The 2018 statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior and Taipei City show that, out of the six major cities, Taipei City had the highest aging index. Compared with other 12 administrative districts in Taipei, Xinyi district’s aging index is only second to Wanhua old town. In face of the dual problems of population and urban aging, how to be in conjunction with smart housing, develop new living models and cultures, facilitate the development of the health care industry and cultivate the talent equipped with interdisciplinary capacity and practical experience turns out to be a very meaningful and valuable issue for Taiwan’s super-aging society.
The “Liuzhangli social housing at the Xinyi District” is an innovative pilot program put forth by Taipei City Government to respond to population and urban aging. The promotion of social housing will bring supermarkets, restaurants, infant care centers, elderly care centers, rehabilitation centers and creative space into the community to support neighborhood life. In addition, young and old generations living together will infuse momentum into the community. We hope that while social houses are constructing, all the needs will be included. On one hand, an elderly- friendly and comfortable life circle suitable for all ages of citizens will be formed through the cooperation of public and private sectors combining curriculums and activities; on the other, community self-empowerment will be guided and life aesthetics will be promoted through the bonding of community conscience and reinforcement of neighborhood relations, so social housing can become a new model for community cultivation. In this way, a high-quality residence culture can be built with coexistence of new and old prosperity and sharing among different generations.
By using social housing and surrounding neighborhoods as a practice field, we will match the TMU system, city government, enterprises and community residents and achieve the goals and expectations through three different strategies.
1st strategy: home of the future
Through service design, technology introduction and citizen participation to build an elderly-friendly living culture that can also benefit all ages of citizens. For example, during the eruption of COVID-19, home carers and students were not able to make case visits and learn the experience, so we adopted virtual reality (VR) for long term care teaching. With the use of VR technology learning method, home carers and students could understand the influence of the home environment and equipment on the elderly. Subsequently, external resources could be combined and the resolution to the improvement of the home environment could be submitted.
With the Xinyi District Urban Memory Map plan, we shot the surrounding video films to introduce the surrounding neighborhoods of TMU, so future social housing residents and native residents could better understand their residences. At the same time, we have also developed the scale, led students to survey pedestrian-friendly streets and zones, assessed the mobility friendly degree of the neighborhoods of TMU for the elderly, and worked on the markings. It is hoped that a mobile living map can be constructed in the future to help the elderly walk steadier on the road.
2nd strategy: social prescription
We have built a service model based on preventive medicine and health promotion using non-pharmacological adjuvant treatment. We carry out a physical fitness test to learn about the state of health of the elderlies and use a questionnaire to understand the preferences and habits of elderlies towards leisure activities. We then collaborate with student groups and units outside of the universities to develop related courses that guide students to lead the elderlies during the trainings in addition to gaining knowledge of sports theory. The courses guide the students to identify key points in developing elderly activities, and the itinerary is researched, developed and evaluated based on the questionnaire results about the elderly’ preferences for leisure activities. Lastly, the students will lead the elderlies to complete the different itineraries, and they will also conduct evaluations on the itinerary performance and improvements of the elderlies after the trainings.
3rd strategy: food transformation
Aligning with the promotion of the previous two strategies, food is used as a medium to promote social interactions and participation and is supplementary to non-prescription drugs. Food is used as a medium to bring people and the community closer together, and to strengthen health literacy in daily life. Though food design microprogram, mobile kitchen, sustainable table, community parks and related strategies, we provided related knowledge to the students. We have combined food and technology which overturned the traditional impression towards hospital food. Furthermore, we dissected and analyzed the chemical reactions that occurred during cooking, so that tastier and healthier food can be made. We have also gone into nearby communities to understand the characteristics of these communities, and collaborated with external units, such as the Taipei Urban Regeneration Institute, Taiwan Carrefour Foundation and so on. It is a goal to elevate the purpose of food according to local conditions and to develop a food transition model that fits the community. This is a way to deepen into the community and to make formal establishments.
The development of the three strategies to establish within the communities has become difficult after the pandemic erupted. During the process of active communications with the nearby neighborhoods, we have finally gained support and agreement from the Taipei City Parks Management and village chiefs. The Jingqin No. 1 Park near the Taipei Medical University is chosen as the venue for promotion and establishment. There will be actual contacts with the community residents during the corresponding holidays including Dragon Boat Festival in June, Father’s Day in August, and Mid-Autumn Festival in September. The process is not only a promotion of the philosophy and strategies but is also a gathering of the views of the local residents towards their living environment and their expectations and responses for the future. It is hoped that through such kind of interactive model, more local conditions and diverse views can be considered and connected, bringing in resources to create social housing of higher value.