Designing cities for the elderly

• Main Author: Lee, David, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Other Authors: Sam Bass Warner.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
• Subjects: Urban Studies and Planning.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40124

Thesis (M.C.P. and S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007. === Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66). === This thesis seeks to answer how urban design in an established town can be adapted to accommodate an aging population. It uses the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, as an example of a community making active efforts to improve its design and services to meet the needs of its elderly citizens. Among the many challenges seniors face in Brookline are barriers to mobility, need for activity and company, threats to physical safety, and limited range of travel. Through careful planning and design, local governments can make physical improvements to the public environment to allow seniors easy access to all parts of the town or city, and these improvements benefit people of all ages as well. However, institutions like the Senior Center in Brookline are essential for providing a high quality of life, by hosting recreational and educational activities, organizing services and outreach to isolated seniors, lobbying for appropriate representation in local policymaking, and increasing awareness of elderly issues. A combination of infrastructure improvements, services, and long-range planning can overcome the obstacles of cost, ignorance, and poor design to make the public environment accessible to all ages and abilities. === by David Lee. === M.C.P.and S.B.