Abstract
Due to the ageing of the world’s population, age-friendly cities are emerging to promote active ageing by optimising opportunities for health, participation and safety, in order to improve the quality of life of older people. Despite initiatives in different countries, there is a lack of empirical research exploring their impact on older people. The objective of this study is to evaluate an age-friendly city by analysing its relationship with life satisfaction, taking into account the age cohort variables of the elderly and whether they live alone or with someone else. A two-stage study, in which 66 subjects participated in the qualitative analysis (focus groups) in Stage I and 203 of the quantitative analysis (survey methodology) or Stage II. Despite the differences found in the different groups of elderly persons, for all of them the domains of outdoor spaces and buildings, and community support and health services, are significantly related to life satisfaction, with the latter showing itself to be a predictor of such satisfaction. It is important to take into account the different groups of elderly persons, so as to be able to establish suitable specific actions. This study aims to make a contribution to the development of public policies that influence the life satisfaction of the elderly.
Highlights
The ageing of the world’s population entails changes in all sectors of society
The following are the general results obtained for each of the eight areas analyzed in the different focus groups [55]: Outdoor spaces and buildings
Age-friendly cities are fundamental to achieving places where elderly persons are actively involved, valued and have the support of infrastructure and services that are effectively adapted to their needs [65]
Summary
The ageing of the world’s population entails changes in all sectors of society This increase in the elderly population is due to the conjunction of several factors, such as increased life expectancy and advances in health systems, public hygiene and sanitation [1]. In 2017, the world population of people over 60 years of age was 962 million, and continues to grow at an annual rate of 3%, so this figure is expected to double by 2050 and triple by 2100 [2]. Faced with this situation, the paradigm of active ageing has become increasingly relevant in contemporary global gerontological, political and social discussions [3,4], and is considered the most important policy response to demographic ageing [5,6]. Various studies on active ageing establish a relationship among the characteristics of the physical environment, and the health and the participation of the elderly [11,12]
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