AGE-FRIENDLY Lessons CITIESfrom Seoul and Singapore AGE-FRIENDLY LessonsCITIES from Seoul and Singapore For product information, please contact Project Team CLC Publications +65 66459576 Seoul Centre for Liveable Cities The Seoul Institute 45 Maxwell Road #07-01 Project Co-lead: Dr. Hyun-Chan Ahn, Associate Research Fellow The URA Centre Researchers: Dr. Chang Yi, Research Fellow Singapore 069118 Dr. Min-Suk Yoon, Research Fellow [email protected] Seoul Welfare Foundation Cover photo Researchers: Dr. Eunha Jeong, Senior Principal Researcher Seoul – Courtesy of Seoul Institute (top) Singapore – Courtesy of Ministry of Health, Singapore (bottom) Singapore Centre for Liveable Cities Project Co-lead: Elaine Tan, Deputy Director Researchers: Deborah Chan, Manager Tan Guan Hong, Manager Contributing Staff: Remy Guo, Senior Assistant Director Editor: Alvin Pang Supporting Agencies: Housing & Development Board Li Ping Goh, Director Yushan Teo, Deputy Director Tian Hong Liow, Principal Architect Yvonne KH Yee, Principal Estate Manager Printed on Tauro, a FSC-certified paper. Ministry of Health Sharon Chua, Assistant Director E-book ISBN 978-981-11-9306-4 Daniel Chander, Assistant Manager Paperback ISBN 978-981-11-9304-0 People’s Association All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or Adam Tan, Assistant Director transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of Urban Redevelopment Authority the publisher. Agnes Won, Executive Planner Juliana Tang, Executive Planner Every effort has been made to trace all sources and copyright holders of news articles, figures and information in this book before publication. If any has been inadvertently overlooked, CLC and Seoul Institute will ensure that full credit is given at the earliest opportunity. © 2019 Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore and the Seoul Institute. All rights reserved. Contents Foreword by Seoul About the Centre for Liveable Cities Foreword by Singapore Set up in 2008 by the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of the 1. Introduction 01 Environment and Water Resources, the Centre for Liveable Cities’ (CLC) mission is to distil, create and share knowledge on liveable and sustainable cities. CLC’s work 2. Ageing in Seoul and Singapore 09 spans four main areas: Research, Capability Development, Advisory Services and Knowledge Platforms. Through these activities, CLC hopes to provide urban leaders 3. Planning for an Age-Friendly City 17 and practitioners with the knowledge and support needed to make our cities better. 4. Ageing-in-Place and Active Ageing 39 www.clc.gov.sg 5. No Place Like Home: Ageing-in-Place Case Studies from Seoul and Singapore 49 • Housing for Seniors 50 - Seoul: Borin Housing - Singapore: Studio Apartment (SA) and 2-room Flexi Scheme • Integrating Needs 63 - Seoul: Shinnae Medical Housing (SMH) - Singapore: Kampung Admiralty • Community-Based Support 80 About the Seoul Institute - Seoul: Reaching Out Community Service Center’s (ROCSC) Health Care Services - Singapore: Community Networks for Seniors (CNS) The Seoul Development Institute was established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) in 1992 and was renamed as the Seoul Institute (SI) on 1 August • Inclusive Urban Design 99 2012. The Seoul Institute’s goal is to establish a medium- to long-term vision for - Seoul: Environmental Design for the Cognitively Impaired - Singapore: Innovative Planning and Design of Age-Friendly Neighbourhoods Seoul and propose social policies on welfare, culture, education and industries, and urban management policies on city planning, transportation, safety and the Time of Our Lives: Active Ageing Case Studies from Seoul and Singapore 111 environment. SI’s primary objective is to improve municipal administration through • Lifelong Learning 112 professional research, improve the quality of life in Seoul, and reinforce and sustain - Seoul: Seoul 50+ Foundation the competitiveness of Seoul. https://www.si.re.kr/ - Singapore: National Silver Academy (NSA) • Well-being and Wellness 129 - Seoul: Gwangjin Socio-Economic Cluster - Singapore: Wellness in Communities • Centres for Active Ageing 145 - Seoul: Senior Welfare Centers and Day Care Centers - Singapore: Senior Activity Centres (SACs) and Active Ageing Hubs (AAHs) • Local Initiatives 166 - Seoul: Open Kitchen - Singapore: Goodlife! Makan 6. Building Age-Friendly Cities: Lessons from Seoul and Singapore 173 Glossary 184 Endnotes 186 Bibliography 192 Image and Diagram Credits 197 less than a decade from now. It is usually a 2-room Flexi Housing Scheme, where FOREWORD BY the case that what is a problem in Korea FOREWORD BY seniors have the flexibility to choose the SEOUL is a very serious problem in Seoul. This is SINGAPORE length of lease based on their age, needs, particularly true for the ageing issue. Many and preferences. senior citizens in Seoul are not ready to live in an ageing society, either physically Our public housing estates are designed or financially. Many