Gerontopia | Utopias for Residents of Every Age

In cities where urban renewal is taking place, the target audience at the center of planning is the strong population stratum. It is perceived as one that will take the city “to the next level” and improve it. It has a familiar appearance: high-rises surrounded by spacious parks, towering above a ground floor that serves as a shopping center for the regeneration zone, but without active street flow, alongside a supply of large apartments, designed almost exclusively for families. At the same time, young families are not the only users in the city, and do not represent the average household. Where, then, are the other populations that have disappeared from the planner’s eye? Where are young people, people with disabilities and the elderly population who make up a larger share of the general population than young families?

These questions led to the research question: How could a city benefit from incorporating elderly needs in its future design, while emphasizing inclusive design strategies?

The case study is the Bat Galim neighborhood in Haifa, where urban renewal processes have begun, including the evacuation of low-rise apartment blocks and small apartments, to be replaced by towers with large apartments that appeal to families, adjacent to large parks. The project seeks to explore another way of planning urban renewal – an endeavor that begins with an understanding of the target population, the one that exists today and will remain, and the one that will join it in the future. It looks at how to plan an active urban space centered on the needs of the entire population, from the young, to young families, to the elderly, while providing a solution for each individual population group in order to integrate them with one another as part of an inclusive urban undertaking.