Urban Ageing
Introduction
How can we contribute to the quality of daily living of older adults in the city? This question is the focus of the Chair of Urban Ageing. This question is increasingly important as older people are expected to fully participate in an ever ageing and urbanizing society.
About the research group
Older people should ideally ask themselves the following question: how can I lead my life in such a way that it offers good quality for me? And what if participation in society is no longer obvious or easy? A society with an increasing number of older people has a joint responsibility in this regard. How can we use knowledge from gerontology, social sciences, public administration, health sciences and care, building and real estate sciences, as well as technology to facilitate growing older in the best possible way?
Our research focuses on the everyday lives of older people in the age-friendly city of The Hague. In this diverse and inclusive city, older people should be able to feel at home and participate in life into old age. We work with partners to explore and shape these goals.
About the professor
dr. ir. Joost van Hoof Eur Ing
Joost van Hoof (1980) attained his MSc degree at Eindhoven University of Technology (Department of Architecture, Building and Physics). He also studied Environmental Engineering at the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) in Prague. Prof van Hoof attained his doctoral degree from Eindhoven University of Technology (in cooperation with Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and the Academy of Healthcare Utrecht) with a dissertation on ageing-in-place for people with dementia in 2010. From 2011 to 2018 he was affiliated with the Centre for Healthcare & Technology of Fontys University of Applied Sciences, and served as the project leader of the Nursing Home of the Future Programme. From 2012 to 2013, Prof van Hoof worked with the ISSO – the Dutch Building Services Research Institute in Rotterdam in the field of healthy building services. Apart from several board memberships in the domain of older people, technology and housing, Prof van Hoof collaborates and is affiliated with several universities abroad. Key to his work is a focus on the abilities of older people, not their disabilities, even when participations seems difficult.
The percentage of older people in the large cities will only increase in the coming years. It would be nice if they could grow old comfortably in the city, and also contribute in their own way to its overall quality.
