Table 2 Priority areas and possible solutions identified by workshop participants during the small group discussions

Urban design and active ageing

1. Connected communities:

• Need for a place to come together – to find out information or provide a purpose to ‘get out and about’

• Need for physical or virtual places to connect

2. Intergenerational approach:

• Spaces and communities which are inclusive, not exclusive

• Simple design which accommodates all

• Opportunities to connect generations through communication and shared learning

• Strategies to encourage active living from early on, as past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour

3. Getting there:

• Ease of access from the front door to community space, by enhancing environmental design and physical capabilities

4. Sharing:

• Options for shared transport and housing, which include intergenerational approaches

• Sharing of resources and skills

Social identity and connectedness

1. Loneliness:

• Strategies to improve confidence

• Consideration of transitions in life (e.g. retirement), which have physical, social and psychological consequences

2. Communal or shared living:

• Understanding what triggers a desire/need for shared versus independent living

• Exploration of the benefits of communal living spaces

• Need to hear insights and perceptions about shared living

3. Social responsibility:

• Opportunities to use skills and time for others

• Need for caring and thinking about others

• Strategies that link people together

4. Communication:

• Need for strategies to improve communication skills – e.g. how to find information

• Communication considered to be a key driver related to loneliness, communal/shared living and social responsibility.

Built environment: hazards and injury prevention

1. Physical environment:

• Need to restore, rather than re-design, the existing built environment (most economic approach) – and consider design for the future

• Restoration of slopes, stairs, paving, curbs, escalators, and prevention of crime

2. Adaptation strategies:

• Need for adaptation strategies to the existing built environment

• Potential strategies to include use of virtual reality training, education and knowledge transfer, assistive technologies (e.g. mobile phone apps, smart technologies)

• Personal adaptation – training to tap into physical reserves

3. Physical characteristics:

• Strategies to address physiological changes in later life, including reduced vision, joint range of motion, muscle strength, and disease symptoms (e.g. Parkinson’s disease), which impede safe interaction with the built environment

4. Psychological characteristics:

• Strategies to address psychological changes in later life, including dementia, anxiety, fear of falling, fear of crime, wellbeing, perceived unsteadiness, which impede safe interaction with the built environment

Natural and sensory environments

1. Strategies to address psychological barriers:

• Introducing / increasing positive experiences with nature (e.g. use of media for sensitisation or virtual reality; facilitated repeat visits within the natural environment)

• Understanding personal and collective barriers (e.g. fear, previous negative experiences within the natural environment)

2. Restorative sensory experience:

• Maintenance or restoration of uneven ground to reduce risk of trips or falls

• Increasing sensory pleasures, through sight, sound, touch (e.g. greater use of water features) but without overload

• Increased exposure to and appreciation of microclimates (e.g. hot house, water, breeze, smell)

3. Design for access:

• Need for more hand rails, maintained paving, accessible transport to facilitate access within the natural environment (e.g. gardens, countryside)

• Welcoming and accessible transport stops, including community transport schemes, with upskilling of industry to effectively interact with, and support, older people.

4. Facilities and inclusive events:

• Organised events programmes within the natural environment, with knowledgeable facilitators/staff

• Accessible facilities (e.g. toilets)

• Areas for social interaction, including ‘social hubs’, acknowledging the need for quiet areas