SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURES
FOR AGING CITIES
How do we mitigate social isolation for older persons in Chinese urban cities?
CATEGORY | ARCHITECTURE
PROJECT TYPE | CORNELL UNIVERSITY, THESIS
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PROJECT TYPE | CORNELL UNIVERSITY, THESIS
SOLUTION FRAMEWORK
PROBLEM
TRENDS
USER INTERVIEW
PRODUCT CRISIS & TRANSITION
PAPER PROTOTYPE
MID-FI PROTOTYPE
MOVING FORWARD
PROBLEM
TRENDS
USER INTERVIEW
PRODUCT CRISIS & TRANSITION
PAPER PROTOTYPE
MID-FI PROTOTYPE
MOVING FORWARD
Design infrastructural solutions to reduce social isolation for the elderly population in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.
Interventions in the housing, community, and healthcare access scale aimed at improving social cohesion and quality of life based on a human-centered case study of the senior population in the Dongsi neighbourhood.
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Aging is a universal and constant aspect in our lives. Yet, only when our body fails us gradually with compounding disabilities do we discern the shift from an active to passive lifestyle. As the UN projects 366-million older adults in China by 2050, the critical question is: in what environment will the Chinese elders grow old? Densely-populated cities have inadequate senior homes, while their elderly face the difficulty of growing old in an unfamiliar environment, displaced from their original homes.
Alternatively, new research recommends the adoption of aging-in-place, an autonomous lifestyle at home supported by technology, policy, and architectural advances. By conducting a study of elderly daily rituals in Kunming, this thesis hypothesizes urban infrastructures that support aging-in-place.
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RESEARCH SNAPSHOTS
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VISUALIZATIONS
OUTCOME
Aging is a universal and constant aspect in our lives. Yet, only when our body fails us gradually with compounding disabilities do we discern the shift from an active to passive lifestyle. As the UN projects 366-million older adults in China by 2050, the critical question is: in what environment will the Chinese elders grow old? Densely-populated cities have inadequate senior homes, while their elderly face the difficulty of growing old in an unfamiliar environment, displaced from their original homes.
Alternatively, new research recommends the adoption of aging-in-place, an autonomous lifestyle at home supported by technology, policy, and architectural advances. By conducting a study of elderly daily rituals in Kunming, this thesis hypothesizes urban infrastructures that support aging-in-place.
RESEARCH SNAPSHOTS
VISUALIZATIONS
MOVING FORWARD
Furthering research into decentralizing access to healthcare for the geriatric population. This thesis paved the first steps into visualizing the concept of healthcare outside of hospital walls. With the emergence of telemedicine, hospital-at-home, home health, and mobile health clinics.