Population aging and the growing desire for independence in later life increase pressure on health and social care systems and heighten the need for socio-technical solutions that enable healthy living and aging in place. While Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), smart-home technologies, and digital health services are widely discussed as promising approaches, empirical evidence remains largely confined to pilot settings and often reflects only a single stakeholder perspective. Addressing this gap, this paper examines the implementation of socio-technical solutions in an inhabited smart neighborhood. It investigates (RQ1) which success factors and barriers different stakeholder groups identify regarding implementation of socio-technical solutions in a smart neighborhood and (RQ2) how do these success factors and barriers differ across stakeholder groups. Data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis were examined using thematic analysis. Results reveal a clear cross-level asymmetry. Macro-level actors emphasize innovation, transferability, and system transformation. Micro-level actors engage pragmatically, prioritizing usability, perceived usefulness, and privacy. Meso-level actors perform the translation work between these domains. Facilitation, spatial infrastructures, and on-site support prove more decisive for stabilizing use than technological sophistication alone. Success factors at one level frequently coexist with barriers at another. By conceptualizing the smart neighborhood as a socio-technical system shaped by cross-level tensions, the study challenges technology-centric narratives of digital aging and highlights the central role of meso-level alignment in bridging strategic ambition and lived experience.

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Technology-Supported Living and Aging in Place in a Smart Neighborhood: A Multi-level Qualitative Analysis of Success Factors and Barriers

  • Sabina Hölzer,
  • Lucie Schmidt,
  • Wesley Preßler,
  • Christian Erfurth

摘要

Population aging and the growing desire for independence in later life increase pressure on health and social care systems and heighten the need for socio-technical solutions that enable healthy living and aging in place. While Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), smart-home technologies, and digital health services are widely discussed as promising approaches, empirical evidence remains largely confined to pilot settings and often reflects only a single stakeholder perspective. Addressing this gap, this paper examines the implementation of socio-technical solutions in an inhabited smart neighborhood. It investigates (RQ1) which success factors and barriers different stakeholder groups identify regarding implementation of socio-technical solutions in a smart neighborhood and (RQ2) how do these success factors and barriers differ across stakeholder groups. Data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis were examined using thematic analysis. Results reveal a clear cross-level asymmetry. Macro-level actors emphasize innovation, transferability, and system transformation. Micro-level actors engage pragmatically, prioritizing usability, perceived usefulness, and privacy. Meso-level actors perform the translation work between these domains. Facilitation, spatial infrastructures, and on-site support prove more decisive for stabilizing use than technological sophistication alone. Success factors at one level frequently coexist with barriers at another. By conceptualizing the smart neighborhood as a socio-technical system shaped by cross-level tensions, the study challenges technology-centric narratives of digital aging and highlights the central role of meso-level alignment in bridging strategic ambition and lived experience.