Hanson, J

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UCL Discovery

The Inclusive City: what active ageing might mean for urban design.Professor Julienne Hanson,Faculty of the Built Environment1-19 Torrington Place SiteUniversity College LondonGower Street,London, WC1E 6BT020 7679 1740j.hanson@ucl.ac.ukAbstractFor the first time in the history of the planet, urbanisation has becomethe fundamental human condition. Urban populations are growing threetimes faster than overall populations and soon, three-quarters of theworld’s people will be city dwellers. (Girardet, 1996) Cities are theengine of economic development, employment and opportunity. Theycan be diverse, vibrant and exciting places, especially for the young, butmany are also polluted, congested, overcrowded and crime-ridden. Inparticular, the urban environments that we have created are notsympathetic to the needs of older people. Older populations havetherefore ‘voted with their feet’ by retiring to the seaside, the suburbanfringes of traditional small market towns or to the countryside. Drawingon the proposition that emerging ‘cultures of ageing’ (Gilleard andHiggs, 2000) are redefining people’s aspirations in later life, it will besuggested that strategies for ‘active ageing’ will be accompanied by amore positive attitude towards urban living. Older people have much togain from living in cities, and cities will undoubtedly gainimmeasurably from balanced communities that include older people.This presentation therefore considers how our urban centres can beredesigned so as to recruit and retain a greater proportion of olderpeople. (200 words)Architectural disability‘Architectural disability’ is a term used (Goldsmith, 1997) to describehow the design of buildings and places can confront people withhazards and barriers that make the built environment inconvenient,uncomfortable or unsafe. Buildings can disable or handicap children,adults with babies in pushchairs, larger, taller or smaller people andthose carrying heavy loads. However, one group is particularly prone tobeing a victim of architectural disability, and that is older people.Lawton (1974) has concentrated on how the built environment canrestrict options for older people. He warns that either a drop incompetence or an increase in environmental pressure could account forthe apparent negative effects of ageing. More positively, he asserts thatsmall improvements to the older person’s physical environment mayproduce a substantial reduction in environmental pressure, so that “thepayoff for effective environmental intervention is very high for olderpeople in poor mental or physical health”, (Lawton, 1974 :259). Thispassing observation is highly pertinent to active ageing, for everyreduction in environmental pressure that is achieved through gooddesign enhances people's opportunities to age more actively. In thissense, the environment has the potential to be therapeutic rather thandisabling.Environment issuesThere are many strategic and detailed environmental issues that have adirect impact on older people’s lives. These include:·  Household growth·  Household location·  Local centres and services·  Transport·  Technology·  Living independently, and·  Universal design.How society responds will have a major impact on the potential for'active ageing', and the proportion of elders who are able to translatethis vision into a reality. Of course these disparate issues come togetheras a seamless whole in the environment we use, experience and movearound in. In arriving at clear policies and goals for the future, we needto ensure that decisions that are taken ostensibly to help older people toage more actively neither insult people's aspirations nor conflict withthe aspirations and values of others.Rural idyll?Historically, older people were one of the main residential groupswithin or close to town centres. Urban living was perceived to bebeneficial to older people because they were within easy walkingdistance of large concentrations of attractions, amenities and facilities.However, today’s generation of older people tends to move out oftowns and cities on retirement, partly as a result of the cycle of neglectand decline which has occurred in many urban centres. Today, acommon pattern on retirement is to move from the family home to thecountryside or coast. Yet this may present problems for the olderresident as rural services decline. The vast majority of older people wholive in suburban neighbourhoods also tend to suffer from a cocktail ofproblems such as expensive housing, inadequate public transport, poorlevels of services, inaccessibility and socialFor those who remain in the inner city, anecdotal evidence (ElderlyAccommodation Council, in conversation) suggests that there is ashortage of suitable accommodation, both mainstream and specialised,close to the centre of many towns and cities. Specialist providers(McCarthy and Stone, in conversation) report a shortage of suitable,affordable urban