Place-Making with Older Adults: Towards Age-Friendly Communities

Duration: 05/16 – 09/19

Given the rapid growth of ageing populations in many cities, the importance of developing appropriate design interventions to enable active and healthy lifestyles for older residents is more urgent than ever. Place-Making with Older Adults: Towards Age-Friendly Communities, through a comparative study of cities in Brazil and the UK, explores the role of sense of place in promoting age friendly urban spaces.

Drawing on a total of 18 neighbourhoods in 6 different Brazilian (Brasilia, Pelotas and Porto Alegre) and British cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester), the project will undertake surveys, interviews and a range of experimental methods such as ‘go along’ walks, video diaries and community mapping.

The findings will help provide a clearer picture of how sense of place is experienced by older residents and how this can be incorporated into improved design and service delivery. The results will also be integrated into a variety of tools and resources to support communities, policy makers and practitioners in the development of age friendly cities.

Project website Project webpage PI Twitter

Ryan Woolrych (UK Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor in Health in the Built Environment)
Adriana Portella (Brazil Principal Investigator, Associate Professor/Researcher)
Judith Sixsmith (Professor in Public Health Improvement and Implementation)
Harry Smith (Associate Professor/Director of Planning and Real Estate)
Soledad Garcia Ferrari (Senior Lecturer in Architecture)
Jenny Fisher (Senior Lecturer)
Michael Murray (Professor of Social and Health Psychology)
Rebecca Lawthom (Professor of Community Psychology)
Eduardo Rocha (Associate Professor)
Maria Cristina Lay (Professor)
Antônio Tarcísio Reis (Professor)
Isolda de Araújo Günther (Senior Research Associate)
Hartmut Günther (Professor and Laboratory Coordinator)

In-depth research in 18 neighbourhoods in Brazil and the UK, including innovative methods such as ‘go along’ walks, photo diaries and community mapping.

An extensive evidence base on how sense of place is experienced by older residents and its role in the design of age friendly cities and communities.

Online dissemination including website, video and social media.

Joint Brazil-UK knowledge exchange visits, workshops and conferences.

Development and dissemination of a range of tools, guidelines, resources and publications aimed at older adults, practitioners and policy-makers.

Age-Friendly Policy and Practice Guidelines and Recommendations
September 2019

Exploring Age-Friendly Cities in the UK and Brazil: The Placeage Project
30 July 2018