Make use of diversity among the elderly when designing neighbourhoods

Master’s students of Socio-spatial planning at the UG have investigated how you can turn neighbourhoods into living environments that are also suitable for seniors. The test case was the Oosterpark neighbourhood in Groningen. In their report, the students advise taking into account the diversity of seniors and involving them in designing the neighbourhood.

The city and its neighbourhoods are changing continuously, creating new needs, opportunities and tensions. How can you transform neighbourhoods into living environments that are also suitable for seniors? Unlike in the past, many seniors live independently, encouraged to do so by central government. These changes have led to changed wishes and needs on the part of seniors, for example concerning the accessibility of facilities, the adaptations to houses or digital support. The municipality of Groningen invited Master’s students of Socio-spatial planning at the UG to investigate how to make a neighbourhood age-friendly. The test case was the Ooosterpark neighbourhood in Groningen. In their report, the students advise taking into account the diversity of seniors and involve them in designing the neighbourhood. The assignment is part of a competition, ‘Who Cares’, a national competition for designing age-friendly neighbourhoods. The theme of age-friendly neighbourhoods also fits the theme ‘Next City’, the new vision of the future for the city of Groningen.

More information

• Dr. Ward Rauws
• Research Group on Ageing and Place

University of Groningen videos

The weekly online video magazine Unifocus highlights topics related to the University of Groningen in the fields of research and society, student life, teaching, policy and internationalization.
You can find more videos in our video portal.