sites for private retirement housing. The boominghousing market in the south-east of England may provide windfallprofits for older owner occupiers but it is presenting a serious barrier toin-migration among people of all ages from poorer areas, whilst keyworkers increasingly will be unable to afford a home close to the innerurban populations who are dependent on their support.The location and social mix of housing are intimately bound up withaccess to amenities, social networks and information. Currently, muchof the special provision for older people – both sheltered housing andresidential / nursing care - is inappropriately located. Occupying anisolated location on the periphery of the town is known to be closelycoupled to difficulties in letting sheltered housing (Tinker et. al., 1995).Some residential / nursing homes are located in secluded, semi-ruralsettings, effectively confining less mobile residents to the home. Manyolder people who are living in their own homes choose, whilst they arestill able to drive, to retire to a suburban location only to discover thatthe area has few local amenities and is poorly served by publictransport. It has long been assumed that older people wish to‘disengage’ from society in their twilight years, but this is increasingbeing recognised as an imposed and ageist stereotype. Recent researchsuggests that most older people wish to remain actively engaged and intouch with mainstream society (EQUAL, 2001).It is not clear what the migration patterns of future generations of olderpeople will be. However Doorling (1995) has established that olderpeople are no longer flocking to the coasts upon retirement. Instead,older people today are seeking out the suburbs of the smaller markettowns. Older people who can do so continue to leave the city centresbut there is a residue of poor elders who cannot afford to 'escape' andothers who positively wish to remain in a familiar urban setting.However, in the longer term, town centre living may also become morepopular among the wealthy, particularly as the current generation ofurban loft dwellers reaches retirement. In order for this to happen, towncentres will have to develop attractive levels of amenity and service.Design challengesSo far as transport and street space are concerned, the DTLR’s report onolder people and their transport requirements (DTLR, 2001) hassuggested that mobility is the key to reducing social isolation. Givingup driving is a difficult issue, signalling loss of adult status. A highproportion of older people is dependent on public transport, whilstothers use community buses or taxis. Poor design features that currentlydeter older people from using town centres include:·  difficult access and changes of level·  poorly maintained pavements·  busy roads with few crossing points·  isolated unlit stops·  lack of adequate seating·  no public toilets and·  high, steep steps.Older people are also vulnerable and at risk outdoors. Nearly half ofpedestrians killed on the roads are over 60.  An injury is six times aslikely to be fatal to someone over 80 as for someone of 40. Otherdeterrents are safety, affordability, lack of information, unhelpfuldrivers and unreliability of public services. (DTLR, 2001). From adesign point of view, the 'holy grail' is 'seamless travel' where one canmove effortlessly from one mode of transport to another and betweenpick-up points and origin and destination of trips.Once one has arrived at the town centre, the 1995 DisabilityDiscrimination Act has made a start in widening access to publicbuildings. There is a growing awareness that all building users shouldbe able to carry out their work and leisure activities efficiently, safelyand pleasurably according to their abilities. However, a complianceculture often means that the measures taken to widen access are littlemore than a token gesture. Key social trends identified by thegovernment (DTI, 2000) suggest that this attitude will becomeincreasingly untenable in the years to come. Forecasters confidentlypredict that tomorrow's older people will be more independent, diverse,active, consumer-conscious and vocal. The power of the ‘grey pound’will give older people a powerful voice in the design of buildings,products and services and more people will use technology to supporttheir chosen way of life.So far as the design of neighbourhoods and communities is concerned,research suggests that most people in the UK want to live in 'balancedcommunities', defined as a combination of:·  High quality housing·  Safe, attractive environment·  Mix of house types·  Mix of tenures·  Variety of amenities.This definition includes living within an inter-generational, all-agecommunity. Older people have a great deal to offer to younger families,teenagers and children. Towns can tolerate great social diversity,including ethnic diversity, provided that this is not spatialised within anurban ghetto. However, there is growing tendency for older people tolive in 'out of