* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
By Astrid Zweynert
HONG KONG (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - How do cities cope with a growing population of elderly people? It is one of the most pressing problems for city governments globally as one out of eight people will be older than 65 years by 2030.
Asia, the world's most rapidly urbanising region, faces big challenges when it comes to dealing with the issue, no more so than in Hong Kong where the elderly population is expected to double in the next 20 years.
"It's a global challenge that affects Asia disproportionally," said Terry Lum, a professor at The University of Hong Kong and head of its Department of Social Work and Social Administration.
The current paradigm of focusing on economic developments in cities risked alienating the elderly whose sense of social identity and belonging are anchored in their community and their familiar surroundings, Lum said during a session at the Philanthropy For Better Cities Forum, the first conference of its kind in Asia focusing on metropolitan social issues and what part philanthropy can play to address the many challenges cities face from mushrooming populations.
He stressed it is imperative to re-invent the "bulldozer development" approach to urban planning and included elderly people and their needs into decision-making, including asking the elderly what they want.
A report last year by the Singapore-based Lien Center for Social Innovation showed that elderly people in the city state hoped to be more socially active and that transport services should be more elderly friendly.
Laurence Lien, chief executive of the Asia Philanthropy Circle, said older people were too often seen as a challenge and a burden. "You don't talk about ageing as an opportunity," he said.
This view was echoed by Rhoda Au, director of neuropsychology for the Framingham Heart Study at the Alzheimer’s Disease Center, who said products and services were often delivered without asking elderly people whether they would like them, how they would use them and whether they are appropriate.
"If we can fundamentally change the way we define ageing and understand it as a life force rather than just the end of our life that would help, fundamentally if you change your definition than that starts to change the assumptions that underlie them," said Au.
At the same time, health issues will be at the forefront in an ageing society. Among the themes discussed included: 1) challenges in walkability in cities which are currently designed to enable economic activities; 2) treating ageing itself as an issue to be solved rather than asking elderly what they want or what provides them with meaning; 3) cultural taboos such as the quality of end of life; and 4) mental health issues among the elderly as their social, physical, and emotional needs take a back-seat.
The role of philanthropy catalyzes conversation starters on some of the mindset challenges identified. These include: 1) identifying and funding adjacent issues around ageing that government and businesses are not as comfortable or incentivized to address; 2) bringing back “home into nursing home” rather than sanitized medical facilities that the elderly and frail do not want.
The panelists also cited the need for a collective and cross-sectoral efforts to holistically tackle challenges relating to an ageing society. They lamented that it is easier to identify issues around ageing but extremely difficult to implement solutions as each sector has their mindset limitations which in turn limits what they think they can do.
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