Healthy aging is also the business of municipalities

On September 29, the Direction régionale de santé publique (DRSP) of Montreal called for a commitment from the city to the health of the elderly. In his inaugural speech, Premier Legault calls for in-depth changes in Quebec, knowing that the number of people aged 75 and over will double within 20 years. The municipal electoral context is an opportunity to recall the essential role of municipalities in planning to ensure the active and healthy aging of their populations and to call on the leadership of those we are about to elect.

The friendly development of our towns and villages is one of the essential components in maintaining the elderly in their community. As you get older, getting around on foot or by public transport is often the only option to accomplish your daily tasks and avoid isolation. However, in Quebec, urban planning designed around the automobile is not conducive to active travel, particularly for seniors who are more vulnerable.

Thus, nearly half of the pedestrians who die as a result of a road collision are people aged 65 and over. There are many obstacles to the comfort and safety of their movements on foot: distances to daily services that are too long for their walking capacity, discontinuous or absent sidewalks, time to cross pedestrian lights too short at intersections, lack of visibility, absence of benches to rest on the way, weak canopy which transforms the urban space into a real heat island in summer, rough snow removal from sidewalks in winter, etc.

Providing facilities allowing seniors to go shopping on foot or take a walk to the park to relax or accompany their grandchildren in complete safety induces conditions favorable to active and healthy aging.

Appropriate living environments allow the maintenance of good physical health, which reduces the risk of suffering from chronic diseases, and improves mental health by promoting autonomy, participation in public life and inclusion.

Allowing the active mobility of seniors is also an opportunity to fight against climate change by offering a resilient built environment. In addition to being vulnerable road users, the elderly are more affected by the vagaries of climatic disturbances such as the more frequent episodes of heatwaves and freezes and thaws. Interventions promoting active travel and the use of public space contribute to more sustainable environments and lifestyles. Various approaches identify the many avenues for development solutions within the reach of municipal administrations.

However, a global and forward-looking vision is needed, as well as a strong political will to anticipate resistance and to argue that the sharing of public space, currently mainly devoted to the car, is necessary.

Let us aspire to homes for the elderly located close to everything and surrounded by a peaceful environment, rather than impassable arteries causing a social divide. A large part of the public as well as planning professionals are moreover no longer to be convinced, since creating safe and greener living environments for seniors also benefits the entire population. The commitment of local administrations is essential in order to ensure consistency of interventions and collectively integrate a senior reflex that will make it possible to achieve a Quebec for all ages, as stated in the title of the 2018-2023 action plan. of the Government of Quebec.

We are just beginning to feel the impacts of an aging population and they will be felt for a long time to come. By 2066, nearly 30% of the population will be made up of people aged 65 and over, which means that anyone of voting age today will experience the upheavals of this phenomenon when reaching status. elder. Creating living environments that meet the needs of today’s seniors also means taking care of tomorrow’s seniors. By addressing this issue to the extent of their skills, the future elected officials of our municipalities can contribute to the overall collective effort. Quebec will thus be able to claim to age in good health.

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