With the accelerated ageing of the world’s population, countries are focusing on solving various life issues of the elderly through the power of diverse communities to spend their twilight years in a quality manner. In the context of active ageing and community transformation, this paper explores sustainable design strategies for age-friendly communities based on the theory of Design for Sustainability (D4S). The Sustainable Transformation of Age-Friendly Communities (STAFC) indicator is the analysis criterion. Case studies of ageing communities in four countries of China, the USA, Spain and Italy are analyzed in the following four areas: Outdoor space and buildings, Transport, Social participation, Civic participation and employment. The positive role and impact of the theory in design planning strategies for ageing communities are demonstrated, illustrating future trends in sustainable ageing community design planning and providing references for future research.
Lijun Chen is a PhD student at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague. She is currently working in the field of Transition Design and Sustainable Design, with a focus on addressing the welfare of the elderly. She used to work as a lecturer in product design at Gengdan Institute of Beijing University of Technology for 4 years, where she focused on sustainable and welfare design and led students to develop products for the elderly, winning several awards. Lijun Chen is also a designer and co-founder of SRJ Design Studio and has won many national and international design competitions for her work.
Professor Vladimír Kočí is the Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Protection Technology of the Institute of Chemical Technology, in his professional activities he focuses on the development of environmentally friendly industry, energy and management. He is an expert in the method of life cycle assessment, which he develops in the Czech Republic and applies in a number of projects leading to a reduction in the ecological damage of industrial activities and to an increase in the quality of human life. He lectures at the Institute of Chemical Technology, CTU and Charles University. In addition to working on scientific projects, he cooperates with many industrial companies, non-profit organizations and the Czech government.