town' retirement communities. This could also mean thata greater proportion of older people will elect to live in an urban 'gatedcommunity'. These visions may either support or run counter to ourcurrent conceptions of active ageing.Cultures of AgeingRadical social theorists like Gilleard and Higgs (2000) propose that infuture people of all ages increasingly will define themselves by theirchosen lifestyle and will be less circumscribed by externally ascribedattributes. Two emerging lifestyles - the 'third ager' and the 'age resistor'- that are both radical approaches to active ageing may soon begin toembrace a more positive attitude towards urban living that couldcontribute to the renaissance of our inner cities.Third ages see later life as a unique time of independence from work,family ties and an opportunity to enjoy leisure. Cities provideunparalleled opportunities for going out and about, education,entertainment and self-fulfilment, as living in the city centre places themain ‘theatres of life’ on the doorstep. Age resistors choose to stayyoung rather than to grow old, asserting that functional ageing can bedelayed by keeping fit, working-out, fashion and cosmetics, foodsupplements and body reshaping. Cities are dominated by youth culture.They have the concentrations of the health clubs, trainers and therapiststhat are necessary to support these goals. For practical reasons thatresult from their lifestyle requirements, both these sub-cultures maybegin to recast the city as a desirable place to inhabit in later life.A third group who may actively engage with the benefits of inner cityliving is the 'Generation M' of post-retirement workers. People in mid-life today can look forward to about 30 years of active life and thecountry needs this pool of skills, talents and experiences. It is thereforelikely that more people will continue to work longer as attitudes toretirement become flexible. Older workers who do not want tocommute will choose to live in cities, close to the job market. Lifelonglearning may also have a part to play. If people are to remaineconomically active for longer, they will need to keep updating theirskills and expertise. Some older 'returners' to FE and HE will want toadd to their skills bank but others will choose to study for pleasure.Older students are not ‘escaping from the nest’ and so many will wantto live close to their place of study; that is, in cities.Many more people will benefit from an occupational or personalpension in future. Already, post-retirement incomes are increasingfaster than average earnings.  A greater proportion of older people willchoose to spend their disposable income on cultural and leisure in cities,though it must never be forgotten that cities are also likely to containconcentrations of older people who are very poor. Finally, older peoplewill be needed in many walks of life, to fill the gaps that are left in thesocial fabric as the number of younger people declines. Older peoplehave the maturity, life skills, time and citizenship that are needed bycharities and by voluntary and community based organisations. Socialdisadvantage is greatest in cities, so it is imperative that oldervolunteers choose this active, committed and engaged urban lifestyle infuture.Urban design comes of agePeople need to feel that the urban environment is attractive, friendly andsafe, in order to live there. The re-vitalisation of the city is an importantoption for change that should facilitate active ageing. Older people arealready one of the main user groups of traditional town centres. Citycentre living is an important option for tomorrow's older citizens, but ifwe fail to take this into account when adding to the stock of new housesor when designing the public realm, this will significantly reduce thechoices and opportunities for us all to age actively in the years to come.(1990 words)ReferencesDTLR, 2000, Older people: their transport needs and requirments, areport by W. S. Atkins for the DTLR, LondonDoorling, Daniel, 1995, A New Social Atlas of Britain, John Wiley andSons, Chichester, West SussexDTI, 2000, Foresight Ageing Population Panel, Design For LivingTaskforce Report, DTI, LondonHanson, Julienne, Kellaher, Leonie and Rowlands, Mike, 2001,Profiling the housing stock for older people: the transition fromdomesticity to caring, Final Report of EPSRC EQUAL Research.Gilleard, Christopher and Higgs, Paul, 2000, Cultures of Ageing: selfcitizen and the body, Prentice Hall, Harlow, EnglandGirardet, Herbert, 1996, The Gaia Atlas of Cities; new directions forsustainable living, Gaia Books Limited, LondonGoldsmith, Selwyn, 1997, Designing for the Disabled: the newparadigm, Architectural Press, LondonLawton, M.P., 1994, Social ecology and the health of older people,American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 64., No. 3.Tinker, A.,, Wright, F. and Zeilig, H., 1995, Difficult to let shelteredhousing, HMSO, London

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