Prospettive di sviluppo per le comunità dementia-friendly

Perspectives for dementia-friendly communities evolution

Abstract

Increasing ageing population and age-associated neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer, brought new challenges for social and mental health programs and for physical space design and management. This paper aims to draw attention to the physical environmental factors, which are also related to urbanization trends and the consequent increase of elderly urban residents. The new opportunities given by dementia-friendly communities will be therefore considered, providing recommendations and future perspectives for their evolution.

Starting from a brief consideration on the phenomenology of the living spaces designed for people with Alzheimer, the paper will explore: a) the segregated and the integrated models; b) the main features and issues of dementia-friendly initiatives and programs – with a focus on the UK Alzheimer’s society programme Building friendly communities; c) the natural perceptual wayfinding, identified as a design strategy to improve urban accessibility for old people with dementia, and the possible applications of this approach in a urban context.