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Age-Friendly Approach Is Necessary to Prevent Depopulation: Resident Architectural Designers and Constructors’ Evaluation of the Age-Friendliness of Japanese Municipalities

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  • Kazumasa Yamada

    (Organization for Co-Creation Research and Contributions, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-chou, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
    Liaison Office, Innovation Center for Translational Research, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka-chou 474-8511, Japan)

  • Kenta Murotani

    (Biostatistics Center, Kurume University, 67, Asahi-machi, Kurume 830-0011, Japan)

  • Makiko Mano

    (Organization for Co-Creation Research and Contributions, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-chou, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan)

  • Youngmi Lim

    (Organization for Co-Creation Research and Contributions, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-chou, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan)

  • Jun Yoshimatsu

    (College of Human Sciences, Kinjo Gakuin University, 2-1723, Omori, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya 463-8521, Japan)

Abstract

Japan has the world’s largest old population ratio; thus, aging is an urgent societal issue. As global trends seem to be following Japan’s social changes, there is an emphasis on municipalities becoming more age-friendly. Hence, we examine the age-friendliness of 135 Japanese municipalities, selecting 240 resident architectural designers and constructors to assess their municipalities using the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire (AFCCQ). The findings indicate that Japan lacks “outdoor spaces and buildings”. Additionally, the evaluation of “housing”, “community support and health services”, and “transportation” in populated municipalities in the past five years was found to be significantly higher than that in depopulated ones. Age-friendliness is significantly affected by the AFCCQ total score (hereafter, Score) based on “housing”, “social participation”, “community support and health services”, “transportation”, and “financial situation” evaluations. High specificity (0.939) was found when the score was treated as a marker of depopulation; an age-friendly approach is a necessary condition for preventing depopulation. Furthermore, a lack of “communication and information” was observed in municipalities with a higher rate of single-person households aged 65 years and older. Therefore, resident architectural designers’ and constructors’ assessments, combined with the AFCCQ, will be a powerful tool for evaluating the age-friendliness of municipalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Kazumasa Yamada & Kenta Murotani & Makiko Mano & Youngmi Lim & Jun Yoshimatsu, 2023. "Age-Friendly Approach Is Necessary to Prevent Depopulation: Resident Architectural Designers and Constructors’ Evaluation of the Age-Friendliness of Japanese Municipalities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(17), pages 1-11, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:17:p:6626-:d:1222434
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeroen Dikken & Rudy F.M. van den Hoven & Willeke H. van Staalduinen & Loes M.T. Hulsebosch-Janssen & Joost van Hoof, 2020. "How Older People Experience the Age-Friendliness of Their City: Development of the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Akinori Nakamura & Naoki Kaneko & Victor L. Villemagne & Takashi Kato & James Doecke & Vincent Doré & Chris Fowler & Qiao-Xin Li & Ralph Martins & Christopher Rowe & Taisuke Tomita & Katsumi Matsuzaki, 2018. "High performance plasma amyloid-β biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease," Nature, Nature, vol. 554(7691), pages 249-254, February.
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