Taos Pueblo Senior Living Center Report
Spring 2019
PROGRAM: Master of Community and Regional Planning
STUDENTS: Pablo Fernando Lituma, Marie Soledad Anda Gordillo, Diana Vanessa Chavez Vargas, Marilu Melendez
INSTRUCTORS: Ted Jojola
Elders are the heart of Indigenous communities. In collaboration with the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning, Taos Pueblo seeked the insight of the elderly population to inform their process of creating a successful Senior Assisted Living Facility. Using demographic analysis, case study research, and two community engagement sessions, CRP students worked with the community to understand the essential needs and desires of the elders in Taos Pueblo.
In Indigenous communities, elders are essential to maintaining cultural and historical preservation for future generations and play a vital role in bolstering community resilience. As such, Indigenous communities care for their elderly with reverence and respect, a tradition they aspire to uphold in establishing a Senior Assisted Living Facility within their community. They wish to create a center that values and cares for village elders in a culturally sensitive way. In conjunction with UNM Architecture and the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute, Community and Regional Planning students conducted demographic analysis, case study research, and conducted two community engagement meetings with Taos Pueblo elders to determine which services and programs are most essential for their quality of life. Further, students seeked to understand any special needs and culturally sensitive information that would be relevant to the design of the Senior Center in order to create vibrant, active space.
Initially, CRP students began their research by examining local senior care facilities to inform their future community engagement process. In addition to looking into community senior care facilities, students placed emphasis on examining indigenous senior care facilities. Along with use of space, students examined programming and culturally significant events and amenities.
Along with case studies, students examined the demographics of Taos Pueblo focusing primarily on age and gender distribution, and population projections. With their findings, they were able to target particular age groups projecting to grow within the coming years and determined elderly women to be the dominant client for an Assisted Care Center.
In addition to demographic information, CRP studio also conducted a site analysis of Taos Pueblo, focusing on the building site as a focal point for community asset inventories, cultural and service inventory, and public facilities inventory. In addition, they analyzed the condition of public infrastructure including sidewalks, trails, community gardens, and roads.
Finally, the studio conducted two community engagement meetings with Taos Pueblo elders and focused on two activities: Designing Future Spaces and Seasonal Cultural Activities. In these two activities, students asked elders which spaces they would use most in a Assisted Care Facility: community space, inter-personal space, or personal space. Students asked elders what they’re favorite places are at home, where they spend time with family, and what places in town they like to share time with friends and family. The second activity analyzed use of space throughout the year on a seasonal basis, asking what three cultural activities do elders participate in during the spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Findings of community workshop and existing conditions analyses were summarized and informed site recommendations. All information for Taos Pueblo was then compiled into a report for the pueblo to use to inform their planning efforts.