live alone. Many need to be barrier-free. Over the years we have jobs to make ends meet. It is often very been upgrading the neighbourhoods and difficult for them to find job opportunities. towns to provide direct lift access to every Ageing is a critical concern in Seoul, and floor, and incorporating elderly-friendly in Korea as a whole. designs in our flats and estates. This publication emphasises the In a recent public housing project called importance of ageing issues in our Kampung Admiralty, we integrated public I would like to express my appreciation cities. At the same time, this book offers We often think of cities as buildings and housing flats for seniors with a continuum to Seoul Institute (SI) and the Centre for comprehensive perspectives and ideas to infrastructure. But cities are as much about of social and health facilities. In this way, Liveable Cities (CLC) for their continuing policymakers by comparing in-depth how the people, as it is about the hardware. residents have easy access to a full range and successful research collaboration, and ongoing efforts are being made in Seoul A liveable city is also one that is socially of services, which enable them to age- to congratulate them on the publication and Singapore. We may be a long way inclusive—a place that embraces diversity, in-place, and to participate actively in of their third joint research study Age- from solving the ageing issue. However, and ensures citizens of all ages enjoy a the community. We are honoured that Friendly Cities: Lessons from Seoul and by learning from each other, we can better high quality of life. this project recently won the award for Singapore. understand where we are and where World Building of the Year at the World we need to go in the process of finding Today, Seoul and Singapore are amongst Architectural Festival 2018. For the past three years, the two creative solutions to population ageing the fastest ageing cities in Asia. Both cities institutions have been collaborating to in Seoul and Singapore. This book is the have put in place a range of programmes These are just a few of the many initiatives compare policies in Seoul and Singapore. beginning. and initiatives for seniors. We both we have embarked on for our seniors in Their efforts have greatly improved our share the same aspiration—to make our Singapore. We remain committed to mutual understanding and the relationship Once again, I would like to express my cities age-friendly, and to build inclusive strengthening both the physical and between the two cities. Their open sharing gratitude to SI and CLC researchers communities where our seniors can age the social infrastructure for an ageing of innovative policy initiatives and the trial for their great efforts in producing this with dignity and grace. population, and making Singapore a and errors of implementation will provide publication. liveable city for all ages. useful insights into issues all cities around In the case of Singapore, one in four the world are facing. citizens will be aged 65 years and above Age-Friendly Cities: Lessons from Seoul by 2030. That is why we are taking and Singapore is a timely publication to Ageing issues are ever more pertinent Park Won-soon proactive steps to prepare for an ageing distil the experiences of both Seoul and in our cities. As we know, there are Mayor of Seoul population. Our urban planning has taken Singapore in planning age-friendly cities commonalities in the range of concerns South Korea into account the needs of the elderly and inclusive communities. I hope this in Seoul and Singapore, as a result of our through the implementation of universal third collaboration between the Centre rapid growth and high population density. design guidelines, the provision of for Liveable Cities and the Seoul Institute Now both our societies are ageing. How elderly-friendly features and facilities, and provides useful insights for cities in their to overcome the challenges from ageing the planning and design of our homes journey of supporting and empowering societies will be an important priority that and environment that are conducive for seniors. calls for much consideration. ageing-in-place. In terms of the ageing phenomenon, both We also recognise the importance Lawrence Wong Singapore and Korea are on a similar of tailoring our efforts and providing Minister for National Development & trajectory, with about 14 percent of our housing, lifestyle and care options to Second Minister for Finance total populations above the age of 65. meet the diverse needs of our seniors. Singapore Korea will be a super-aged society in 2026, In public housing, for instance, we offer 04 CASE STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN FOR THE COGNITIVELY IMPAIRED INTRODUCTION 01 1. INTRODUCTION Population ageing—the increasing more accessible and more liveable for share of older persons in the older persons also makes it much more population—is growing in tandem liveable for everyone else.