The Age-Friendly City
Recommended Reading: The Age-Friendly City
The UK will see a rapid increase in older urban residents over the next two decades. Framing this demographic shift as a “crisis” or “time bomb” is fundamentally misguided and ageist. This masks the true impacts of public spending cuts and structural housing market failures.
Three Models: Patient, Customer, or Citizen?
Research by Mark Hammond and Nigel Saunders (Pozzoni Architecture Limited) reveals that urban professionals typically view older people through one of three lenses:
The Patient Model: Defines older people by deficits, focusing solely on medical needs and regulatory compliance. This approach fails to recognise individual diversity and complex aspirations.
The Customer Model: Treats older people as a market segment, leading to stereotype-driven solutions and often excluding those who don’t represent profitable opportunities.
The Citizen Model: Recognises older people as equal contributors with diverse identities, capabilities, and aspirations—positioning them as “equally but differently expert.”
Age segregation in major UK cities has doubled over the past 25 years, creating divisions between those aged 18-34 and over 65. Older people continue living in existing homes, many of which fail to meet basic standards of thermal comfort and maintenance. The focus on specialist housing volumes is insufficient to address this challenge.
The citizen approach demands fundamental shifts in professional practice:
Direct engagement over assumptions, more than specialist housing, a multi-sectoral collaboration.
An ageing population generates significant economic, social, and cultural opportunities for cities. Intergenerational neighbourhoods benefit all residents, while investment in preventative home repairs demonstrates strong returns on investment.
Successful age-friendly urban practice includes:
* “Rightsizing” rather than downsizing approaches that recognise housing decision complexity.
* Integration of health, leisure, library, and community facilities within developments.
* Design for intergenerational connections through cohousing models and shared facilities.
* Addressing practical barriers like public toilet availability and walking surface quality.
* Social programmes that activate built environments and respond to diverse aspirations.
Creating age-friendly cities isn’t about designing for a homogeneous group—it’s about recognising that age intersects with gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, class, and location to create diverse needs and aspirations. Success requires local strategies that acknowledge no “one size fits all” solution exists.
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