Healthy up High in Switzerland – sustainable «Ageing in Place»
The project validates Swiss-wide recommendations for “ageing in place” in communal-settings in need of revitalization. The findings form the basis for the planning of an implementation project in the setting.
Factsheet
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Schools involved
School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering
School of Health Professions
School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences
School of Social Work - Institute(s) Nursing
- Research unit(s) Field of Innovation – Psychosocial Health
- Strategic thematic field Thematic field "Sustainable Development"
- Funding organisation BFH
- Duration (planned) 01.10.2023 - 01.07.2024
- Head of project Tannys Helfer
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Project staff
Dr. Jerylee Wilkes-Allemann
Prof. William Fuhrer
Prof. Dr. Heiner Baur
Dr. Karin Haas
Áron Korózs - Keywords Ageing in Place, aging population, nutrition, physical activity, health promotion, planetary health, social well-being, structural (housing) environment, climate resiliency/biodiversity, sustainabilit
Situation
The ageing of the population is a challenge for health, social and housing policy in Switzerland. The increasing demand for age-appropriate living space, the need to revitalize many high-rise buildings, and the changes in the needs and possibilities for living arrangements in the various phases of residents' lives make urban planning adjustments challenging and necessary. “Healthy up High in Switzerland” is a follow-up project to the ‘Healthy up High’ Project (Gesund alt werden im Hochhaus BFH) at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), in which specific recommendations for action were developed using the example of two high-rise communal settings in Bern in need of revitalization. These recommendations were designed to better enable ‘ageing in place’, thus providing direct benefits for upcoming renovation measures. In this project, recommendations for action previously developed in “Healthy Up High” Project to promote “ageing in place”, were generalized, expanded upon, and validated, so that they are also applicable to the national level to such communal settings in need of revitalization. To design the interior and exterior spaces of these communal settings in a contemporary and sustainable way, key factors for older people, such as nutrition, exercise, and social participation, were considered, along with aspects such as climate resiliency and biodiversity.
Course of action
The project “Healthy up High in Switzerland”, applied various methods to validate the expansion of the recommendations for action to the national level. A literature review served as the basis for the validation. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key Swiss-experts to gain a deeper understanding of the implementation possibilities in both indoor and outdoor areas of communal settings. The synergies of the multidisciplinary team at BFH played a decisive role in the development of the project. Considering the team’s multidisciplinary perspectives, along with the factors of nutrition, exercise, health promotion, planetary health, social well-being, the structural (residential) environment and climate resilience/biodiversity, was crucial to ensuring the development of comprehensive recommendations. The health of humans is linked to the health of the environment, thus, through the consideration of all these factors, co-benefits (measures which are mutually beneficial for both health of older people and the environment - e.g. heat protection, biodiversity in green spaces) were created. The broad expertise of the team and the involvement of various stakeholders in the development of validated national recommendations for action, will ensure that social and ecological sustainability are well integrated in the subsequent implementation project.
Result
The follow-up project “Healthy up High in Switzerland” has expanded its locally anchored recommendations for indoor and outdoor spaces, to include “ageing in place” in communal settings in need of revitalization, to the national level (link at the bottom of this website). The recommendations for action have been validated and expanded upon, providing extensive know-how and recommendations for building cooperatives, local authorities, and architects in the construction industry. For the validation, the key factors of the preliminary project were considered and supplemented with further identified factors and topics. This includes promoting the health of all residents, including older people, as well as considering the ecological aspects such as heat protection and biodiversity in green spaces and city forests.
Looking ahead
The expanded and validated recommendations for action have been sent to key people working in the areas studied and involved in revitalization processes. The updated recommendations for action will also be used to find a field partner with whom these recommendations can be implemented and evaluated.
