Europeans are living longer than ever, and the number of older people living in urban environments is growing disproportionately to working-age populations. To address this issue, the pan-European project URBANAGE has launched an urban planning initiative to develop more age-friendly cities, announced a statement. As well as more than 30 cities – including Helsinki and Santander – the project involves digital experts and researchers.
How we create age- and gender-friendly cities is becoming an urgent policy problem, writes the statement. Using feedback from the participating cities, the Horizon 2020-funded project will explore how the demographic shift presents new challenges around health, mobility, economics, and the physical environment. It is also using Digital Twin technology to enhance urban planning processes. The technology gives a synchronised, virtual representation of the real world, enabling simulation modeling of the impact of different actions.
"The UrbanAge Digital Twins provide a unique opportunity to break down existing data silos, and build more inclusive and resilient European cities for all," said Consortium Leader Roberto Di Bernardo of Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A, in the statement. "With advances in technology and political will, there is no reason why Digital Twins cannot support complex, multi-faceted, age-aware decisions which create healthy and happy places where people can age gracefully."
