Abstract
Social relationships, extending beyond the familiar and domestic spheres, play a crucial role in sustaining the healthy ageing of cities’ inhabitants. The urban ecosystem can support social participation and interdependence among its inhabitants by combining the design of hard and soft infrastructures that shape social engagement and urban attractiveness. Within this framework, a new dimension of care is emerging, one that transcends traditional healthcare and institutionalised models. How can technologies help generate the cornerstones of caring, inclusive, long-life communities? By examining a series of international case studies on technology, proximity, care, and ageing, the paper aims to offer actionable design opportunities to create ageing-friendly communities that leverage technology to foster mutual care and social inclusion, thereby enhancing the quality of life for older adults in urban environments. Building on these insights, the selection of a specific urban context for experimentation and the first phase of concept generation will be presented.
Keywords
age-friendly cities, design for longevity, proximity, care technology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1855
Citation
Sedini, C., and Bonato, C.N. (2026) Proximity, Technology, and Care: Towards Longevity-Friendly Urban Ecosystems, 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.2026.1855
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Proximity, Technology, and Care: Towards Longevity-Friendly Urban Ecosystems
Social relationships, extending beyond the familiar and domestic spheres, play a crucial role in sustaining the healthy ageing of cities’ inhabitants. The urban ecosystem can support social participation and interdependence among its inhabitants by combining the design of hard and soft infrastructures that shape social engagement and urban attractiveness. Within this framework, a new dimension of care is emerging, one that transcends traditional healthcare and institutionalised models. How can technologies help generate the cornerstones of caring, inclusive, long-life communities? By examining a series of international case studies on technology, proximity, care, and ageing, the paper aims to offer actionable design opportunities to create ageing-friendly communities that leverage technology to foster mutual care and social inclusion, thereby enhancing the quality of life for older adults in urban environments. Building on these insights, the selection of a specific urban context for experimentation and the first phase of concept generation will be presented.