MIPIM UK: Dealing with an ageing population will be the main challenge for cities in the future.
At an event titled My Future City in 2050 speakers discussed how their cities would accommodate and adapt to a changing age demographic.
Bristol mayor George Ferguson stressed the importance of avoiding monocultures and said: “What is important is that older citizens can benefit from the intensity of the city.”
Newcastle city council chief ececutive Pat Ritchie agreed. She said: “There is a lot of evidence that older people are more keen to stay in cities and we need to gear development to suit this new type of city dweller.”
She spoke of collaboration between housing and health services to create care campuses and said: “We are working with the tech sector to create housing that enables independent living in old age and better standards of living.”
Kisaburo Ishii, Japan’s vice-minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, said his city will be even more severely impacted by an aging population. He said stimulating migration was important to alleviate this problem, but that it was also important to develop housing that provides the necessary services.
For more MIPIM UK news please visit www.estatesgazette.com/mipim
