The Competitive Advantage of ‘Age Friendly Cities’

Details: Can a city-region create a competitive advantage for itself by embedding age-friendliness into its policies and strategies to encourage and support active ageing?

The World Health Organisation argues that ‘countries CAN afford to get old if governments, international organizations and civil society enact ‘active ageing’ policies and programmes that enhance the health, participation and security of older citizens’1

By being more ‘age-friendly’ in terms of its layout and design, for example, a city is more likely to attract and retain older people who will feel safer and more comfortable. It has  been estimated that “people over 65 own 80% of private wealth in the UK, controlling £460 billion in un- mortgaged equity alone – enough money to fund the NHS for 10 years”2.

This is an attractive market for any city/region that is able to retain/attract boomers who have money to spend in their retirement years. Leading thinkers in politics, academia and business are pointing to “a new dynamic in the relationship between ageing and regional competitiveness”3 recognizing that those regions able to support and capitalise on the knowledge and skills of an ageing population will be ahead of those who don’t.

• By embedding ageing into the strategic framework of the city and preparing strategies  for a more age friendly city, stronger partnerships will inevitably develop and people will be working towards common ends rather than working in silos.
• By encouraging and supporting businesses to help older people work longer and more flexibly, a city/region could reduce its old-age dependency ratio. There could be benefits for older people, business and the economy.
• By ensuring academic research feeds into the fabric of the city and informing policy and strategy, further benefits can be made.

This lively seminar, co-hosted by KT-EQUAL and ActiveAge, will include presentations from cities that are part of the WHO Age Friendly City network, and those implementing age friendliness through other strategies, researchers working on age friendly design and implementation, more integrated services, and sustainable home and community design, including age friendly technologies.

There will be opportunities to discuss and debate some of the key issues highlighted during workshop breakout sessions.

1 P5, World Health Organisation, Executive Board, 11th session, Agenda item 2, 2003. Statement by the Director General to the Executive Board
2 P7, Deloitte, 2009. Innovation that Matters: How innovation is currently supported in an ageing society
3 J. Coughlin, Disruptive Demographics: Global Aging, Technology and Innovation http://www.disruptivedemographics.com/ accessed March 2011

The day will begin at 9.30am and finish at 4.30pm, a full programme can be found here,click here for directions to the venue.

Presentations

Gregor Rae - Competitive advantage?

Catharine Ward-Thompson - A built environment for all ages - the challenges of implementation

Colin Williams - Newcastle: using the joint strategic needs assessment to deliver age friendliness

Glenda Watt - Edinburgh - towards a city for all ages and here

Rodd Bond - Louth as an Age Friendly City

Graham Armitage - Age friendliness - a campus for ageing and vitality