Age- and Child-Friendly Cities and the Promise of Intergenerational Space

Abstract

Descriptions of age-friendly and child-friendly cities exhibit similarities and differences, yet both are essential if we are to develop an understanding of intergenerational space. It is argued that combining age-based priorities and the possibilities for generational empathy provide a way of reintroducing intergenerational relations as key to the debate on the future of the City. By shifting the focus or debate towards a critical understanding of intergenerational relations, a way forward is suggested that draws on the work of Guy Debord and on contemporary debates about environments ‘for all ages’. Seen through a life course lens, the urban environment becomes instrumental in shifting debate, away from the fixed needs of work and consumption and towards a more flexible creation of urban time and space that includes social and emotional aspects of intergenerational belonging and community.

Keywords::

• age-friendly
• child-friendly
• active ageing
• intergenerational
• social policy
• urban design
• identity

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simon Biggs

Simon Biggs is Professor in Social Policy and Gerontology in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Address: School of Social & Political Sciences, Melbourne University, Melbourne, Australia. [email: [email protected]].

Ashley Carr

Ashley Carr is a Research Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, and a Research Officer at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne. Address: Research and Policy Centre, The Brotherhood of St Laurence, Victoria, Australia.