From Innovation to Innovation in Age-Friendly research from University of Manchester – Part I Jem Golden

The University of Manchester topped the 2020 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings that measure and compare universities’ performance against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) worldwide. The United Nations Member States defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to tackle climate change, end poverty and build a more sustainable and inclusive world by 2030.

The University of Manchester, which climbed eight places from 2019 to become the best-rated globally ranked university overall in 2020, also topped the list for two SDGs: sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production.

Among the achievements highlighted include research on age-friendly cities by the Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing (MICRA); also the work to develop climate resilient cities and infrastructure by the Manchester Urban Institute.

The Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group (MUARG) affiliated to MICRA has played a major role in supporting the development of Greater Manchester as an ‘age-friendly region’.

Among the many ground-breaking projects ongoing by MUARG four include:

·     The Ambition for Ageing project

·     Ageing in Place in Cities

·     Uncertain futures: Inequalities affecting women over 50 years at work in Manchester;

·     Green Infrastructure and the Health and Wellbeing Influences on Ageing Population;

MUARG have a particular focus on understanding issues relating to the impact of social exclusion on older people living in low-income neighbourhoods, with a number of funded projects focused on developing work on this theme.

'Ageing in place' is a popular term in current social policy, most commonly defined as supporting the preferences of older people to remain living at home in their own community of choice.

The benefits of this type of approach have yet to be systematically explored, with few studies focusing on its meaning for older people and insufficient connection between research and policy.

Dr. Sophie Yarker, Research Fellow, MUARG specialises in themes of belonging, community and urban regeneration. While environmental aspects of ageing in place have been the subject of detailed study, the temporal dimension - the way in which feelings, experiences, and attachments to neighbourhoods change over time - has received much less attention in ageing research.

“While there is a drive towards supporting ‘ageing in place’ within cities not all urban communities can support older people to ensure that later life does not have a detrimental impact on their quality of life.

Our research projects focused on Manchester and other cities are purposefully designed to assess the needs and priorities of our older population in a nuanced way, not as a heterogenous group so we analyse for instance by ethnic background, LGBT and other criteria with an especial focus on marginalised groups in low-income neighbourhoods,” says Dr. Yarker. 

Adopting a more nuanced approach to our discussions on, and collaborations with, the elderly was a point I advocated in an earlier LI posting; suggesting a deeper analysis of what the elderly demographic represents – commonalties and differences, such as by gender. We would not, or should not, talk about for example, ‘the youth’ in broad terms!

We tend not to use the word ‘elderly’ for most of these studies depending on the community that we are collaborating with. Involving older people in co-research and co-production in the projects; training them to be researchers and providing input into designing the questions and so on is also critical for the integrity of the projects,” explains Dr. Yarker.

The Covid-19 pandemic (with its disproportionate effect on older people) has raised urgent questions for older people living in cities.

“Our COVID research (in Manchester) confirmed the extent to which the pandemic has reinforced among older people a sense of vulnerability or being seen to be vulnerable as well as stronger dependence on others, for example, on their adult children to do shopping. In their pre-pandemic lives many would be very active such as in volunteering at the ‘food banks’ where many of the volunteers tend to be older.

This enforced loss of mobility and lack of social stimulation for so long has generated a loss of confidence for many.

Will they return to being as active as before the pandemic? We need to empathise, encourage and not expect re-joining society to be immediate,” Dr. Yarker recommends.

Sources for article:

Interview with Dr. Sophie Yarker, MUARG (in May 2021)

Profile: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/sophie.yarker.html

MUARG video presentation on Interdisciplinary Perspectives on ‘Ageing in Place’ in Cities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Yydh_Ty-Y

University of Manchester named world’s best for social and environmental impact

https://www.pioneerspost.com/news-views/20210427/university-of-manchester-named-world-s-best-social-and-environmental-impact

New MUARG project explores ageing in place in cities worldwide

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-muarg-project-explores-ageing-in-place-in-cities-worldwide/

Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing

https://www.micra.manchester.ac.uk/research/research-themes/urban-ageing/