Age- and dementia-inclusive neighbourhood design guidelines
A new guide on how to design age-friendly, dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods, created by Happy Cities and researchers from Simon Fraser University.
Dementia-inclusive communities can boost wellbeing for everyone. (Happy Cities)
Learn to design inclusive neighbourhoods for older adults and people living with dementia
The global population is aging, with more than 833 million people worldwide over the age of 65. At least 55 million people live with dementia worldwide—a number that is expected to triple by 2050. As our communities age, it is critical to design neighbourhoods where people of all ages and abilities can meet daily needs and participate in community life close to home.
People living with dementia have specific needs in navigating their neighbourhoods, which are often not captured by broader age-inclusive design guidelines.
Happy Cities collaborated with researchers at Simon Fraser University to create new guidelines for age- and dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods. The guidelines offer planning and design strategies to improve wellbeing for older adults, with a specific considerations for people living with dementia. Age-friendly communities offer universal benefits for all residents, nurturing social connection, a strong sense of place, and high quality of life.
To help planners and other community members apply dementia-inclusive design in their work, we created a free, interactive, online training program. The website includes interactive diagrams and inspiring case studies from around the world, alongside detailed considerations for implementation.
Planners who complete these modules can receive four Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) credits from the Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC).
What are the benefits of dementia-inclusive planning and design?
Dementia-inclusive communities benefit everyone. Through planning and design, we can support essential aspects of healthy living and wellbeing, including mobility, physical activity, social connection, independence, a sense of belonging, and access to transit, shops, and services.
However, there are specific design considerations that are unique for people living with dementia. For example, due to cognitive decline and sensory changes, people living with dementia can experience difficulties finding their way around the neighbourhood, understanding their surroundings, and accessing local destinations.
If the neighbourhood does not meet their needs, people living with dementia may spend less time outside the home, which can lead to lower cognitive, mental, and physical health—and social isolation. Dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods ensure that people living with dementia can maintain connections to their community, and feel welcome, included, safe, and comfortable in public spaces. Through intentional design, communities can help raise awareness and education around living with dementia, building more inclusive cities for everyone.
About the guidelines
This document is the first of its kind in Canada to offer a comprehensive set of planning and design guidelines to the improve neighbourhood built environment specifically for people living with dementia. Happy Cities created this document in collaboration with the DemSCAPE project, led by Dr. Habib Chaudhury, gerontology professor at SFU.
The Guidelines and the online learning modules are broken down into three design realms, organizing key strategies and actions by neighbourhood, street, and detailed design scales.
Design realms for dementia-inclusive communities. (Happy Cities)
We’re here to help
Want to learn more about how your municipality can implement these Guidelines? We’d love to connect! Please contact us at info@happycities.com.
