SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
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138<br />
Many rural older<br />
people still contend<br />
with poor roads and<br />
transport systems<br />
remain in their own homes; more have facilities<br />
for affordable and accessible transportation, such<br />
as discounts, special fares, concessions or exemptions,<br />
and priority seating. For example, India’s<br />
Ministry of Railways has offered discounts and<br />
earmarked separate counters at various passenger<br />
reservation centres for senior citizens.<br />
While much more needs to be done in the<br />
region, there are examples of good practices and<br />
innovations in housing design, assistive devices,<br />
transportation and community services. A growing<br />
number of national and local governments<br />
have adopted policies to make housing and<br />
the urban environment more accessible. Many<br />
cities offer reduced public transit fares for older<br />
persons; some also have special transportation<br />
arrangements for those with limited mobility.<br />
Building codes have been revised to provide<br />
age-friendly features in new construction.<br />
Governments and civil society organizations<br />
have sometimes made significant investments<br />
in modifications to existing housing and<br />
public facilities. In 2008, the Mayor of Seoul<br />
announced a move towards an ‘age-friendly<br />
city’ with a ‘3-10 plan’, comprising 10 new care<br />
centres for the elderly within each city district,<br />
accessible within a 10-minute walk and open<br />
until 10 pm. 79 While innovative programmes<br />
are mostly found in more developed countries,<br />
cities such as Bangkok, Beijing and New Delhi<br />
are also adopting new measures, in some cases<br />
on a pilot basis. 80<br />
Some cities are already adopting ageing<br />
strategies and targeted policies. For example,<br />
the City Council of Brisbane’s Seniors Strategy<br />
for 2012-2017 focuses on improving pedestrian<br />
mobility and transport, infrastructure, and<br />
access to public buildings and venues. 81 China<br />
has created proposals for ‘universities of the<br />
third age’ to accommodate active older citizens,<br />
and is building more nursing homes for others.<br />
The Republic of Korea has invested in parttime<br />
public sector employment programmes for<br />
retirees to help them avoid falling into poverty<br />
and social isolation. 82 Globally, the WHO has<br />
established a network for sharing experiences on<br />
age-friendly cities and communities (Box 4.8).<br />
Accessibility is particularly critical—and<br />
difficult—among Asia-Pacific’s fast-ageing<br />
rural populations. Many rural older people<br />
still lack access even to basic health care, for<br />
reasons related to shortfalls in health care systems<br />
as well barriers such as poor roads and<br />
transport systems. A lack of banking services<br />
may pose obstacles to collecting pensions or<br />
accessing savings for those who have them. A<br />
deteriorating social network due to rural-urban<br />
migration can mean older people left behind end<br />
up struggling with social isolation and a lack of<br />
support. Some promising models to improve<br />
accessibility in rural areas are starting to emerge,<br />
often through the use of telecommunications<br />
technology, including mobile phones. Through<br />
telemedicine, for instance, older rural residents<br />
can be readily and inexpensively connected to<br />
centres of medical excellence.<br />
On the whole, most efforts to accommodate<br />
older people in developing Asia-Pacific countries<br />
are still nominal, such as seats on public<br />
transport. Provisions lack a holistic approach,<br />
which results in shortfalls, such as when older<br />
persons cannot use a seat reservation on a public<br />
bus because it is difficult for them to get into<br />
the bus. Reservations for senior citizens to oc-<br />
BOX 4.8:<br />
The WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities<br />
and Communities<br />
The WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities<br />
and Communities was launched in 2005 to<br />
help create more liveable urban areas for older<br />
citizens. The initiative aims to promote the sharing<br />
of experiences among communities across<br />
the world, and provides guidance for integrating<br />
an ageing perspective into urban planning<br />
and enacting policies for more age-friendly<br />
communities.<br />
The initiative has also produced a guide that<br />
identifies the core features of an age-friendly<br />
city. It builds on the WHO’s active ageing<br />
framework, which views ageing as “the process<br />
of optimizing opportunities for health, participation<br />
and security in order to enhance quality<br />
of life as people age.” The project has tapped<br />
the views of older residents through focus<br />
group discussions in a diverse range of cities<br />
across the world, covering different regions,<br />
income levels and population size. It includes<br />
good practices in the areas of public spaces,<br />
transportation, housing, social participation,<br />
employment and health.<br />
Source: WHO 2007, Economist 2013.