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Community-Based Urban Design Approach with UDCOD

Community-Based Urban Design Approach with UDCOD

Summary

Odawara City has established the Urban Design Center Odawara (UDCOD), a platform for research on community development that utilizes local resources through public-private-academia collaboration. UDCOD is currently exploring age-friendly environments with the Toyokawa District as a pilot area. By creating community spaces where active older adults can gather based on their own interests and hobbies, and by encouraging social participation among residents, UDCOD aims to build a system where residents support one another in their daily lives within the community, with a focus on promoting health and preventing the need for long-term care.To encourage residents to think about community development based on what they would like to do in their community, UDCOD collected ideas from participants in its Senior Life Planning Seminar regarding health-related activities they would like to try. One of the suggestions was “creating a walking map of the Toyokawa District.” UDCOD developed this idea into a project and held workshops, where participating residents created four types of walking maps with themes of history, seasons, children, and tourism. The project attracted participants from multiple generations, including not only older people but also parents with young children and students, and has fostered new interactions and social connections among residents. Currently, the initiative is expanding, with local community organizations such as the Toyokawa District Community Development Committee and dementia cafés launching town walking events using these maps.

Brief summary: https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/community-based-urban-design-approach-with-udcod/

Website: https://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/field/municipality/machi_top/udcod/

Key facts

Main target group: Both younger and older people (i.e. intergenerational)

Sector(s): Health

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageing in place
  • Intergenerational activities
  • Participation

Contact details

Name: Satoko Fujihira

Email address: korei@city.odawara.kanagawa.jp

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Other

Other project lead: Urban Design Center Odawara(UDCOD), an organization that promotes community development, through public-private-academia collaboration.

Others involved in the project:
  • Local authorities
  • Civil Society Organisation
  • Older People’s Association
  • Social or health care provider
  • Research institution

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? No

Looking back

Challenges:
One challenge facing the community is the declining number of people involved in community activities. To recruit new participants, including residents who are not members of neighborhood associations, UDCOD conducted outreach activities such as distributing flyers door-to-door, instead of relying on neighborhood association circulars. As a result, parents raising young children also participated; however, attracting broader participation remains an ongoing challenge.