Committed To Becoming More Age-Friendly
City of Suwon Republic of Korea
- Vision and Goals of Suwon’s 1st Basic Plan for an Age-Friendly City
- The urban planning aspect considered residence, town shaping and transportation environment
- The policy aspect has been implementing specific policy projects in such units as the support of the social participation of the aged, the promotion of the residence and medical welfare of the aged, the promotion of domiciliary welfare of the aged, and the promotion of health of the aged.
- The program aspect has developed and implemented various programs for the aged such as welfare facilities, voluntary activities, events especially for the aged people, employment, leisure programs, lifelong education programs, etc.
- The service receiver aspect has prepared policies and has provided programs for three different age groups of 50-64 years old, 65-75 years old, and those older than 75.
- The vision of the 2nd mid- and long-term plan of age-friendly city in Suwon is ‘An age-friendly city in Suwon where the value of old age can come true’ (See Drawing 4-1).
◦ Under the vision, there are four policy goals such as ① ‘Creation of healthy and beneficial living environment’, ② ‘Creation of convenient and safe urban environment’, ③ ‘Creation of the social environment based on participation and mutual respect’, ④ ‘Creation of a vibrant and stable economic environment’
◦ Under these four policy goals, there are subordinate key tasks. For example, under the first policy goal, ① ‘Creation of healthy and beneficial living environment, we have key tasks, 1-1. Healthy Homo-Hundred, 1-2. Colorful senior, under the 2nd policy goal, ② ‘Creation of convenient and safe urban environment’, we have key tasks, 2-1. A city for mobility handicapped, 2-2. A city where you want to live, 2-3. Elderly safe urban environment, under the 3rd policy goal, ③ ‘Creation of the social environment based on participation and mutual respect’, we have key tasks, 3-1. Mutual respect and social participation, 3-2. Communication and information sharing and under the 4th policy goal, ④ ‘Creation of a vibrant and stable economic environment’, we have key task, 4-1. Tailor-made job for the elderly. These eight key tasks were developed in line with the eight domains suggested by WHO for Age-friendly city framework and assigned to related policy goals. - The vision of the 3rd Basic Plan for an Age-Friendly City, which Suwon City will implement from 2025 to 2029, is “Suwon, an age-friendly city the elderly can feel.”Although Suwon City has been certified as an age-friendly city since 2016, the level of direct experience and awareness remain low. Therefore, it is necessary to increase experience and awareness through improvements to the urban environment.
The city prioritizes seniors because the urban environment where elderly people feel comfortable is the same as that of non-elderly people.
○ Policy goals and 19 projects are proposed, and the diagram of the vision, strategy, goals, and relation to the 8 areas of age-friendly cities designated by the WHO are shown in Figure 2.
○ The policy goals are “Safe and comfortable city,” “A relaxed and vibrant city,” and “Healthy and respectful city.”
The vision, policy goals, and detailed projects of the 3rd Suwon Age-Friendly City Action Plan (2025~2029) are as follows
1-1-1. Improve the external environment and welfare facilities, 1-2-1. Extend crosswalk signal times and expand smart crosswalks, 1-2-2. Expand the number of designated elderly protection zones and mandate CCTV installation, 1-2-3. Improve bus stop environments and install additional bus stops, 1-2-4. Expand pedestrian safety training, 1-3-1. Expand emergency safety alerts for seniors living alone,
1-3-2. Replace restroom doorknobs and safety grab bars, 2-1-1. Reorganize the Senior Employment Center, 2-1-2. Expand volunteering, 2-1-3. Reorganize classes for seniors (College for Seniors), 2-2-1. Operate specialized community centers for seniors by district, 2-2-2. Increase social engagement through mini gardens, 3-1-1. Raise age-friendly awareness, 3-1-2. Reorganize filial piety stores and expand voluntary senior-friendly stores in partnership with local communities, 3-2-1. Reorganize welfare project brochures for seniors and operate a call center for seniors, 3-2-2. Implement providing meals five days a week in community centers for seniors, 3-2-3. Expand personalized health services (parks + centers for seniors + homes), 3-3-1. Close the gap in care for seniors through the Suwon New Light Care Project and AI, 4-1-1. Reorganizing the Age-Friendly City Promotion System