Reimagining Age-Friendly Living
Higher density development and roof-level gardens
Ideas
Ageing is inevitable. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more than two billion people aged over 60, more than twice the number measured in 2000. One in six people in the world will be aged 65 years or over. This global phenomenon affects every country in the world, yet there are virtually no policies in place to cater for this shocking statistic. It’s more likely that we’ll hear about retirement housing being rejected on the grounds that it could harm the vitality of the town centre, as a recent high-profile case proved. So while the concept of age-friendly isn’t new, it has yet to fully permeate into policy-making across the built environment. In the UK there is still no planning definition (or use class) for age-friendly homes and recent housing policy has been heavily weighted towards the construction of homes for families and young professionals. It’s little wonder that the shortfall of new accessible, age-friendly homes is estimated at 22,000 every year. While we all continue to debate how to improve supply, national and global demand for more and better age-friendly homes is surging. These headline statistics mask the more important fact that individuals and their families can lose their independence, due to a lack of affordability or choice. Yes, retirement homes 60
are being built, but many just simply aren’t affordable. Much purpose-built development has been based on the retirement village. This development model aims to maximise security and comfort for residents, but the scale and typology means that they are often located at the urban fringes, reinforcing a sense of segregation between older people and the wider community. Alongside this, the global pandemic has seen our older populations disproportionately affected and our high streets blindsided – when shoppers were already thin on the ground. It has magnified the interconnections between our housing and built environment, and shone an unforgiving light on social inequalities. In our Reimagining Age-Friendly Living report we explore the potential for age-friendly residential development to help activate dormant underutilised sites in our high streets and towns, whilst expanding housing choice for this multifaceted demographic. We argue that a more radical approach to agefriendly living can help to unlock difficult sites and encourage more diversity within town and city centre residential populations. This model includes a number of design features not typically associated with older people’s housing: higher density modular development; generous private balconies; exploiting the roof level for gardens and residents’ social
Adam Park
