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5 - Urban practitioner vignette
- Edited by Maxwell Hartt, Cardiff University, Samantha Biglieri, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Mark Rosenberg, Queen's University, Ontario, Sarah Nelson, University of Toronto
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- Book:
- Aging People, Aging Places
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 18 December 2021
- Print publication:
- 31 March 2021, pp 73-78
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Summary
In this vignette, we examine the challenges and opportunities of aging in urban Canada. In addition to sharing our own experiences of growing older in a major Canadian city, we also call upon the work we have been doing to help the city become a better place for everyone to age. As local government efforts have continued to fall short, residents (like us) have begun to take matters into their own hands. In this vignette, we summarize some of the challenges for creating an age-friendly community in Calgary, introduce our organizations, and outline some of the obstacles and opportunities we have faced. Finally, we provide some recommendations for other organizations looking to make an impact in their communities.
Challenges for creating an age-friendly community in Calgary
One of the most concerning aspects of aging in Calgary is that the majority of housing available for seniors is extremely expensive. It is far cheaper for people to stay in their own homes, only paying for taxes, utilities, and maintenance. Another problem in Calgary is the practice of keeping roads and cycle paths safe during the winter, but not the sidewalks. Ploughing and piling snow in front of bus stops makes boarding the bus difficult and puts pedestrians at risk by forcing them into designated bicycle lanes. Public transportation is not subsidized by the government, and bus pass prices have recently been raised. This means that low-income seniors may not be able to afford the bus, which could contribute to increased isolation and, as a result, a decline in wellbeing.
Older people in our local community often feel like they aren't a priority. The City of Calgary does not seem interested in improving public services for older adults. They would rather, for example, make an incredibly expensive financial investment into a privately held NHL hockey arena. The order of priorities neglects the importance of building strong community links and moving towards a more intergenerational city. It has also recently been announced that community pools will be closing, which currently provide safe places for people of all ages to exercise. Even though it is claimed that Calgary is a World Health Organization designated ‘Age-Friendly City’, the political decisions made about public investments show it is becoming less so.
1 - Aging in urban Canada
- Edited by Maxwell Hartt, Cardiff University, Samantha Biglieri, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Mark Rosenberg, Queen's University, Ontario, Sarah Nelson, University of Toronto
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- Book:
- Aging People, Aging Places
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 18 December 2021
- Print publication:
- 31 March 2021, pp 15-26
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Summary
In this overview chapter, we call upon data from Statistics Canada and the academic literature to present some stylized facts and figures regarding urban older adults and a synthesis of the challenges and opportunities of aging in urban environments. This chapter serves to provide (1) a snapshot of Canadian urban demographic trends, (2) an overview of the state-of-the-art thinking on urban aging, and (3) contextual framing for the in-depth research chapters and vignettes that make up the urban part of this book.
Canada is predominantly a nation of rural spaces. By land area, urban locations occupy only 0.25% of Canada's 9.9 million square kilometres. However, urbanization is quickly changing the national landscape. While Canada's urban areas are growing steadily, they are simultaneously driving considerable suburban growth in their periphery. As we note in Chapter 6, Canada is a suburban nation. And those huge suburbs are growing around Canada's urban centres. The three largest metropolitan areas (which include both urban and suburban areas), Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver, are home to more than a third of all Canadians, with a combined population of 12.5 million (Statistics Canada, 2019).
For many, urban Canada evokes images of these three iconic cities. Big, bustling conurbations with dense downtowns, skyscrapers, and expensive housing. But like suburban and rural areas, urban regions can take a variety of shapes and forms. Although there is no one perfect definition of ‘urban’, we adopt the following operational definition in order to provide a generalized overview of urban demographic trends in Canada: urban areas are dissemination areas (as defined by Statistics Canada) with a population density of 5,000 or more people per square kilometre, or areas with a population density of 1,000 to 5,000 people per square kilometre where fewer than 60% of population commutes by car (Channer et al, 2020).
Using data from the Statistics Canada (2019) population estimates, we found that 5.3 million of Canada's roughly 35 million people live in urban areas. Of those 5.3 million, approximately 800,000 are aged 65 and over. Across Canada, the number of residents aged 65 and over is growing, and urban settings are no exception. Proportionally, 15% of Canada's urban population are aged 65 and over, lower than suburban (17%) and rural (18%) locations.
