ABSTRACT
Reaching older age is no longer the privilege of the few. In most regions of the world, it has become the realistic expectation of the many. Two people mark their 60th birthday every second. By 2050, the 60-plus age group will constitute 30% of the populations in 64 countries – both developed and developing. By that year, they will represent a global heterogeneous bloc of more than two billion people and will outnumber those less than 15 years of age. This gift of longer life is transforming the cultural and political landscape and generating almost limitless potential for overall human development. It is compelling people to scrupulously mine the rich veins of all human capacity and to build a far more comprehensive citizenship. The ubiquity of technology is presenting more opportunities for protagonism at every stage of the design continuum – whether it is the design of policies, services, environments or products – but human capital remains the most valuable asset and renewable resource. Much greater potential now exists for real older persons (as opposed to personas or averages) in the context of their lived experience to be the starting point and the driving force of an age-friendly design movement.
