Summer Issue 2021 - 30

2021 ULI
Asia Pacific Summit
Now in its 10th year, the ULI Asia Pacific Summit was held
virtually and in-person in Tokyo, May 25-27.
Sonja Pedell, Takashi Sonoda, Charlene Chang, Yumiko Murakami
Making Cities Livable for the Growing Population
of Centenarians
The aging demographic profile of developed
nations means the built environment may
need to accommodate the needs of a growing
cohort of people living beyond the expected
life spans of the 20th century, according to
panelists at the 2021 ULI Asia Pacific Summit.
The age expectancy of a female born in
Australia today is 93.5 years, and by 2030
there will be more than 12,000 centenarians
living across a country of 30 million people,
said Sonja Pedell, associate professor and
director of the Future Self and Design Living
Lab at Swinburne University of Technology in
Melbourne.
The key challenge for aging nations is maintaining
the quality of life for the population as
it ages. Real estate and urban planning have
an important part to play in designing homes
that still work for residents as they age-most
people across various nations prefer to remain
in familiar communities-and in building walkable
cities for all demographics. The approach
must be holistic, encompassing " mental and
physical health, social connections, the home,
and the wider neighborhood, " she said.
Japan is further along the aging path than
any other nation: a quarter of the population
is beyond 65 years old, said Takashi Sonoda,
chief executive and founder of Uhuru, a Japanese
tech firm involved with smart-city projects.
30
URBAN LAND
SUMMER 2021
Real estate and urban planning have an important part to play in designing homes that
still work for residents as they age-most people across various nations prefer to remain in
familiar communities-and in building walkable cities for all demographics.
In provincial towns and cities where the overall
demographic is older due to the migration of
younger people to cities, it is not unusual for
people in their 70s and 80s to work and remain
very involved in civic life, he noted.
Though the traditional model in Asia is
for the elderly to be supported by the family,
shrinking household sizes and aging populations
mean this is no longer practical because
the younger generation is too small to support
the elder one, said Charlene Chang, group
director of the Ageing Planning Office in Singapore's
Ministry of Health. This means a growing
number of elderly people are living alone.
Technology will play an important role
in making cities livable for the elderly, said
Sonoda. However, more work needs to be
done on technology aimed at older people
because tech firms tend to be staffed with
younger people, he said. Older people must
be part of the process, said panel moderator
Yumiko Murakami, head of the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) Tokyo Centre.
Singapore introduced an action plan for
successful aging in 2015 and is now looking at
an update of the plan, which focuses on three
elements-care, connectedness, and contribution.
The panelists agreed that connectedness
means connection across generations
and that the " software " of services for older
people is as important as the " hardware " of
appropriate housing.
It is important to realize the potential of
an aging population rather than see it as a
challenge, Chang said. Sonoda said both his
parents, who are in their late 70s, continue to
work as doctors.
" The important thing is, what can we do
together to enable our seniors? " Chang said,
" because that's what I see as successful aging
for myself: being able to continue doing the
things I enjoy and to continue to be a useful
member of my community. "
MARK COOPER is a freelance journalist based in Hong Kong.

Summer Issue 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer Issue 2021