PhD Seminar — Age-Friendly Cities and Spatial Justice: Advancing Inclusive Urban Environments for Healthy Ageing

Seminar

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Date

26 Mar 2025
Organiser

PolyU Design
Time

16:00 - 18:00
Venue

Zoom

Speaker

Prof. Tine Buffel

Enquiry

PolyU Design 2766 6305 sd.phd@polyu.edu.hk

Summary

This presentation examines the convergence of population ageing and urbanisation, focusing on age-friendly cities as a response to these trends. It begins with an overview of the WHO’s Global Age-friendly Cities initiative, which established a framework for creating inclusive, accessible environments that promote health, social inclusion, and quality of life for older adults. Key achievements of the age-friendly movement—such as improved urban planning, public awareness campaigns, and community-based projects—are highlighted, alongside challenges posed by privatisation, climate risks, and social inequalities. The concept of ‘spatial justice’ is proposed as a guiding framework, emphasising co-production, equity, and inclusivity to address these issues. Concluding with a manifesto for advancing age-friendly work, the presentation advocates for integrating age-friendly approaches into broader urban agendas, strengthening social infrastructure, and prioritising diverse older adults’ voices in urban policy and practice.

All PolyU PhD students and SD staff are welcome.
This Zoom meeting accommodates 100 participants at most.
Event registration is required and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Successful registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom meeting details before the event.

Keynote Speaker

Prof. Tine Buffel

Professor, Sociology and Social Gerontology, University of Manchester

Tine Buffel is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and Professor of Sociology and Social Gerontology at the University of Manchester, where she is the founding director of the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group. She has published widely in the field of ageing, addressing social and environmental issues affecting ageing populations, with a particular focus on inequality, exclusion, and spatial and social justice. Renowned for her participatory and co-production methodologies, she collaborates with older people, local authorities, and community groups to study and develop age-friendly communities.

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