According to the survey for the needs of seniors (‘Seniorenbehoeftenonderzoek’) the age of 80 is a turning point among seniors when it comes to physical mobility.
The City centre is one of the areas, in which seniors move the least. Despite various mobility offers, there are no targeted actions focused on prevention for people aged 60-80, nor specific interventions for 80+.
The partners of this pilot, the City of Ostend (as lead partner) and Westtoer, will join forces to try to tackle this issue. The City of Ostend aims to develop mobility offers, while Westtoer will integrate a communication dimension: a new mobility concept will be set up that increases social participation in City life through better communication and mobility offers.
The survey for the needs of seniors (‘Seniorenbehoeftenonderzoek’) shows a clear link between increase in age and less physical mobility. The older seniors get, the less they’ll move/travel by foot, by car and by bike and the less they’ll participate in physical activities (movement/sports). Consequently, the frequency of leaving the house and being part/a member of society drops significantly. Furthermore, the frequency of falling is higher in the City centre in comparison with the other districts of the City.
The aim of the City of Ostend is to change these observations and stimulate the physical mobility of the senior citizens in several ways. Westtoer will maintain communication between the City and its citizens.
Who will benefit from this pilot? What is the goal that you are trying to achieve with this pilot?
Our goal is to increase the physical mobility among the participating elderly in the City centre of Ostend by developing mobility offers and enhance communication towards its citizens.
How many and which ideas were generated from the stakeholder meetings?
Out of all the meetings as mentioned above, 10 ideas were generated:
Please find our selected ideas below.
· Certainty/security: before elderly people leave the house and go for a walk, they want to be sure they’ll be able to sit down for a moment and take a break at street benches (resting points). Furthermore, public toilets are a sort of relief for seniors, so that they are able to relieve themselves at any time. These two utilities serve as a safety assurance to move.
· Being active: seniors made it clear that they want to make use of sporting facilities (mobility offers), that they want to move
· Health: elderly people suggest that they need to go for a walk and that they need fresh air. They need to move because they have to keep their muscles strong
· Social interaction/involvement: seniors indicate there’s a shortage of benches in the City centre. They need those, as well as the (social interaction during) activities (mobility offers), to make contact or to connect/bond with neighbours or other citizens.
How did the project team, other organisations and your participants react to the project idea? What is the level of involvement/commitment from each group at this stage? Evidence could include: participant observation at initial project meetings and the reflections of the project group.
What is the demand for your project? How do you know this, what information did you use to help you?
How feasible does your project look to your team at this stage in terms of practicality, and financial feasibility?
Do you need any additional assets or resources including expertise to help you deliver your project?
Yes
Have you made any changes to your original plans, why did you make the change and what information did you base your new plans on? For instance any changes you made to the context, format, timing, setting or population at this stage?
We do not have made any changes yet.
Do you think this project will work within the current local setting/structures? What changes need to be made to integrate your new project into existing infrastructure or programs?
The City of Ostend will create a pilot in which it will try by to increase the mobility of its elderly people by offering them targeted actions in terms of movement. This new mobility concept consists of 4 actions to increase movement:
The implementation of walking routes alongside existing street-benches in combination with the map of public toilets (sanitary points) in the central area of the City. These points provide resting points
on the users’ path and ar
e very important items for elderly people. They serve as a kind of safety assurance to move, as resting points for elderly people: they could take a pause
and sit down to rest. It also increases encounters
(social contact with others, with a nod to our other pilot, ‘Combatting Loneliness’). We’ll bring the public toilets and these walking routes together on one city map. Furthermore, rearrange/reallocate ‘lost’ street benches to places where they’ll be of better use. Social and health organisations could make use of these (or parts of) and promote them to their clients.
Organise walking sessions, Start to Walk for elderly people, along these walking routes. A freelance professional who accompanies and gives advice to the seniors on how to exercise at the benches.
Match these sessions with a range of cardiovascular and muscle strengthening movement exercises at the benches, ‘custom-built’ for the target population and approachable (fit-o-meter pocket edition).
Last, the city will install pedals/treadles (serving as outside home-trainers with back support) on different locations in the city centre district.