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Summary

The Age-Friendly Community Ambassadors (Kwai Tsing) (AFCAs-K&T) carried out a community assessment project on Age-Friendly outdoor environment in Kwai Tsing in 2015. As of May 2016, there are 271 rainshelters on pathways or footpaths in Kwai Tsing, but only 102 have seats installed. As such, AFCAs-K&T suggested the Kwai Tsing District Council (K&TDC) to install “priority seats” at rainshelters on pavement or footpath in Kwai Tsing District. K&TDC endorsed the plan in June 2016 and has earmarked funding in the 2016-17 financial year to undertake 16 projects to retrofit existing rainshelters to provide seats. K&TDC recognizes the need of older people and will continue to give priorities to similar proposals unless there is physical constraint found. AFCAs-K&T’s ultimate aim is to have seats installed at all rainshelthers, allowing older people to travel within the district with sufficient resting places. A public awareness and promotion program on priority seating for older people and people with needs will also be carried out. For example, a Youth Decoration and Design Competition on Priority Seats at Rainshelters has been carried out in October 2016 to increase public awareness about Age-Friendly Environments.

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): People who loves to walk around around the district.

Sector(s): Urban development

Desired outcome for older people:
Be mobile

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageism
  • Accessibility

Other Issues: NIL

Contact details

Name: Lee, Chi-keung, Alan

Email address: leeckoffice@yahoo.com.hk

Preferred language(s): English or Chinese

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

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

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

Details on older people’s involvement: The Age-Friendly Ambassadors take an advocate role to initiate this Priority Seat at Rainshelter project in Kwai Tsing District.

Moving forward

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

Feedback:
Have you received any feedback on your age-friendly practice from your target group? Both positive and negative feedback are useful learning points

Expansion plans:
Other than the installation of priority seats at rainshelters in public area, which is managed by the Government, similar projects targeted at the private sector such as food courts in shopping malls and restaurants has also been launched in October, 2016.

Looking back

Reflections:
Initiatives should be based on actual needs in older people’s daily lives. Cross-sectoral collaboration and support, including governmental departments and councilors should also be acknowledged. Starting simple and building on existing initiatives can increase the chance of success.

Challenges:
Physical constraints for the location of the benches, such as narrow pavement or the presence of footpaths were challenges during the project. The Age-Friendly Ambassadors should bear these in mind when proposing suitable locations for such works.