Age friendly urban spaces Dr Kathleen Brasher

Urban spaces take their form largely from the ways people experience their bodies Sennett 2002

The ageing body in urban spaces Designed for freely moving body Inhospitable for older people with exceptions This is also the picture we are familiar with. Older people, particularly with the long years without being able to earn an income, are at risk of poverty. Age discrimination will affect all us. And social isolation, not living or being alone, but the feeling of persistent loneliness and loss of meaning and purpose, has as great an impact on older people’s health and wellbeing as tobacco and alcohol. And of course, health matters. Most older people are managing a number of health conditions and need access to local community based care.

The evolutionary transformation (or, which one is old?) We are part of the greatest evolutionary change the world has seen. For the first time in human history, there are five generations of people living, working, playing together Give a personal example. So we are also all ageing together. There are two parts to this fantastic shift, and a warning that the next few slides will have some statistics but they are important.

The life course as it was So why do our communities need to become more age-friendly? This was the typical life course for someone in the early 1900s. People didn’t live as long, they had less schooling, worked whether raising children or in paid work, retired and died soon after. Then, older Australians were fewer in number and mostly from an anglo-celtic background. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were not counted in the Census. Kalache, 2013

The potential life course With population ageing, improvements in health, education and the wealth of our country there is a need to change the way we and our governments and community view ageing and retirement. Older Australians are also very diverse. In fact we know the older people get the more diverse they become. Older Australians are now from a great range of different backgrounds, speak a large number of different languages. [personal experiences of diversity of friends, family, neighbours] Kalache, 2013

The problems of ageing Chronic illness Poverty Discrimination Social isolation Chronic illness

Benefits of ageing A$74 billion per annum As carers & volunteers de Vause, 2003

Intergenerational transfer of money A$53 billion per annum Intergenerational transfer of money O’Dwyer et al. 2012 O’Dwyer and colleagues using different method showed the transfre fo money downwards from older people to younger family members accounted for

Social ‘glue’ Share knowledge Enact community values Connect people to place and history

Urban spaces that enhance Health Security Participation Lifelong learning

WHO Global Age Friendly Cities and Communities Initiative The results from all the investigations around the world were brought together into the Global Age Friendly Cities guide. A similar project was done in small communities in Canada considered how rural and remote communities might become more age-friendly through a similar process. Both these guides were released in 2007 as the outcome of work speaking directly with thousands of older people, carers, organisations, businesses and governments. These two reports provide the key steps for communities to guide their work in becoming an age friendly community. www.who.int/ageing/age_friendly_cities_network/en/

1. People and Place Creating places that allow older people to flourish 2. Active involvement of older people The meaningful, purposeful involvement of older people in creating those places So when you hear the words ‘Age Friendly City or Community’ what this means is this local area is working using the research done by the WHO. They are working with older people to create a place where older people can live safely, enjoy good health and stay involved. The first point to remember is that an age friendly community is very much about a local place.

8 Domains 1. Outdoor spaces & buildings 2. Transportation 3. Housing 4. Social participation 5. Respect & social inclusion 6. Civic participation & employment 7. Communication & information 8. Community support & health services The WHO Checklist has 8 domains that cover all aspects of life.

Outdoor spaces Well maintained, smooth footpaths Adequate seating spaced at regular intervals Safe green spaces with shelter and seating Services are clustered and accessible WHO AFC Checklist

Transportation Accessible and affordable public transport Friendly, available taxis Bus drivers able to support older people Reliable community transport WHO AFC Checklist

Mobility is the connection between and within domains

Mobility means Independence Quality of life Physical activity Social connection Participation in the life of the community

What stops us?

Single solution approach Short-term, acute response Need to think in decades not days

Deeply held, negative attitudes to ageing and older people

Separation of the life span creating an ‘us and them’

Fearful attitude to our future selves and our own mortality

Create urban spaces … to ensure older people have the best later life for themselves and the nation

Re-imagine urban spaces through the ageing body Places for health, community and flourishing throughout life