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How better design can facilitate mobility, connectivity & wellbeing for older people: a participatory approach to design research
(Design for wellbeing or ‘D4W’)
Lee Crookes,University of Sheffield
Background to the research● An ageing population –
● No. of people 65 or over in Britain will rise from 10.5 million to 16 million in the next 25 years.
● “To 2029, the population aged 75+ is projected to rise by 47% in urban areas, and by 90% in rural areas” (Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods)
● Compared to other age-groups, older people tend to spend more time at home and are more reliant on local services and facilities
● Policy priorities around supporting older people to continue living at home
● But design and management of housing and the wider neighbourhood sometimes creates barriers to older people’s capacity to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life.
Study shows 600,000 pensioners are prisoners in own homes (Daily Telegraph, 8 March 2012)
● Research suggest growing isolation of many elderly people at a time when services seen as a lifeline by many, such as local bus routes or Post Offices, are being cut.
● Up to two million retired people struggle even to get to the local corner shop, supermarket or Post Office
● Six per cent of older people – the equivalent to 630,000 people – leave their homes once a week at the most.
● While many receive daily visits from carers, seven per cent described themselves as “often” or “always” lonely, or 735,000 people.
Elderly people who are socially isolated and lonely may be at greater risk of early death (Steptoe et al, 2013)
…Need for research on homes and environments that encourage activity, social interaction, independence and mobility that is informed by the views and daily experiences of older people.
Summary of the research
● Creating age-friendly places through the development of prototype housing and neighbourhood designs that serve the needs of older people and help to empower them
● Innovative, looking across scales and systems● Collaborative and cross-cutting
● Strong emphasis on involvement of older people throughout in a cycle of consultation, design, testing and further consultation
● Professional stakeholders involved in design and service delivery● Involvement of UK Online Centres and Sheffield City Council
● Focus on longer-term issues too, particularly in a context of fiscal constraint● Longer-term management and maintenance issues and
integration with service delivery and place management
● Views built environment as a seamless whole, looking at integration of design across different scales and transitions from interior to exterior spaces
● Case-studies in three Sheffield neighbourhoods which will vary in terms of their income levels, tenure mix and the opportunities and challenges presented by the physical and built environment
● Detailed work programme is still under discussion
The research team
● Cross-disciplinary team● Sarah Wigglesworth, Professor of Architecture● Sarah Barnes, Lecturer in the School of Health and
Related Research● Malcolm Tait, Senior Lecturer in Town and Regional
Planning● Lee Crookes, University Teacher, Town and Regional
Planning
● Two post-doctoral Research Assistants and Research Administrator
● £642k project, running from Oct 2013-Sept 2016
Project outputs● WP1: Brief Development A Project Brief, containing design
considerations and parameters, and a policy and funding framework that will form the context for the designs.
● WP2: Testing the Brief A revised project brief, that takes into account detailed design and delivery considerations.
● WP3: Detailed Design Development and stakeholder testing Detailed designs for a residential development and its immediate neighbourhood, including specifications and schedules.
● WP4: Design Review Finalised prototype designs, design codes, and policy and programme recommendations
● WP5: Dissemination A Design Guide (entitled: 'Holistic Designs for Ageing Well'), academic publications, Policy Briefing Papers drawing lessons for better inter-professional working and policy/programme development, final conference, website.
UK Online Centres involvement (from early 2014)
1. A national on-line survey involving the identification and recruitment of approximately 300 older people, experiencing varying levels of mobility, through the specialised Older Peoples’ Network and Wider Unfunded Centre Network to take part in an on-line survey to identify barriers to, and opportunities for, mobility within the built environment.
2. Identification and assistance with recruitment within the larger sample group of up to 50 older people (and their informal carers) based in Sheffield to take part in in-depth interviews and/or focus groups to explore their interaction with their environment according to levels of mobility and limiting illness (i.e. dementia).
