PRESS CONFERENCE ON IMPORT ON HOUSING OF AGEING POPULATIONS

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON IMPORT ON HOUSING OF AGEING POPULATIONS

A press conference on the impact of ageing populations worldwide on housing and how the public sector was being challenged to improve their general living conditions was given at Headquarters this morning by three experts who participated in a just-ended international conference on the subject.

The experts were Aliye Celik, Officer-in-Charge of the New York office of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat); Katrina Papamichali, Head of the Research and Technology Section of the Workers Housing Organization in Athens, Greece; and Lia Baptista de Carvalho, Co-Director of "Mosaico" and Human Systems Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The two-day conference, which opened on 10 February, was on "Caring Communities for the 21st Century: Villages and Cities for all Generations -- Towards a Society for All Ages". The Conference, which was held at Headquarters, was sponsored by Habitat, the International Council for Caring Communities, the Secretariat of the International Year of Older Persons and the United Nations Department of Public Information.

In opening remarks, Ms. Celik said that by the year 2020, 1.4 billion people would be more than 60 years old, an increase of 230 per cent since 1980. By 2025, worldwide average life expectancy would reach 73 years -- a 50 per cent improvement on the 1955 average figure of only 48 years. Longevity was an indication of a nation's progress and development, she said, adding that few nations were, however, prepared for a rapidly growing older population. Ageing populations posed particular demands on public services such as housing, transportation, recreation and health facilities.

Some urban planners and architects, in designing cities, often ignored the valuable contributions of older persons in the social and economic development of their communities, she said. Habitat was very interested in the ageing of populations and had consequently co-sponsored the two-day conference. Older persons could contribute greatly to the development of cultural, social and economic activities and it was essential that their potential and capacities be made use of, especially at the community level, by local governments and municipal authorities.

As part of its contribution to the International Year of Older Persons, she said, Habitat was also involved in a number of other projects which would soon take place. Its best-practice programmes included concerns of ageing populations. The International Council for Caring Communities was one of the organizations which identified and disseminated best practices which addressed the needs of older persons, she noted.

Ms. Celik said that the most interesting part of the discussions during the conference had involved the architectural design competitions by students from all over the world. The designs took account of the needs of older

persons. The programme, which would be repeated in future, was aimed at bringing architects and planners together with those who dealt with the problems of older people.

Ms. Papamichali, speaking about the situation of older people in Greece, said the country had a low birth rate compared with the other member States of the European Union. People were also living longer, and families were close. For many Greeks, the vision of a privately owned home was the dream of a life- time, and in most cases the basic prerequisite for the start of a new family. The aim of securing a future home for their children was often a basic one for all parents. The closeness of family units had resulted in a need for a new kind of home suitable for people of all ages. Her organization was developing such a housing unit called "the life-time home". It was also aimed at integrating minorities such as gypsies into society, she added.

Ms. Papamichali said that since the 1980s, the Government had developed a policy of opening day centres where old people could spend their free time, and also receive social and psychological support. The project had proved very successful, allowing old people to be active members of their communities, while at the same time living in their own homes.

Ms. De Carvalho, who is also President of a non-governmental organization, "Cruzada do Menor" (Crusade for Children), spoke about a successful project involving a shopping centre and a community centre. Given Brazil's enormous social problems, she said, it represented, in a way, the private sector's contribution to attempts to solve them. Entrepreneurs had gotten together to found the Crusade for the Children. It had three community programmes in Rio de Janeiro, running: a day-care centre, an adolescent programme and a "day-house" centre for old people. The uniqueness of the programme was the partnership between the shopping centre and the community.

She said the developers of the shopping centre believed that it was an agent of social development and that it had to be involved in the community. Some of the 110 children who attended the day-care centre included those of low-income workers at the nearby shopping centre. Old people at the "day- house" centre were taught basket making. The interchange with the community was very important in the work of her organization, she said.

Responding to questions, Ms. Celik said that Habitat was one of the youngest and smallest of the United Nations organizations. Established in 1978, its headquarters was in Nairobi, Kenya. It dealt with the problems of cities, infrastructure housing, transportation, as well as land tenure and housing rights. The Centre had more than 180 projects in 100 countries, and was especially well-represented in the least developed countries. The projects ranged from housing policy design to infrastructure improvements. The Centre was trying to cover a range of issues related to cities and how to make cities better for the next century. One of its achievements was successfully organizing the 1996 Istanbul United Nations conference on human

Press Conference on Impact of Ageing - 3 - 12 February 1999

settlements. The results of the conference were a blueprint for improving living conditions in urban areas in the 21st century.

Asked what happened to designs submitted by students in the architectural competitions organized by the Centre, Ms. Celik said they served an educational purpose, although there were developers who might be interested in them.

She told another correspondent that there were many success stories in Africa with regard to projects undertaken by the Centre. A website had been created for its projects and some of the successful ones undertaken in Africa could be found there. Africa was not exempt from the best-practices programmes of the Centre, she said.

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