The
impact of the living environment on health has been studied for many years and
there is enough evidence to show that to achieve longer healthier lives, due
attention must be paid to creating supportive housing and inclusive public
space and services. Today the challenge
is to find new housing concepts and urban strategies that will be flexible
enough to adapt to rapidly evolving populations, addressing not only the needs
and expectations of today’s older generations, but taking a longer perspective
and a life course approach. Everyone dreams to be able to remain autonomous and
stay in their own homes until the end of their lives, close to their social
networks and actively engaged in their communities. Building for the future of
health must thus look at what can be done to preserve not only older people’s
but everyone’s abilities and health, taking a holistic approach as recommended
by the World Health Organization. Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary General of AGE
Platform Europe – the largest network of older people’s organisations in Europe
- and Secretary General of the European Covenant on Demographic Change – a
newly established network promoting age-friendly environments - will share her
vision on what needs to be done to build a healthy future for all.