Introduction: Making Urban Environments Age-Friendly (UK Urban Ageing Consortium) UK Network of Age-Friendly Cities Built Environment Seminar (October 2013)
This document discusses making urban environments more age-friendly. It introduces the WHO Age-Friendly Cities program and the eight domains of an age-friendly city, including outdoor spaces and buildings. It examines features like accessible design, ground textures, footways, signage, and seating that can impact older adults. While physical changes are important, it also discusses the less tangible aspects like people's perceptions and participation. Creating truly age-friendly spaces requires involvement at multiple scales from individuals to neighborhoods. There is growing interest in research and practice around designing cities for older residents.
Ähnlich wie Introduction: Making Urban Environments Age-Friendly (UK Urban Ageing Consortium) UK Network of Age-Friendly Cities Built Environment Seminar (October 2013)
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Introduction: Making Urban Environments Age-Friendly (UK Urban Ageing Consortium) UK Network of Age-Friendly Cities Built Environment Seminar (October 2013)
2. WHO Age-Friendly movement
2007 WHO Guide to
Age-Friendly Cities
published
2010 first UK city joins
WHO Global Network of
Age-Friendly Cities
2013 expansion of
Global Network (135
cities across 21
countries). UK Network
affiliated.
3. The eight interrelating domains
of an Age-Friendly city
1. Outdoor Spaces and Buildings
2. Transportation
3. Housing
4. Social Participation
5. Respect and Social Inclusion
6. Civic Participation and Employment
7. Communication and Information
8. Community Support and Health Services
4. What we mean by Age-Friendly
‘Outdoor Spaces and Buildings’
6. WHO checklist of inclusive features
• Inclusive Design
• Accessible environments
• Amenable environments
and public facilities
• Link to ‘active’ and healthy
ageing
7. Design as ‘problem-solving’
from a ‘resistant’ to a supportive environment
• identifying problems, ‘barriers’, needs and concerns
• prototyping and designing solutions
• design recommendations
• implementing design standards
8. ‘amplification of impact from micro
environmental aspects in older age’*
The way in which the smallest features of the built environment – ground
textures or ‘formerly imperceptible changes in levels’ – can often start to
become problematic in older age – in ways that are not so easily felt by
others.
* Peace et al.
9. ‘wide and flat tarmac footways’
‘easy transition at level changes’
‘easily visible and understandable signage’
‘frequent, warm, supportive seating’
‘well maintained, safe and open toilets’*
*IDGO Consortium design
recommendations
11. Beyond the physical fabric…
The less tangible dimension of Outdoor Spaces and Buildings
•
people’s subjective perceptions of place
•
acknowledging the relational value of certain kinds of spaces
•
how a place can affect your sense of identity and sense of self
•
ways of co-producing, participating in the production of a space
•
acknowledging conflicts and tensions in the shared use of space
13. Alternative design responses…
or, what is design:
a temporary intervention?
a standardised feature?
a designed object?
a participative design process?
a solution?
another way of looking at things?
- and who is the designer?
14. Creating Age-Friendly spaces
> who needs to be engaged and involved?
> at what scales?
person > street > neighbourhood > city
> maintenance over time…
16. Growing interest in this area
Research funding
ESRC Design, Mobility and Wellbeing
RIBA
Ageing focus for 2014
Emerging forms of practice
across the UK Network
17. Today
1. Learning from existing Age-Friendly practice
2. Sharing different methods and approaches
3. Thinking forward: next steps
> actions within Age-Friendly cities
> building a collective voice across the UK
Hinweis der Redaktion
4 corners of country
Key area of work
Motivation: sense in which design of cities rarely with older people in mind – that planning and development of spaces in our city tend to work with a younger/working age group in mind
So that the urban environment, that public space between buildings
when talk about a-f design = often preconceptions / assumptions as to what a-f design means
for WHO
a-f cities design = about developing better buildings and outdoor spaces
in its documents (and most standard a-f docs) guiding objective = make cities more amenable and accessible to older people
building on the principle of inclusive design
A design approach that addresses the needs of all its users, irrespective of age or ability
Also tied to idea that good a-f design support active and healthy ageing
Developing research around age-friendly cities
That builds on earlier research on age-friendly cities in this area
Need our own guide to provide a framework for VOP to develop an age-friendly programme that is meaningul, that is aware of research,
Within UK Network
when talk about a-f design = often preconceptions / assumptions as to what a-f design means
for WHO
a-f cities design = about developing better buildings and outdoor spaces
in its documents (and most standard a-f docs) guiding objective = make cities more amenable and accessible to older people
building on the principle of inclusive design
A design approach that addresses the needs of all its users, irrespective of age or ability
Also tied to idea that good a-f design support active and healthy ageing
This kind of thinking = based on problem-solving tradition within design process
To transform an environment from a resistant (physically obstructive) environment to a supportive (enabling) one
For me, what’s partic. inter. = to think about the scale of thinking that accompanies a-f design
The way in which age-friendly design involves attending to…
In a sense, design work = as much about making visible and being sensitive to what Sheila Peace has termed this ‘amplification of impact’
Put up this slide on design recomms
That conform to that micro scale but sensitive scale of thinking
for ease of movement
to minimise risk of falls
take 1 of those recomms….
You can see that sensitivity necessary in the scale of a-f design too
considers not only the bare minimum of function and useability (how sittable a bench is) – whether or not it conforms to biomechanical Sit to Stand measures but how desirable (eg. comfortable) a bench is to use - seating that is warm not only functional
For me, this kind of sensitivity is key
Beyond the physical fabric of the material environment
Beyond the inclusive attempt to make urban spaces more useable / navigable
Common mantra
But untested as an idea
In the end, age-friendly design, like design itself can / might mean any no. of things
Monitoring and thinking in the long-term about how urban design aspirations / propositions might be maintained over time
End with a slide on the two faces of ‘age-friendly Beijing’
- on the left - designed intervention ‘pensioners’ street playground’
- on the right an everyday example of an informal way of using, laying claim to a different kind of public space
Age-friendly design might mean a number of different things
But for me, when I think about it in the end its basic aim
How can design support – and challenge - older people to lay claim to their surroundings themselves in older age
End with a slide on the two faces of ‘age-friendly Beijing’
- on the left - designed intervention ‘pensioners’ street playground’
- on the right an everyday example of an informal way of using, laying claim to a different kind of public space
Age-friendly design might mean a number of different things
But for me, when I think about it in the end its basic aim
How can design support – and challenge - older people to lay claim to their surroundings themselves in older age
End with a slide on the two faces of ‘age-friendly Beijing’
- on the left - designed intervention ‘pensioners’ street playground’
- on the right an everyday example of an informal way of using, laying claim to a different kind of public space
Age-friendly design might mean a number of different things
But for me, when I think about it in the end its basic aim
How can design support – and challenge - older people to lay claim to their surroundings themselves in older age
