The Role of Age-friendly Environments in Promoting Ageing-in-place in Urban China

Globally, the population is ageing owing to falling fertility rates and growing life expectancy. Another mega-trend that characterises the global population of today is urbanisation. China is also experiencing an ageing population and urbanisation in line with global demographic trends. On a global scale, almost one in four people who are 60 years or over were living in China by 2017. Research from architecture, urban studies, geography, epidemiology, and public health demonstrates that the place where a person lives significantly influences his/her health performance. Some physical or cognitive loss of capacity relating to ageing can be avoided by an adaptive environment, such as avoiding the environment’s negative effects on older people and improving it according to the older person’s needs. The change to an individual’s ageing process may necessitate alterations in their living environments, by modifying current residences or moving to a more supportive place. When considering where to live, older individuals would wish to live in a community which allows them to maintain social connections, security and familiarity, and provides a sense of independence, autonomy and identity. Moreover, allowing older individuals to stay in private housing and within the community as long as possible could be an effective solution in avoiding a move to a nursing home and increased healthcare expenditure. Thus, ageing-in-place is advocated by policymakers, healthcare providers, and most older persons themselves. Design plays a crucial role in providing an age-friendly environment that enables individuals to achieve ageing-in-place and promote their health and well-being.
This research aims to discover the age-friendly living environment requirements of the older population in urban China. It seeks to develop a holistic framework to guide retrofitting of housing environments and the design of new mainstream housing which overcomes the social and physical changes associated with ageing, allowing older individuals to live independently for longer, age well and avoid or delay the move into residential care.