This article is an exploration into the vernacular landscape of Assisted Living (AL), a conceptual idea borrowed from cultural geographer J.B. Jackson, which distinguishes formalized, planned space from those spaces which are unintended and often created spontaneously--vernacular. Based upon three large-scale, multi-year ethnographic studies in Maryland, we consider some of the ways people who live in AL relate to and respond to the built environment, at times subverting the intended purpose of design to make it their own. The conflict that often ensues over both planned and vernacular public and private space, we propose is ultimately the product of living within an environment that is both someone’s home as well as a place of business, whose job it is to keep people safe. Within this physical context of vernacular private and public spaces, this article enriches understandings about the way autonomy and privacy expresses itself.
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