Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project Action Plan for North District 1. Background Hong Kong is facing an ageing population. By 2040, about 30% of the overall population will be elders aged over 65, approximately equivalent to 2.46 million in absolute number. The demographic change will lead to new or expanded services, programmes and infrastructures to accommodate the needs of older people. Creating an age-friendly community will benefit people of all ages. Making cities age-friendly is one of the most effective policy approaches for responding to demographic ageing. In order to proactively tackle the challenges of the rapidly ageing population, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is implementing the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project in partnership with four gerontology research institutes in Hong Kong. The project is aimed at building momentum in districts to develop age-friendly communities, recommending a framework for districts to undertake continual improvement, as well as arousing public awareness and encouraging community participation. The CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing (“The Institute”) is responsible for providing professional support for building an age-friendly community in five districts, namely Sha Tin, Tai Po, Kwai Tsing, North and Sai Kung. 2. Profile of North District North District is located at the northern part of the New Territories, consisting of Sheung Shui, Fanling, Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling. There is a clear rural-urban divide of population in North District in terms of living area. Nearly 80% of the district population lives in town areas whereas the rest of them scatter across 117 rural villages. In response to ageing population in the district, Working Group on Age-friendly Community Network of North District Council was established in 2016 with an aim to improve the age-friendliness of the community. North district has been accepted as a member of the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities by the World Health Organization (“WHO”). In addition, the Social Welfare Department has formed another group called “推廣關愛護老文化工作小組” to promote the culture of respect and care towards the elderly as well as intergenerational cohesion and mutual respect in the district. Non-governmental parties in the district also conducted different programmes to promote age-friendliness, such as outreach and medical-social support to the elders living alone and visits to the elderly living in rural areas. 1 Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project Action Plan for North District 3. Key Findings of Baseline Assessment Between May and August 2017, the Institute has conducted a baseline assessment in the district using the framework of eight domains of an age-friendly city (“AFC”) set out by the WHO, namely outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services. It comprised both quantitative approach of questionnaire survey of 511 residents and qualitative approach of five focus group interviews. The findings showed that residents in North District were most satisfied with the domain of transportation in the district, while there was more room for further improvement in the domains of community support and health services as well as civic participation and employment. On the latter two domains, residents participating in focus groups raised more specific issues, such as limited employment opportunity for those aged 65y and above, limited health services in remote areas and inadequate specialist care service in the district. The eight AFC domains and selected items in each domain are shown in the table below. 2 Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project Action Plan for North District WHO’s Age-friendly City domains and relevant areas of concern included in baseline assessment AFC domains Selected items included in the domains Outdoor spaces Environment Cycle paths and buildings Green spaces and Safety walkways * Services Outdoor seating Buildings Pavements Public toilets Roads Traffic Transportation Affordability Transport stops and stations Reliability and frequency Information * Travel destinations Community transport Age-friendly vehicles Taxis * Specialized services Roads Priority seating Driving competence Transport drivers Parking Safety and comfort Housing Affordability Ageing in place Essential services Community integration Design * Housing options * Modifications Living environment Maintenance Social Accessibility of events and Promotion and awareness of participation activities activities Affordability * Addressing isolation Range of events and Fostering community activities integration Facilities and settings Respect and * Respectful and inclusive * Public education social inclusion services Community inclusion Public images of ageing Economic inclusion Intergenerational and family interactions * Civic participation Volunteering options Civic participation and employment Employment options Valued contributions Training Entrepreneurship Accessibility Pay Communication * Information offer Plain language and information * Oral communication * Automated communication Printed information and equipment Computers and the Internet * Community Service accessibility Voluntary support support and Offer of services Emergency planning and care health services Source: Adapted from WHO Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide, 2007. Remarks: The domains or items above with (*) are areas with more room for further improvement 3 Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project Action Plan for North District 4. Proposed Action Plan for North District Suggested projects associated with related AFC domains and proposed actions / programmes are set out below. For ease of reference, the primary age-friendly domain(s) of each project has been marked in bold font. Project Related domain(s) Proposed short-term action(s)/ Proposed long-term approach(es) programme(s) Theme 1: Maintain an active role of older people in society Engage and include the elderly in Outdoor spaces and 1) Conduct place audit to assess the age- 1) Increase the number of the elderly district affairs and community buildings friendliness of the built environment and representatives of the Working development Civic participation facilities in the community. Group on Age-friendly Community Assess the age-friendliness of and employment 2) Develop information hub to disseminate Network under District Council, community, design an enabling Communication and AFC information through different and also include the older people environment for people of all information channels, and consult older people on from different estates and rural ages and levels of mobility. Transportation the layout and design. Suggested content villages. Acknowledge and provide Housing of the information hub: 2) Organize annual district forum on opportunities for older people to Social participation Community facilities (e.g. locations of age-friendly North District, in order utilize their strengths and Respect and social washrooms, markets, water dispensers) to arouse the awareness on the issue potentials, by broadening existing inclusion Information on home safety among district stakeholders. platforms to shape communities Community support assessment and modification around the needs and aspirations and health services Information on age-friendly business / of older people. shops / restaurants 3) Organize job expo. Targeting middle-aged / young-old Providing information on volunteering and employment Inviting employment agencies and service providers to set up booths 4 Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project Action Plan for North District Theme 2: Improve older people’s connection with other citizens, information and services in the neighbourhood Promote intergenerational exchange Respect and social 1) Conduct place audit to access the age- 1) Schools / NGOs can employ the Promote mutual understanding inclusion friendliness of the built environment and young-old as mentors or instructors and respect across generations Social participation facilities in the community with youth and in training programmes. through interactive Civic participation older people interacting together. intergenerational programmes, and employment 2) Organize workshops to teach the elders and present ageing as a positive Communication and and their caregivers to use electronic process and emphasize the active information communication technology. role that older people can play. Establish information hub and Communication and 1) Develop information hub to disseminate 1) Maintenance of the mobile apps / neighborhood network information information through different channels. directory and keep the information Develop one-stop information Respect and social Provide information on home safety up to date. platform to disseminate and inclusion assessment and modification 2) Set up information kiosks in public obtain community information. Social participation Provide information on community venues (e.g. malls, transportation Encourage the forming of Civic participation facilities, age-friendly business / shops / hubs). neighborhood networks to and employment restaurants 3) Collaborate with the farms in the promote exchange of information 2) Develop a local elderly service directory Agricultural Park in Kwu Tung more organically and locally. to older people, caregivers