Nina Alisa Fank-Habe (2025): Altersgerechte Quartiersentwicklung und freiräumliche Gerechtigkeit für ein eigenständiges Leben einer alternden Bevölkerung, 1st reviewer: Aglaée Degros, 2nd reviewer: Vanessa Miriam Carlow
How can age-appropriate district development and well-designed public spaces help to support independence and flexibility in the living environment over the long term? The demographic shift expected in the coming decades poses major challenges for urban planning and regional development. By 2050, there will be a substantially higher proportion of older people in Europe. In view of this predicted aging of the population, it is becoming more and more important to strengthen the necessary infrastructure and to keep senior citizens in their neighborhoods and familiar surroundings, rather than driving them out of the city. Therefore, a desire for independence and self-determined living in old age, along with the associated sociospatial requirements, is becoming increasingly significant. Having the essential infrastructure within walking distance of one’s immediate living environment is a key prerequisite for being able to live independently at an advanced age. Another important factor for independent everyday life is the design of public spaces, focusing on distances and routes, which tend to be shorter as ones ages. This dissertation therefore discusses recommendations for action on how urban structures need to be transformed into inclusive, accessible neighborhoods and living environments in order to promote independence and self-determined everyday life in the later years of life. These recommendations can serve as a basis for age-friendly public open spaces.
