Older People’s Use of Unfamiliar Space: Implications for Urban Design and Spatial Policy

1. Older People’s Use of Unfamiliar Space: Implications for Urban Design and Spatial Policy Judith Phillips Professor of Gerontology Swansea University IFA, Melbourne, 2010

2. OPUS team Research TeamJudith Phillips, Nigel Walford, Mike Lewis, Nigel Foreman, Ann Hockey, Mark Del Aguila, Edgar Samarasundera, Martin Spaul, Mary Sinfield, Tony Carter, Dawn Morgan, Dave Carswell CollaboratorsThe Welsh Assembly Government, Colchester Borough Council, Castleoak Care Partnerships, Age Concern Cymru, Swansea Network 50+, Swansea U3A, Clinical Research Collaboration Cymru Research SupportSwansea University, Kingston University, Anglia Ruskin University, Middlesex University New Dynamics of Ageing Cross-Council Research ProgrammeESRC grant number: RES 352-25-003 www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk GSA 2009

3. Unfamiliar Space Unfamiliarity occurs in two types of situations when built environments are new Increasing numbers of older adults travelling the world as tourists When older adults relocate through necessity or choice when previously familiar places become unfamiliar As built environments change through regeneration, decline or changes in society’s use of space With changes in cognitive functioning Unfamiliarity is an important issue for spatial planners planning for an ageing demographic in any local area, because unfamiliarity impacts Established residents (urban regeneration, cognitive functioning) New residents (relocating to the area) Visitors to an area (tourists, appointments, visits to friends & family)

4. The OPUS Project Central aim of the project Determine the mechanisms and strategies used by older people to explore & navigate unfamiliar spaces as pedestrians Five specific objectives Investigate influences on someone’s ability to cope Examine extent to which unfamiliar environments curtail autonomy and independence, and lead to social exclusion Identify environmental triggers Develop navigational device Engage with spatial planners

5. Environments, Planning and Older People: Literature Planning Guidelines Designing environments for activity and health Social inclusion and older people Experience of place in everyday life Environmental Gerontology Environment, health and well being Spaces and interaction Safety and security Accessibility and walkability Cognition and wayfinding Policy and Practice

6. OPUS Research Methods Reality cave Assessments/ survey Testing Built environment assessment Fieldwork Focus groups Navigational tool Visit to Unfamiliar area Local residents Planners Interviews with planners

7. Reality cave participant recruited from Swansea psychological assessments other assessments and demographics combined time slice still images and film footage of a walking route through central Colchester physiological responses oral narratives

8. Walking route around Colchester

9. Quantifying the built environment: Fieldwork SWEAT-R Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool – Revised functionality of structural aspects of the streetscape (sidewalks, verges, etc.) personal and traffic safety aesthetics of the visual surroundings availability of services transportation and parking to support the location as a destination UDQ complexity enclosure human scale imageability Transparency adapted to UK context e.g sidewalk to pavement; average building height to number of storeys

10. Data points

11. Experience in an Unfamiliar Town Centre Meeting with Residents Familiar versus unfamiliar Sensory overload Tourist experience • Meeting with Planners • Mobility issues • Landmarks • ‘Any place areas’

12. Accessing Familiar Town Centres Familiar Environments Signage is not used or valued in familiar environments The meaning of space is important: Cognitive maps are constructed through more than just physical and built environments. Places and spaces are imbued with memories, histories and identities that enable people to navigate familiar environments. The hidden ‘unseen’ landscape beyond the immediate vision forms part of people’s perception of the area. GSA 2009

13. Familiar town centre:

14. Accessing Unfamiliar Town Centres Unfamiliar Environments People visiting unfamiliar areas sought familiar cues such as chain shops Taken for granted ‘rules’ apply such as the priority given to traffic over pedestrians or safe places to cross. Shared space is often not segregated and for the visitor is seen as negotiated space ‘Where you live is taken for granted’ (Ivy) Signs were seen as of limited use- often too high, positioned incorrectly in the street and without an indication of distance. ‘You could be driving for hours looking for a toilet and you would have no chance of reading those signs’ (Brian) Landmarks were important navigational aids but people had difficulty keeping them in view, particularly if these were upward cues in the visual field; there was a need to negotiate their immediate environment and attend to lower cues such as broken pavements and billboards

15. Accessing Unfamiliar Town Centres Sensory overload: Was there anything that surprised you? Sensory and informational overload can provoke negative appreciation of the physical setting. ‘I think the first thing is the noise. When you come out of the station it was quite noisy and walk up past all the buses and all that way, it was very busy. It looked on the film a quiet town but when you actually come into that area and there are buses coming from everywhere….buses seem to have priority’.

16. Film footage and still images: sensory overload

17. Accessing Unfamiliar Town Centres Barriers ‘‘I noticed particularly the seats, tables, sticking out in the pavement, making it so narrow to get by- their swinging signs, so any blind person would be lucky if they hit those studs. They are more likely to walk straight into the tables or that swinging sign’. (Alice) ‘Its interesting to look up but you can't when you’ve got all this furniture and you have to be watching where you are walking…If you start by looking up at all this beautiful decoration on the town hall or looking ahead towards the water tower you could walk into something, there is too much cluttering the pavements that you can’t walk straight.’ (Jean)

18. Film footage and still images: signage

19. Film footage and still images: junction

20. Film footage and still images: start of high street

21. Key Findings: SWEAT-R and UDQ

22. Planners To what extent are older people's voices heard and taken into account when planning and regenerating areas? What processes are necessary to engage older people in a meaningful way? Are specific areas of the town planned with older people in mind? Are there older people spaces and do planners factor age into the design, spatial layout, signage etc? How can space be redesigned to make them more older person friendly? How can we improve the ambience of spaces and the experiences of older people?

23. Planners ‘Lifetime places’ are ‘age friendly’ environments Different stakeholders • Older People are not a ‘hard to reach’ • Ageing is considered in the inclusion agenda • General issues raised by older people

24. Key Implications for Spatial Policy • Differentiation of ageing • Control of space • Shared space

25. Key Implications for Urban Design • Walking routes as well as areas need spatial planning attention • Place distinctiveness • The meaning (as well as use) of space may change as people age • Experience and ambience are important considerations

26. Judith.E.Phillips@swansea.ac.uk thank you www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk