Quality of life in the urban environment and primary health services for the elderly during the Covid-19 pandemic: An application to the city of Milan (Italy)

Abstract

The outbreak of the Coronavirus during the first months of 2020 completely reshaped urban lives because of the need to limit the spread of the disease and ensure essential services to the most vulnerable city users, such as elderly people. The urban population in European is ageing at unprecedented rate; at the same time, ageing is associated with increased vulnerability and dependence on medical care services. Age-friendly approaches are consequently necessary in urban planning strategies to ensure equal accessibility to essential services, not least in view of coronavirus pandemic. This article aims at defining a methodology for measuring urban accessibility to healthcare services as indicative of quality of life for the elderly within the city of Milan — affected by Covid — both in ordinary working scenarios and during the pandemic. The outputs show that entire neighbourhoods' elderly populations suffer from very poor accessibility to primary health services, especially in the city suburbs, and their condition deteriorates even more because of limited services and activities. The methodology would be effective to suggest policy recommendations to distribution of public services in urban areas and to reduce the potential effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on old people's health and quality of life.