19 February 2024 – After three exciting years, the URBANAGE project funded by the European Commission comes to an end with the publication of its main findings, solutions and lessons learned.
The aim of the project was to improve the quality of life and well-being of older people living in urban areas. This was achieved by creating and promoting age-friendly solutions with the final goal of creating more inclusive, more resilient, age-friendly cities. During its lifetime, URBANAGE also focused on raising awareness on the importance of involving citizens, especially older citizens, in urban planning. The project has found that considering this demographic when making urban planning decisions not only creates better cities, but also happier citizens.
The project involved 11 partners from 6 European countries, as well as a network of experts, stakeholders, and older people themselves. The project outcomes included:
- Urban planning: The URBANAGE Ecosystem Platform provides a range of tools and services which help urban planners, local authorities and older people act now, make better evidence-based planning, operational decisions, and longer-term policy choices. The final goal was creating more liveable, accessible, and inclusive age-friendly cities that suit all the residents.
- Age-friendly Solutions: URBANAGE was piloted in the Flanders Region (Belgium), Helsinki (Finland), and Santander (Spain). All the pilots recognised
the importance of
translating the needs of the citizen into data and then into solutions. The cities aimed at increasing the benefits to older people. - Older people engagement: URBANAGE realized the importance of including older people in decision making processes and it was a strong promotor of this idea.
Some of the main achievements and highlights of the project include:
- Creating a set of tools that will improve the lives of older people.
- Empowering older people to have a voice and a role in shaping their urban environments and influencing decision-making processes.
- Enhancing the accessibility, safety, and usability of urban spaces and services for older people and other vulnerable groups.
- Increasing the awareness and importance of creating age-friendly policies and practices among policymakers, and researchers at different levels.
Roberto di Bernado, Project Coordinator of URBANAGE, shared his enthusiasm about the URBANAGE project, ” I am grateful and sad at the same time that URBANAGE came to an end. Grateful because it’s been an incredible three years journey, with a lot of impact and sad that it ended. The URBANAGE consortium found solutions and overcome all the difficult moments and at the same time it created an impact and left its mark on the future of urban planning. I would like to send my deepest gratitude to all the member of this brilliant consortium, EC, wider networks, experts, stakeholders, and older people who have been involved and supported us along the way. We hope that our project will inspire and inform other cities and communities that want to become more age-friendly and inclusive for all.”
All the URBANAGE results are available on the project website www.urbanage.eu
Notes
- URBANAGE has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101004590.
- URBANAGE is focused on researching and developing innovative solutions to address the complex challenges older adults face in urban environments. The project aims to create smarter, more resilient, and inclusive cities through cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices, with a special emphasis on making cities more age friendly. More information at www.urbanage.eu
- For media enquiries contact:
- Susie Ruston McAleer – susie@21cconsultancy.com
- Laura Gavrilut – laura@21cconsultancy.com
Download the full press release here.
