This chapter further examines the pathways approach by concentrating on the later stages of a housing pathway. The chapter adds to analysis of pathways by focusing on the policy discourses that structure the opportunities open to older people in meeting their housing, support and care needs. The central argument of the chapter is that the policy discourse of community care, which has been dominant since at least the 1960s, is ill-suited to the needs, demands and aspirations of many older people today. The discourse has been negative in tone in that it has been overly-concerned with the cost and location of care and support. This emphasis stems from the importance attached to the move away from institutional care and is coupled with a corresponding lack of emphasis on the nature of the care and support provided outside an institution and the power relations that surround it. The theme of the chapter is that the social and economic changes often given the name of postmodernity, and outlined earlier in the book, have changed the context within which older people make housing, support and care choices, and have challenged the relevance of the dominant policy discourse. In particular, following the argument articulated in Chapter One, it is argued that these social changes have resulted in an increased ability of people to ‘make their own lives’ by choosing their own identity and lifestyle. As a result, the general attitude to housing is changing, with people increasingly seeing it as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. An alternative discourse is described, which builds on the community care discourse while placing more emphasis on the quality of public policy provision through individual choice and empowerment.

The chapter adds to the analysis of housing pathways by showing the importance of discourses in shaping public policy and, therefore, the forms of provision open to households. But discourses are open to change, and it is argued here that the present discourse does not fit well with the social trends of postmodernity emphasised here and is consequently open to challenge. Application of the pathways approach shows the impact that policy discourses can have on household opportunities through its focus on the meaning of housing and household attitudes and perceptions.