In view of the lack of homes for the growing population, would the answer be for more bungalows to be built, thus releasing some pensioners large multi bedroomed houses, so as to house families?
The plus side they would also be quicker to build than two storey houses, on the negative side they would use up more land per person.
Stairlifts don't solve all mobility problems. They also need a decent amount of space at the top and bottom of the stairs. Often there isn't room for one in a compact semi.
The village I live in had a large number of bungalows built in the 1960's. Unfortunately, over the years, the vast majority of them had loft conversions meaning there are very few true bungalows left.
Good luck woofgang, I was fortunate to find one after looking for 5 months, but I only got it because their previous buyer had to drop out, and having already seen it I snapped it up the day it came back on the market.
Any spare land nowadays seems to be flats,which save ground space but I doubt elderly people would out of choice want to live in a flat if they have been used to having their own front and back doors all their lives plus the stairs problem again.