The research aims at exploring how eldercare interventions and services are managed and understood in spatial planning, how eldercare civil servants perceive how the built environment impact on their services and clients, and how older people’s preferences can contribute to improved quality in services and housing provision. The ultimate aim of the programme is to develop a methodological tool – CollAGE – to support, facilitate and structure collaboration between the three actors.

A multidisciplinary team of scholars in social work and spatial planning from Blekinge Institute of Technology and Umeå University participate in the programme.

A multidisciplinary advisory group of experienced researchers and older people support the research team. Stakeholders – older individuals, organizations and authorities – follow the programme. If you are interested in participating in the research or if you wish to have more information, please contact the project manager, Ebba Högström,  Umeå University.

The programme is financed by Forte no: 2021-01424.

RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE PROGRAMME

The research team studies a variety of practical and discursive aspects of the topic in six different research projects.

1. Visions of provision of eldercare services in comprehensive and detailed plans
Tirtha Rasaili, doctoral student, dep. of Spatial Planning, BTH

2.  Swedish elder care housing as a field of innovation, 1913-2023
Daniel Movilla Vega, Associate professor, School of Architecture, Umeå University

3. Age-friendly cities in the making. Collaboration and decision-making to accomplish age-integration in housing and urban development projects
Ebba Högström, Professor, School of Architecture, Umeå University

4. Representations of spatial planning within eldercare in rural and sparsely populated areas and vice versa
Amanda Nyberg, doctoral Student, dep. of Social Work, Umeå University

5. Social representations of older people in eldercare and spatial planning: possibilities for collaboration?
Katarina Andersson, Docent & Associate professor, Dep. of Social work, Umeå University

6. Co-production of local age-friendly communities. Older people as co-researchers in sustainable housing and care/ Samskapande av åldersvänliga grannskap.
Maria Sjölund, Associate professor, Dep. of Social work, Umeå University