A study by the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) has investigated current cities and designed a new model of the “15-minute city” that would contribute to improving the quality of life and health of citizens, especially the elderly, the children and people with disabilities, with cities that “remove barriers” and strengthen security.
All this on the basis that it is expected that in 2050 the number of people over 65 years of age will be double that of 2015 and 68% percent of the population will live in urban areas, including 57% of old people.
Faced with this situation, they defend that it is necessary to find solutions to improve the quality of life and health of all city residents, “without leaving anyone behind,” especially the most vulnerable groups, according to the UPM in a note.
And they highlight that in the urban environment “leaving no one behind means designing accessible spaces” for everyone, focusing on those who have “diverse mobility needs”, which are mainly people with disabilities, older adults and children.
In this sense, they remember that currently 16 percent of the world’s population experiences some mobility problem, and the trend is increasing due in part to the aging of the population and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.
For this reason, in the conclusions of the work they call for the cities of the future to eliminate barriers that pose inclusion problems, adopting what is called “universal design or design for all.”
In this sense, it is also intended to reduce the risk of accidents and falls in the urban environment, which currently present one of the dangers of today’s city, especially for older people.
The authors of the analysis call it “essential” that the infrastructure and design of the urban environment of the local city “give priority to safety”, protecting them from vehicular traffic and other means of micromobility.
This can be achieved, they add, by designing sidewalks of adequate dimensions, differentiated between pedestrians and cyclists, without architectural barriers.
It is also “essential” to implement traffic calming measures and safe crossings with traffic lights that give the appropriate time adapted to their walking speed, and to install benches, street furniture and public bathrooms at appropriate distances for rest on the different itineraries.
On the other hand, they propose the “rebalancing of the streets” to give more space to pedestrians, bicycles, social life and urban renaturalization.
