Towards sustainable Transition of Age - Friendly Community Centers based on Transition Design

Abstract

The world’s population is ageing and countries are urgently seeking new solutions to

The world’s population is ageing and countries are urgently seeking new solutions to ageing issues. Transition Design (TD) is a new design proposition for a rapidly changing society based on thinking about the concept of the “long-term” and the idea of global localism, placing the natural world in a more macro context, and advocating a more systematic approach to the transition to a more sustainable future for a designled society. In the context of active ageing, this PhD research aims to focus on the socioenvironmental dimension of Age-friendly Community Centres (AFCC) as an example of sustainable transition, incorporating the physical environment and services. From the vision of stakeholders, and the perspective of designers and policymakers, incorporating stakeholders, especially seniors, into the design decision-making process, recognizing their entire lifestyle, and involving the infrastructure reimagination, including the products, services, environments, and social systems involved. Through a systematic analysis of wicked problems in the ageing community, discussing the future vision and transitional design strategy for age-friendly community centres. Under the core principles of Transition Design, through the three-phase approach of Re-Framing the Present and Future, Designing Interventions, and Waiting and Observing, using a combination of quantitative research, qualitative research, and design practice to create a comprehensive approach to the problems of the ageing community and systematic ideas for solutions, and based on practical research on actual cases in different regions and areas. Propose new approaches of design interventions, and discuss sustainable and inclusive Age-friendly Community Centres transition frameworks and design strategies. This will enrich the applied research of Transition Design practice, further promote the formation of design actions, and bridge the transformation gap from transitional design analysis to transitional design practice. It will enable designers to develop systemic design thinking, a holistic view and understanding of complex problems, and can facilitate the formation of systemic solutions. Introducing a systemic design approach to the community and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration is important for the sustainable development of ageing communities. It will also benefit policymakers, community planners and managers, NGOs, non-profit organisations, social/business service organisations, etc., and contribute to the transformation of our society towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.