Transcript AGEING IN CITIES
AGEING IN CITIES
CHRIS PHILLIPSON CENTRE FOR SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY KEELE UNIVERSITY
AGEING IN CITIES
FACTORS DRIVING THE ‘AGE-FRIENDLY’ DEBATE CHARACTERISTICS OF ‘AGE-FRIENDLY’ CITIES OPPORTUNITIES AND PRESSURES IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS POLICY OPTIONS
WHY AGE-FRIENDLY? (1)
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE 2030: 25 per cent of population in urban areas 60 and over URBAN CHANGE 2030: 60 per cent of the world’s population living in urban areas
WHY AGE-FRIENDY? (2)
IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT
AROUND 50 PER CENT OF OLDER PEOPLE HAVE SPENT 40 OR MORE YEARS IN SAME NEIGHBOURHOOD
TIME SPENT AT HOME -80 PER CENT AMONG THOSE 70 and over 1 ‘THE HOME AND IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT SETS THE TONE FOR DAILY LIFE’ 2
WHY AGE-FRIENDLY? (3)
1999 UN Year of Older People: ACTIVE AGEING 3 2006 WHO GLOBAL AGE-FRIENDLY CITIES PROJECT: Development of action points to make cities ‘friendly for all ages’ 4 2010 WHO launch Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities – 12 cities inc. Manchester, Brussells and New York
WHY AGE-FRIENDLY? (4)
‘SUSTAINABLE CITIES’:
How can urban development be managed to meet the needs of current and future generations?
‘HARMONIOUS CITIES’: How can we achieve social justice and fairness in the city?
‘LIFETIME HOMES and NEIGHBOURHOODS:
How can we support ageing in place?
CHARACTERISTICS OF AGE FRIENDLY CITIES
RECOGNITION OF DIVERSITY AMONG OLDER PEOPLE PROMOTE INCLUSION IN ALL AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE RESPECTS DECISIONS AND LIFESTYLE CHOICE ANTICIPATES AND RESPONDS FLEXIBLY TO AGE-RELATED NEEDS AND PREFERENCES
OPPORTUNITIES
CREATIVITY OF CITIES: ‘cities as places of culture and creativity, of conviviality and sedentary living ’4.
ACCESS TO AMENITIES AND
SERVICES: Research suggests higher levels social and cultural participation for those with access to facilities (corner shops, libraries and parks )5.
OPPORTUNITIES
IDENTIFICATION WITH
NEIGHBOURHOODS: Strong attachment to localities with links to family and friends.
IMPORTANCE OF LOCALITY FOR FIRST AND LATER GENERATION
MIGRANTS: Cultural, social and religious organisations
PRESSURES IN CITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES
SECURITY PRESSURES
AGE-RELATED PRESSURES
PRESSURES
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (1):
Problems with urban design and poor maintenance of streets have major consequences: surveys suggest around one in four of those 65 plus have experienced a fall due to damaged paving or street surfaces – one third of whom required medical treatment 6 .
PRESSURES
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (2)
- Research in Dublin suggests that pedestrian crossing times at urban intersections represent major hazard for frail older people 7 .
- In New York pedestrians aged 60 plus account for 47% of pedestrian fatalities whilst representing only 17% of the population 8 .
PRESSURES
SECURITY ISSUES: Fear of moving out of the home at certain times- 33% to 50% of older people may feel unsafe moving around their neighbourhood at night.
9 Neighbourhoods with poor physical environments and limited access to services also increase feelings of insecurity and vulnerability 10 .
PRESSURES
AGE-RELATED ISSUES: Urban design and planning ignoring groups with problems such as 820,000 people in UK with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Vibrant and informal public space especially important for people with dementia 11 .
POLICY ISSUES
1. Global cities but importance of local environment for determining quality of life.
2. Developing life course perspective on neighbourhoods – using views of older residents as reference point for understanding community change.
POLICY ISSUES
3. Link issues about ageing to debate about urban citizenship and rights to the benefits of city life.
4. Older people live in the city but not fully part of the city 5. Reconcile ‘Highly mobile’ with those ‘ageing in place’
POLICY ISSUES
6. Bring together older people with Urban Designers, Architects and Planners to assess:
accessibility of built environment location and accessibility of services development of secure public spaces inter-generational links
SOME QUESTIONS
Cities are viewed as key drivers for economic success – ‘the urban renaissance’ – but can they integrate ageing populations as well?
Can we bring together urban managers and developers?
Can the resources of the city be used to improve quality of life in old age – only one in 20 older households may have the money to take advantage of what great cities can offer?
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WAYS FORWARD
Investigate new ways of securing participation of older people in regeneration and planning.
New studies of experiences of urban change.
Better understanding of opportunities as well as constraints of urban living.
References
1. Horgas, A.L. et al.(1998) Daily Life in Very old Age. Gerontologist 38: 556-568 2. Newman, K (2006) Midlife and Beyond in the Inner City NY: New Press 3. World Health Organisation (2002) Active Ageing Geneva: WHO 4. WHO (2007) Global Age Friendly Cities: A Guide Geneva: WHO
REFERENCES
5. De Donder et al. (Forthcoming, 2010) Feelings of Unsafety in Later Life Brussells: UVB Press 6. Help the Aged (2008) Towards Common Ground: The Help the Aged Manifesto for Lifetime Neighbourhoods. London: Help the Aged 7. Romero-Ortuno, R. et al. (2009) ‘Do older residents have enough time to cross roads in Dublin’. Ageing and Ageing 39: 80-86
REFERENCES
8. Tri-State Transportation Campaign (2010) Older Pedestrians at Risk and How States Can Make it Safer to Walk. New York 9. Scharf et al. (2002) Growing Older in Socially Excluded Areas. London: Help the Aged 10. De Donder et al. (Forthcoming, 2010) Feelings of Unsafety in Later Life Brussells: UVB Press
REFERENCES
11. Mitchell, L. and Burton, E. (2006) ‘Neighbourhoods for Life: Designing Dementia Friendly Outdoor Environments’. Quality in Ageing 7: 26-33 12. For a further discussion of these issues see Phillipson, C (2010) ‘Growing Old in the Century of the City’ In Dannefer, D and Phillipson, C Handbook of Social Gerontology Sage Books
Other links
For background information on the development of modern cities see: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/LSECities/home.aspx
For a project in the USA developing lifetime communities see: http://www.atlantaregional.com/aging-resources/lifelong communities For an example of a ‘liveable street’ see: http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/0904/livable streets.html
For research on the impact of the environment on well-being see http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/healthatwarwick/research/d evgroups/environments/