Australia, like many other countries around the world, has a growing population of older adults from which the majority lives in cities. In order to help and encourage senior citizens to remain active, they can no longer be shut away in retirement villages or nursing homes, but rather stay in their homes and participate in the community.
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For almost 15 years, the WHO has now been promoting age-friendly cities with the following goals: equity, an accessible physical environment and an inclusive social environment. In order to achieve these goals, countries around the world have begun to implement smart cities.
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In Australia three factors were established in ensuring smart city solutions involve older Australians and work for them:
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– Replace ageism with agency: Instead of increasing life expectancy, the focus should be on improving quality of life and motivate older adults to stay active and participate in activities.
– Connect to smart city data: Personal devices like smart phones or smart watches can be used to connect seniors to public data which could then be used to find public facilities like toilets or water fountains. This information helps improve the liveability of neighbourhoods for older adults.
– Include co-design in planning: In order to establish smart solutions for seniors, it is important that older adults also contribute directly and participate in the design process.
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