Abstract
The global demographic transition toward longer lifespans is fundamentally reshaping cities, services, and social infrastructures. This editorial introduces the LongevityTech City track at the Design Research Society (DRS) conference, positioning it as an evolution of Design for Longevity (D4L) toward urban-scale systems integration. Building on prior D4L discourse that emphasizes life-stage continuity, service systems, and human-centered design, this track foregrounds the intersection of technology, participatory design, and systemic urban transformation. Eleven accepted papers collectively explore how emerging technologies, multisensory experiences, participatory methods, and service ecosystems can support equitable, meaningful, and sustainable aging across diverse contexts. Organized around three interdependent themes—1. LongevityTech systems and infrastructures, 2. urban environments, and 3. longevity communities and cultural participation—this editorial synthesizes key contributions and outlines future directions for research and practice in designing cities that enable successful aging across generations.
Keywords
Longevity Technology; Longevity Planning; Urban Planning, and Aging
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.102
Citation
Lee, S., Hodara, S., Miettinen, S., Hanington, B., Sedini, C., Sicklinger, A., Kim, M., and Coughlin, J.F. (2026) LongevityTech Cities: Design for Age-Inclusive Urban Futures, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.102
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
LongevityTech Cities: Design for Age-Inclusive Urban Futures
The global demographic transition toward longer lifespans is fundamentally reshaping cities, services, and social infrastructures. This editorial introduces the LongevityTech City track at the Design Research Society (DRS) conference, positioning it as an evolution of Design for Longevity (D4L) toward urban-scale systems integration. Building on prior D4L discourse that emphasizes life-stage continuity, service systems, and human-centered design, this track foregrounds the intersection of technology, participatory design, and systemic urban transformation. Eleven accepted papers collectively explore how emerging technologies, multisensory experiences, participatory methods, and service ecosystems can support equitable, meaningful, and sustainable aging across diverse contexts. Organized around three interdependent themes—1. LongevityTech systems and infrastructures, 2. urban environments, and 3. longevity communities and cultural participation—this editorial synthesizes key contributions and outlines future directions for research and practice in designing cities that enable successful aging across generations.