573 Manuscript #187 The Asia Pacific Network for Housing Research (APNHR) Conference, Korea April 9th – 12th 2015 To Move or Not to Move?: Exploring future housing plan of ageing communities in Kuala Lumpur Ainoriza Mohd Aini * Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz** Noor Rosly Hanif *** Abstract The growing number of elderly is poised to become a major issue in developing countries. Malaysia is one of the countries where the population is ageing and is forecasted to become an aged nation by 2030. This will create greater challenges in terms of housing for the ageing community. As such, a study on unique housing and accommodation that caters to the growing ageing or elderly community is pertinent and indeed necessary. This paper examines the aspirations of the older adults in Kuala Lumpur in term of their current homes satisfaction and their future housing plans including the reflection of ageing in place. A face-to-face survey was conducted in a sample of respondents aged 40 and above in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents are satisfied with their current house and the neighbourhood. Thus, they are not planning to move in the future due to the sense of attachment and feelings of familiarity in their current homes and the neighbourhood. The paper concludes by suggesting that ageing in place should be taken account in formulating policies and measures related to elderly and quality housing at various levels in Malaysia. Keywords : Housing, Ageing population, Elderly, Age-in-place, Kuala Lumpur I. Introduction 1. Background and Aims of the Study Malaysia, similar to many other countries, is projected to experienced growth in their elderly population. Malaysia is one of the countries where the population is ageing and is forecasted to become an aged nation by 2030. The population of elderly in Malaysia has grown from 0.5 million in 1970’s to almost 2.3 million in 2010, whereas the population of elderly at that time are just 8% from total population. It is expected that Malaysia will become ageing nation by year 2030 and during that period, the population of elderly are 15% from total population (Hamid & Tyng, 2013). Elderly in Malaysia are living longer today due to improved living condition. Most of them are better in terms of education and wealth. Traditionally, elderly in Malaysia has been the responsibility of their children. They lived with either an unmarried child or married children in an extended family system. However, rapid development has transformed the mainly rural agricultural society to an increasingly urbanised industrial society. The social characteristics of people in Malaysia are changing as a result of urbanisation and modernisation of the population, for example, the changing role of women and their participation in the labour force, delay in marriage, smaller family size, migration of the younger generation to urban areas with more jobs and education opportunities (Aminah, 1996; Arpita, 2000; Hew, 2007; Sim, 2002). These ageing Malaysian who lives in the urban area such as Greater Klang Valley and financially stable, they will create demand for separate housing trend during their retirement. The changes in an economic development, migration and changes in family structure have also weakened family support and care for older persons (Ng et al., 2012). Little is known about the preference of independent living arrangement in later life. The needs and expectations of older persons in Malaysia have also change, especially those living in the urban setting. Given this background, a study on unique housing and accommodation that caters to the growing ageing or elderly community is pertinent and * Lecturer, Department of Estate Management, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur ** & *** Associate Professor, Department of Estate Management, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur Contact Author: Ainoriza Mohd Aini, Lecturer, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 603 79675216 Fax: 603 79675713 e-mail: ainoriza@um.edu.my