Stephen Johnston's blog
Summary: A principles-based national framework for social care The recent £20bn birthday present to the NHS was welcome, if underwhelming, but the more pressing question facing the UK is how to fix social care. The two are connected of course, ‘bed blocking’ costs up to 8,000 lives a year. In today’s ageing society there is […]
Could we elevate the ubiquitous swipe to improve our cities? Every day millions of people, young and old, collectively make 1.6bn swipes on profiles they’re presented with on Tinder, one of the most popular dating apps. These swipes either send that profile to the virtual dustbin (left) or open up the potential for witty banter, […]
As cities take on disruptive challenges, in particular harnessing technological disruptions and managing aging populations (see earlier post about updating ‘age-friendly’ here), this note suggests a five-stage framework to guide cities along their innovation journey. It’s designed to be more descriptive than prescriptive – each city will implement in its own way and in line with […]
The world is being rocked by four uniquely powerful disruptive forces: aging, urbanization, technology and globalization. The WHO’s age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC) initiative – updated to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by pervasive, ubiquitous, exponential technology – could be a powerful platform to help cities adapt and thrive in a fast-changing world. The […]
Introduction Cities have become increasingly important in shaping the economic and cultural life of our societies. As the number of older people living in cities continues to rise, so does the role cities play in their quality of life. Today’s cities, generally not designed with older people’s needs in mind, pose a number of unique […]