Need for the research: Although the issues raised by the 'age-friendly city' movement are well-understood at the level of the World Health Organisation and European Union, awareness within relevant academic disciplines is still limited. This project will fill a major gap in the literature by providing a substantial research base for assisting the development of age-friendly cities.
Host and researcher: The proposed fellowship is a collaboration between a world-class scientist working at the University of Manchester, UK (Prof. Chris Phillipson) and an ambitious post-doctoral researcher currently based in Belgium (Dr. Tine Buffel). The research fellow, Dr. Tine Buffel (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), is one of Belgium’s most accomplished young researchers in the field of ageing. The host, Prof. Chris Phillipson has been a key figure in the development of social gerontology, and is one of the world’s leading researchers with expertise in population ageing and urbanization.
Interdisciplinary nature: A key objective of the fellowship includes the development of an interdisciplinary approach to studying age-friendly environments. An interdisciplinary project team and advisory board will be formed to support and develop the career progression of the fellow. Both will comprise leading international researchers working across a range of disciplines (including social geography, psychology, environmental gerontology, urban design, architecture, and epidemiology) relevant to developing age-friendly cities.
Benefits to Europe: Promote healthy and active ageing in Europe; contribute to European excellence regarding research on population ageing; advance Europe’s competitiveness by involving older people in research and innovation; provide outreach activities which will be beneficial to the development of the European policy agenda on Active Ageing.