Barriers and opportunities in age-friendly retrofitting of older residential buildings: a systematic literature review

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the key barriers and opportunities shaping the age-friendly retrofitting of older residential buildings. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines using Scopus and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. This review is primarily grounded in literature on urban older residential buildings in China, supplemented by relevant studies from New Zealand, Australia and other international contexts. Relevant keywords identified 114 records. The titles, abstracts, keywords and full texts of the publications were reduced to 75 eligible sources that were related to age-friendly retrofitting of older residential buildings. The contents of the 75 relevant publications were analysed to ascertain the key barriers and opportunities. A content analysis approach was adopted to understand the interaction among the barriers and opportunities. Findings The study identified five key barriers, including “spatial and infrastructural limitations”, “financial challenges”, “policy fragmentation”, “insufficient assessment and standards” and “mismatch between needs and engagement”. In contrast, five opportunities emerged: “policy advancement”, “collaborative innovation”, “technological integration”, “innovation in care models” and “growing market”. Moreover, the findings indicate that these barriers and opportunities do not exist in isolation but interact in highly interconnected ways. Practical implications A systemic analysis of the barriers and opportunities associated with age-friendly retrofitting can support more targeted resource allocation, enhance cross-departmental coordination and facilitate the more sustainable implementation of age-friendly retrofitting initiatives in practice. Originality/value This review provides an interaction-oriented synthesis of how barriers and opportunities relate to one another throughout the age-friendly retrofitting process and, on this basis, synthesises two key research gaps: the lack of a pre-retrofit feasibility assessment framework and the lack of a standardised retrofit pathway guideline.