School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
School of Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Can J Aging. 2024 Mar;43(1):99-113. doi: 10.1017/S0714980823000429. Epub 2023 Sep 4.
The confluence of rapid population aging and the overwhelming desire of older adults to age in place begs the question: Do our cities support the health and well-being of aging populations? Using a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood approach, this macro-scale investigation explores the "double risk" that many older adults live with - the potential of being disadvantaged by socio-demographic risk factors (being older, living alone, low income) and by living in an unsupportive built environment. It is an integration of what we know about supportive built form for older adults and applies this knowledge to Canadian cities, using a spectrum approach to classifying built environments. We found that most older adults with socio-demographic risk factors are living in unsupportive built environments in Canada; however, the distribution between built environments along the spectrum and between municipalities reveals a variegated landscape of double risk. Previous research suggests that unsupportive built environments can be supplemented with services, small-scale improvements in the built environment, and larger-scale retrofitting of neighbourhoods. Since the spatial distribution of vulnerability varies greatly within the 33 Canadian cities analysed, it highlights the need for this kind of inquiry to target age-friendly policy interventions.
我们的城市是否支持老龄化人口的健康和福祉？本研究采用逐街区的方法，从宏观层面上探讨了许多老年人所面临的“双重风险”，即他们可能因社会人口因素（年龄较大、独居、收入较低）而处于不利地位，也可能因居住在不支持性的建成环境中而处于不利地位。本研究将我们对老年人支持性建成环境的了解进行了整合，并将这一知识应用于加拿大城市，采用了一种分类建成环境的连续体方法。研究结果表明，在加拿大，大多数具有社会人口风险因素的老年人居住在不支持性的建成环境中；然而，连续体上以及各市政当局之间的建成环境分布揭示了双重风险的多样化景观。先前的研究表明，不支持性的建成环境可以通过服务、小规模改善建成环境以及更大规模的邻里改造来补充。由于在所分析的 33 个加拿大城市中，脆弱性的空间分布差异很大，因此需要这种调查来针对适合老年人的政策干预措施。
