Giving Compass' Take:

• San Diego is making Glenner Town Square which is a self-contained city center intended to provide care and stability for individuals who have Alzheimer's. 

• What are some potential challenges to creating a fake town?

• Read about some of the progress for Alzheimer's research. 

When San Diego’s Glenner Town Square opens, it will be like stepping into a time warp. Everything from the hospital to the local diner to the city hall at its center will look like it was taken straight out of the 1950s, reminiscent of years and architectural styles gone by. However, this isn’t a new tourist attraction: it’s meant to help people living with Alzheimer’s disease to remember their happiest days.

When completed, Glenner Town Square will be a fully functional (if somewhat small) and self-contained city center complete with a classic diner, beauty salon and library.

Caring for people with Alzheimer’s-related dementia can be stressful for both the patient and their family. Traditional round-the-clock care in homes can be very expensive, but caring for a parent or family member with dementia can be a struggle for people without specialized training. At the same time, living with the disease can be frustrating for the patients, who can become disoriented and lash out.

While Glenner Town Square is meant to provide day care for elderly dementia patients, others do provide round-the-clock care and community. One of the first examples of a center structured around this technique (known as “reminiscence therapy”) is Hogewey, a small, enclosed village built outside of Amsterdam that provides dormitories, shops and community spaces for residents with dementia to safely live more independent lives, Ben Tinker reported for CNN.

Read the full article about Alzheimer's by Danny Lewis at Smithsonian