Toyeco
Toyeco
Toyeco
OECDToyamaCity:InternationalRoundtableforCities
ResilientCitiesinAgeingSocieties
Cities are able to strengthen resilience in ageing societies through measures that address urban form,
transport,housing,employment,industry,heathandinnovation.Citieswhichtakeintoaccounttheneeds
and preferences of elderly people are better equipped to remain competitive and attractive, and to
ensurethewellbeingofcurrentandfuturecitizens.
Citiesneedtoestablishlongtermvisionstoachievewellbeingforallgenerations,inclusivegrowthand
resilient socioeconomy. Understanding specific growth and geographical patterns of ageing and their
socioeconomicimplicationsiskeys.Forexample,Japan,inparticular,hastounderstandthatitselderly
populationisestimatedtoincreaseby20%withinthenexttwodecades;however,itwilldecreaseafter
that peak. Long term vision, thus, have to include the management of the turning point of long term
demographic change, and to reflect these in planning for future infrastructure development, and
respectivepriorities.
Increasingproductivityisthekeytosustainingeconomicdevelopment.Morebroadly,itisimportantto
mobilizeoldercitizensinvariousactivities,suchasjobs,volunteerworkoranysocialengagement.Urban
structure contributes to this effort. Compact urban form characterized by dense landuse is able to
improveaccesstoservicesandemploymentbyusingpublictransport.Compactcitypoliciescenteringon
the public transport network are one of the most promising approaches, as explored by many cities,
includingToyama.Citiesneedalsotoconsiderdesigningandplanningforuserfriendlyenvironmentsand
servicesareimportantstrategies.
Improving the health of the elderly is also important to ensuring that they remain productive,
independent,andsociallyactiveforaslongaspossible.Supportingolderpopulationstodelayormanage
functional and cognitive decline is an important goal. For example, walking enables mobility, provides
physical exercise as preventive care and maintains health. Ageing healthily is of utmost importance for
peoples autonomy, quality of life and contribution to the economy, as well as the viability of public
expenditureforessentialservices.
Responding to the challenges that ageing societies pose is an opportunity for cities to renovate
themselves in order to provide the socioeconomic fundamentals for future generations. Cities have to
integrate new technologies for urban management such as for urban planning, infrastructure,
information/communication technologies, use in data mining, and within health care in order to make
thebestuseofopportunitiesinageingsocieties.Policiesshouldbeinnovativeandflexible,basedonthe
usersviewpoints,withoutbeingsolelylimitedtotraditionalsupplysideapproaches.
Workingtogetherforfutureactions
government are indispensable. Compact city policies could demonstrate good examples of policy
coordinationandcooperationamongdifferentsectors.
Leadership of mayors is critical. Mayors need to establish clear long term visions and enhance
communicationamongothermayorsandgovernments,inordertostrengthenthenetworkamongsub
nationalgovernments.
National governments need to formulate urban policies that establish crosssectoral frameworks for
urban development. National urban policy frameworks are expected to maximize the role of cities in
ageingsocieties.Incomplexmetropolitanareas,wheretherearemanyadjacentmunicipalities,national
governmentscanhelpfitpoliciestoplacesbyhelpinglocalactorsovercomethispoliticalfragmentation
and work on a metrowide scale. This will increase policy effectiveness and reduce both inter
jurisdictionalconflictandwastefulduplicationofeffort.
Thepublicsectoratthenationalandcitylevel,internationalorganizations,theprivatesector,citizensand
academia have to enhance their collaborative network, and to share and assess the best practices of
cities approaches in ageing societies. Data collection on ageing trends, available services, and socio
economic conditions of elderly will provide essential information, which is indispensable for decision
making of policy leaders when design policies and monitor their impacts. Internationally comparable
indicatorsshouldalsobedevelopedforassessingandbenchmarkingpolicyimpacts.Evidenceanddata
basedpolicyapproachwouldcontributetothedecisionmakingprocessofestablishinglongtermvisions.
Conclusion
Participants understood the importance of regional and urban policies in order to build resilient
economies and inclusive societies in the context of ageing. We invite the OECD to continue to provide
vitaldataaswellaspolicyrelevantadviceandimplementationguidance,includingto:
Designnationalurbanpolicyframeworkstomeettheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalneeds
andopportunitiesofageingsocietiesincitiesofallsizes.
Developnewdata,policyandgovernancetoolsthatenablegovernmentstobetterfitpoliciesto
places,therebypromotingpolicyactionattherelevantscale
PromotedialoguebetweenourgovernmentsandtheOECDwithregionalandcityleaders,aswell
astheprivatesector,academiaandcitizens,toachievethesegoals.