The Challenges of Urban Ageing: Making Cities Age-Friendly in Europe
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 4 November 2018
- journal article
- viewpoint
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 15 (11), 2473
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112473
Abstract
Urban ageing is an emerging domain that deals with the population of older people living in cities. The ageing of society is a positive yet challenging phenomenon, as population ageing and urbanisation are the culmination of successful human development. One could argue whether the city environment is an ideal place for people to grow old and live at an old age compared to rural areas. This viewpoint article explores and describes the challenges that are encountered when making cities age-friendly in Europe. Such challenges include the creation of inclusive neighbourhoods and the implementation of technology for ageing-in-place. Examples from projects in two age-friendly cities in The Netherlands (The Hague) and Poland (Cracow) are shown to illustrate the potential of making cities more tuned to the needs of older people and identify important challenges for the next couple of years. Overall, the global ageing of urban populations calls for more age-friendly approaches to be implemented in our cities. It is a challenge to prepare for these developments in such a way that both current and future generations of older people can benefit from age-friendly strategies.Keywords
This publication has 62 references indexed in Scilit:
- Use or Non-Use of Gerontechnology—A Qualitative StudyInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2013
- Cooperación para la Innovación Europea sobre el Envejecimiento Activo y SaludableMedicina Clinica, 2013
- Rural–Urban Differences in Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the European UnionRegional Studies, 2013
- Consumer Behavior in Later Life: Current Knowledge, Issues, and New Directions for ResearchPsychology & Marketing, 2012
- The Impact of Modern Economic Growth on Urban–Rural Differences in Subjective Well-BeingWorld Development, 2011
- An Urban-Rural Happiness GradientUrban Geography, 2011
- Older adults talk technology: Technology usage and attitudesComputers in Human Behavior, 2010
- Towards Global Age-Friendly Cities: Determining Urban Features that Promote Active AgingJournal of Urban Health, 2010
- What makes a community age‐friendly: A review of international literatureAustralasian Journal on Ageing, 2009
- Creating Elder-Friendly CommunitiesJournal of Gerontological Social Work, 2007