Age-Inclusive City: Reconsidering Toronto's Neighbourhoods for an Aging Population

Sites of eldercare and seniors housing can often be identified as places of age segregation and isolation for their lack of integration with their surrounding context and society. These sites take two primary forms on opposing ends of the spectrum: institutional settings and 'aging in place,' neither of which are adequate solutions for an aging population. Today, the increasingly imbalanced population of seniors to youth is making alternative living arrangements increasingly important. Seniors are valuable members of society, contributing to both their families and communities, however, their needs are under-acknowledged in urban spaces. The response to this has resulted in several population-based and place-based strategies to enrich communities at the scale of the dwelling and the neighbourhood. This thesis engages with these strategies and their role to foster age-inclusive communities - to engage the spectrum in between institutional settings and 'aging in place' in the context of Toronto's existing neighbourhoods.