By 2050, 1 in 4 people in the UK will be over 65. As our population rapidly ages, we will need to ensure that our homes and neighbourhoods can support the health and wellbeing of older adults across the UK.
But 80% of the homes that we will be living in by 2050 have already been built, so housing providers and place makers will need to find innovative ways to retrofit homes and create healthier, age-friendly places.
We believe that the UK’s built environment and healthcare sectors can meet the needs of our ageing society by asking the right questions about the complex challenges facing older people and working together to develop more impactful and integrated solutions.
To put this approach into practice, we developed a Real-World Testing Framework that brings stakeholders from local government, the built environment, healthcare, and academia together to identify, trial, and showcase innovative solutions to healthy ageing challenges in a safe, real-world environment.
We are demonstrating the impact of this approach with testbeds in Northern Ireland, Sunderland, Leeds, Brighton, and Essex. With hands-on support and access to the latest innovation from UK businesses, our partners are gaining a better understanding of their local challenges and discovering new ways to tackle them.
By adopting an innovative and collaborative approach, the UK can begin to deliver homes and neighbourhoods that not only support the health and wellbeing of older adults but enable them to thrive.
