A Proposal for Improving Community-Based Aging Services in Beijing, China: Toward a Hybrid Model

China currently faces a rapidly growing elderly population with demographics shifting from a rural setting towards an urban setting. Chinese society must respond to the looming problem of an architecture under-prepared to meet the needs of this population. China currently relies on family-care and institutional care to support the elderly, both of which are ill-suited to currently meet those needs. Therefore, it is important to develop a social support system around these more traditional models of care to enable the elderly to retain independence. This paper examines a potential model for doing so in one city, Beijing, China. Salt Lake County provides a useful example of aging services in the United States. The Meals on Wheels program and Senior Centers in Salt Lake County offer a model that could be transformed for use in Beijing, China. By adapting these programs with the aim of long-term sustainability and reduced cost in mind, each could improve the ability of seniors in Beijing to maintain their independence and quality of life moving into the future.