Research Study: Ageing in the City

Publications
Human Ecologies, Domestic Space Odysseys, Programmatic Agility, Inclusive Cities
Study on ageing in the metropolitan Paris region, with a focus on the Marne area
Marie Renault, 70, on the balcony of her apartment in the 13th arrondissement of Paris
  • LocationParis region, France
  • Date2019 - 2021
  • CommissionerEPA Marne/EPA France, AG2R, Maison de l’Architecture IDF
  • PublicationSocial and architectural study, proposal for the adaption for ten dwellings and recommendation report
  • Budget150 K€
  • TeamNew South + Aurélie Barbey + Alexandre Sfintesco + Guillaume Sicard (research team), Michèle Leloup (text editor), Travaux-Pratiques (graphic design), Olivier Leclercq (photography)

The EPA Marne aims to construct cities which take into account the oldest members of their populations. What do their individual paths look like, both from a personal and residential perspective? What are their habitation habits? Their expectations? What are current standards of housing for the older generations and how must this evolve, now and in the future? What economic models might be envisaged and what dedicated services will be required to support this? Finally, how might we make our cities intergenerationally mixed, places where one would wish to live during retirement and in old age? And what urban and architectural criteria can allow us to achieve inclusiveness in our cities?

Cover of the book, designed by Travaux-Pratiques

From sensory to pragmatic, this book resumes the stakes involved in the demographic change currently in progress and formulates recommendations for tomorrow. Its primary objective is to place elderly housing at the heart of decision making relating to the construction and layout of our cities. The publication includes research in the field alongside elderly people living in the greater Paris region, an analysis of spatial typologies and processes, an atlas of key project examples at a national scale and a set of recommendations, and is aimed at both private and public organisations working in the sector.

Study website: Le Printemps de l’Hiver.

Sophie de Jocas, 73, at home in the 11th arrondissement of Paris