11 - Aging in rural Canada
- Edited by Maxwell Hartt, Cardiff University, Samantha Biglieri, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Mark Rosenberg, Queen's University, Ontario, Sarah Nelson, University of Toronto
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- Book:
- Aging People, Aging Places
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 18 December 2021
- Print publication:
- 31 March 2021, pp 141-148
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Summary
In this overview chapter, we call upon data from Statistics Canada and the academic literature to present some stylized facts and figures regarding rural older adults and a synthesis of the challenges and opportunities of aging in rural environments. This chapter serves to provide (1) a snapshot of Canadian rural demographic trends, (2) an overview of the state-of-the-art thinking on rural aging, and (3) contextual framing for the in-depth research chapters and vignettes that make up the rural part of this book.
Anyone remotely familiar with Canada's geography would not be surprised to learn that by land area, Canada is predominantly rural. Concentrated areas of population cover very little of Canada's expansive 9.9 million square kilometres. Upwards of 90% of the Canadian population live within 160 kilometres of the almost 9,000-kilometre-long Canada–US border (CBC News, 2009). In short, the vast majority of Canada is sparsely populated.
Broadly speaking, we consider these sparsely populated places to be rural. Although there is no single perfect definition of a rural environment, rural can be operationally defined as an area with a population density under than 400 people per square kilometre (Channer et al, 2020). Using data from Statistics Canada (2019) population estimates, we found that 8.5 million of Canada's roughly 35 million people live in rural areas. Of those 8.5 million, approximately 1.5 million are aged 65 and over. Like everywhere in Canada, the cohort of Canadians aged 85 and over is growing quickly. Almost 150,000 rural Canadians are 85 years of age or over (Statistics Canada, 2019). Canada's rural population is aging faster than its urban and suburban counterparts. Older Canadians, aged 65 and over, make up 18% of Canada's rural population in comparison to 17% of the suburban population and 15% in urban areas. More than a quarter of Canadians aged 65 or older live in rural areas, as proportionately, the population of older Canadians tends to be higher in rural areas (Menec et al, 2015). Canadian rural populations also have a higher ratio of older adults to working-age adults (known as the old-age dependency ratio). The growing intergenerational imbalance is explained by the dual process of (1) rural youth migration to urban centres for employment, and (2) older Canadians relocating from urban and suburban to rural areas for retirement (Forbes and Hawranik, 2012).
6 - Aging in suburban Canada
- Edited by Maxwell Hartt, Cardiff University, Samantha Biglieri, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Mark Rosenberg, Queen's University, Ontario, Sarah Nelson, University of Toronto
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- Book:
- Aging People, Aging Places
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 18 December 2021
- Print publication:
- 31 March 2021, pp 81-88
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- Chapter
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Summary
In this overview chapter, we call upon data from Statistics Canada and the academic literature to present some stylized facts and figures regarding suburban older adults and a synthesis of the challenges and opportunities of aging in suburban environments. This chapter serves to provide (1) a snapshot of Canadian suburban demographic trends, (2) an overview of the state-of-the-art thinking on suburban aging, and (3) contextual framing for the in-depth research chapters and vignettes that make up the suburban part of this book.
Canada's built environment and population growth predominantly occurs on the (sometimes sprawling) urban fringe. Put simply, Canada is a suburban nation. In Canada's largest metropolitan areas, including Vancouver, Montréal, and Toronto, the proportion of suburban residents exceeds 80% (Gordon and Janzen, 2013).
Generally, traditional forms of suburban locations can be characterized by a variety of factors including the proportion of single-family housing, car commuting patterns, population density, and home-ownership rates. However, we recognize that the modern suburban landscape is complex and diverse (Keil, 2017) and that there is no single perfect operational definition of suburban (Forsyth, 2012). We adopt the following operational definition in order to provide a generalized overview of suburban demographic trends in Canada: suburban areas are dissemination areas (as defined by Statistics Canada) with a population density between 1,000 and 4,000 people per square kilometre with over 60% of commutes made by car, or simply with a population density of 400–1,000 people per square kilometre (Channer et al, 2020).
Using the data from the Statistics Canada (2019a) population estimates, we found that more than half (18 million) of Canada's population resides in suburban areas. Of those 18 million, just over 3 million are aged 65 and over. Proportionally, 17% of suburban Canadians are aged 65 and over, compared to urban (15%) and rural (18%). The proportion of older adults across Canada is expected to rise rapidly in upcoming years as more of the baby boom generation turns 65. In 2018, 17% of the country's population were aged 65 or over, compared with 14% in 2011. According to Statistics Canada's (2019b) demographic projections, by 2024 one in five Canadians is expected to be aged 65 and older. Canada's demographic shift is not only about baby boomers reaching retirement age. Nationwide, the cohort of Canadians aged 85 and over is also growing very quickly.