academic research as well as community-based research in collaboration with organizations such as the Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield.
Selected Outputs
Aging in place or stuck in place? Housing insecurity and aging well in rural Canada
Pictured: Benjamin conducting his M.A. research in Winneba, Ghana.
Author: Benjamin Darkwa, M.A. in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies Candidate (2026)
Completed as a part of the Professional Practice in Knowledge Mobilization course taught by Dr. Elizabeth Russell.
Summary: This article explores the challenges and opportunities of aging in place in rural Canada and how alternative rural housing models may work against experiences of stuck in place for older adults.
Rural places and aging: Between aging in place and stuck in place
Author: Elizabeth Russell (2024)
In M. Cutchin and G.D. Rowles (Eds.) Handbook on aging and place (pp. 277-292). Edward Elgar.
Summary: This chapter discusses the benefits and challenges to alternative rural housing models as a mechanism for supporting aging in place in rural communities. Specifically, this chapter explores community and homesharing models and the ways in which research and policy can work together to address experiences of 'stuck in place' in aging rural communities.
Housing alternatives for older Canadians: Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield
Creator: Elizabeth Russell (2022)
Summary: This video highlights the Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield, an alternative housing model for older adults in Lakefield, Ontario.
Press article: 'Trent researchers donate award prize to Abbeyfield Lakefield' in the Lakefield Herald, by Terri Williams.
A community-based approach to retirement living development projects
Authors: Kara Rutherford, Amy Smith, Laurel Pirrie, and Natalie Jennings, Elizabeth Russell, John Marris (2018).
Community report, Trent University
Summary: This report outlines a community-based research project that examined the needs, preferences, and attitudes of older adults and other community members toward retirement living, to determine the feasibility and community desire for the development of an Abbeyfield house in Lakefield. Themes of affordability, independence, and companionship emerged, and inform recommendations for the development of a Lakefield Abbeyfield house.
