Active Aging - Engaging with the Changes That Time Brings
Aging brings change. Some actively and consciously engage with that process to enhance the quality of life of mature individuals; the quality of policy and the built environment to assure the inclusion of all.
The list of self-advocates and allies behind projects in this area is impressive: Active aging advocates, gerontologists, gerontechnologists, home designers, rehabilitation specialists, investors, and government officals.
How can all these resources be brought to bear on projects by Changemakers?
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Comments
Not yet up to speed about Changemakers, but in answer to your question, a mini campaign spread throughout the site and its members would at least put a few keywords at everyone's disposal.
Being active later in life is likely one of the big contributions of boomers as they age. For that to succeed, they will need environments to support their desire to remain active. Age brings with it changes in physical mobility - it won't be a 7-minute mile that you run, it will be slower, BUT, you will still run. If the environment is only conducive to a 7-minute mile, well, you are gonna be shut out of running. If the environment is suitable for a 14-minute mile or a 21-minute mile, guess what, you still get to go running. So, it's the environment that has to keep up with us, not the other way around.
Presently our construction of environments hasn't changed. To continue the metaphor, we are still building environments only suitable to a 7-minute mile. We do so in large part because we just don't yet know any better. The unfortunate result will be a lot or people shut out of any running at all. The key then is awareness. What is universal design, how does it matter, and, what will I need to start it now?
My objective would be for the words, universal design, to be imbedded into people's vocabulary with just enough context so they know whay it means. No construction should take place without either the builder or the consumer at least asking, "Hey, what are we doing that's gonna make this project more inclusive."
Changemakers might first form an article database and link resource, followed by a mini-launch where the message is reinforced throughout the site. Universal design: what it is; where to get more.
Konrad Kaletsch, http://www.universaldesignresource.com/