How better design can facilitate mobility, connectivity & wellbeing for older people: a participatory approach to design research.

In common with many other nations, people in the UK are living longer and having fewer children. This means that older people are making up a larger proportion of the population. Compared to most other age-groups, we know that older people tend to spend more of their time at home and rely heavily on local facilities and services but the design and management of housing and the wider neighbourhood sometimes creates barriers to older people's capacity to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life. One of the Government's priorities is to help older people lead independent and fulfilling lives where they can stay in their own homes and neighbourhoods for as long as possible. This involves supporting older people to stay mobile to help them remain connected to friends, families, communities and local services. Some research has already been carried out into housing design for older people, but less is known about how people move from within their homes to the outside neighbourhood and the problems they experience when they are trying to move around their neighbourhood environments. This three year research project will try to understand how the design and management of housing and neighbourhoods can be improved to better support the mobility of older people and their participation in community life.

Working in partnership with older people and professionals , the research aims to develop a number of prototype designs for housing and neighbourhoods that better facilitate older people's mobility. It also aims to improve professionals' abilities to design, develop and manage age-friendly places. Through a cycle of consultation, design, testing and further consultation, the researchers will develop solutions that meet the needs of occupiers and those tasked with managing housing and the wider neighbourhood. Considering barriers to mobility in the home, street and neighbourhood, the research will help to provide an understanding of how older people can improve their mobility when moving from one space to another and it will create an appropriate range of designs that work together to create a seamless, age-friendly environment. As well as working closely with older people and, in some cases, their carers, the team will work with a range of professionals who design and develop housing and neighbourhoods, as well as with those who manage the built environment and provide services for older people.

The project is mainly concerned with both the design of newly built housing and the surrounding environment and the re-fitting of existing housing and neighbourhoods. The team are focusing the research on standard housing, rather than care homes for older people, as this will help to meet the needs of older people who wish to remain in their own homes.

Sheffield provides a good location for learning about the needs of older people and testing design work. It is a city with a range of neighbourhoods which vary in terms of their income levels, tenancies and the respective opportunities and challenges presented by their physical and built environments. It also has a single local authority which is responsible for the management of housing, development, provision of care services and environmental maintenance across the city. The research team will work with three neighbourhoods in Sheffield. Each neighbourhood has some land allocated for building new housing where it will be possible to test the prototype designs.

The research team has a lot of experience in the design and planning of living environments for older people and we have specific skills in Architecture, Landscape, Town Planning and Public Health.

The Project seeks to engage users throughout the research to create a sound evidence base, test designs and policies with key stakeholders and disseminate findings. It seeks to do this in six ways:

1. Recruiting a range of groups involved in using, designing, and managing housing and neighbourhoods through an online survey and focus groups of older people, a professional project Advisory Group, and ongoing liaison with professionals through the case study
2. Improving processes for design and development professionals through implementing exemplary practices and procedures
3. Influencing policy networks through connecting design to wider local authority activities, using case study work with Sheffield City Council. Findings will be disseminated through briefing papers for policy makers and managers
4. Engaging academic debate through attendance at academic conferences, academic input to the Final Conference, publication of papers design Prototypes in academic journals
5. Creating a publicly accessible online web presence
6. Influencing and improving standards by demonstrating excellence in design & specification through the Prototype designs and publishing them in industry journals.

Modes of Engaging with Users
- Advisory Group formed of experts and stakeholder representatives, including professional institutes, will meet every year during the project and assist in disseminating findings through their networks. Letters of Support from key members are attached
- Online Survey of Older People will seek initial user group evaluations of key mobility concerns and respond to design suggestions. As Project Partner UK Online will provide access to 3,800 community-based online centres jointly with Age UK, allowing the project to advertise and recruit a broad selection of older people (Year 1)
- Case Study of Sheffield: Focus Groups of Older People and On-site walks to provide key evaluation of designs. Older people will be recruited via existing networks including Sheffield 50+Group, Dementia Friendly Communities & Community Assemblies. Additionally, UK Online Centres in Sheffield will provide further routes to recruiting older people (Years 1-2)
- Case Study of Sheffield: Focus Groups and Project Meetings with Local Authority Officers, 3rd Sector Groups and Housing Developers will be used to engage with ongoing work of Sheffield City Council, produce design briefs, test design Prototypes and evaluate their potential for implementation. Participants will be recruited through Sheffield City Council as Project Partner and focus on 3 study areas (Years 1-3)
- Regional Workshops of professionals involved in designing, procuring, and managing homes and neighbourhoods will be held in 3 locations across the UK to evaluate design Prototypes and disseminate findings. Participants will be recruited through national networks, including professional institutes (Year 3)
- Final Conference of Key International Stakeholders will launch design guides and findings from the Project to promote debate about changes to policy and practice. Participants will be recruited through national and international networks, including professional institutes and academic networks (Year 3 +)
- Website/social media will be used to explain the research project, disseminate findings, and publish design guides and other project publications. Social media (Twitter, LinkedIn) will be used to alert users to key developments and newly published material (Years 1-3+)
- Presentations at international policy and practice conferences will enable a wide audience of academic and practitioners to discuss a range of key findings from the project. Publication in academic and industry journals (Years 2-3+).

Evaluation Metrics
1. References in policy documents to project outputs (central/local government)
2. References to project outputs in academic publications (monitored via internet search)
3. Website hits and mentions on Twitter.