The Rose City

Near Los Angeles city, there is a city called The Rose City. It is 300 years old, and now 400 000 people live in it. Most of the problems are being solved, but the city’s central question is how a city can truly be sustainable and resilient in a changing and increasingly globalized world. One of the ways is to make the city a smart city, which is using technology.

A Closer Look

Near the Rose City, there is The Pacific Ocean. The Rose City has a Mediterranean climate with nearly no rain in summer. In August, the average high temperatures are 29 degrees Celsius and lows of 18 degrees Celsius. Winters are mild, with average high temperatures of 20° C and lows of 9°C with some occasional rain. The year-round warm weather makes it the perfect city to visit any time of year. This city is now getting advanced in technology, automation, and AI. However, there are normal jobs that are found in every country. Moreover, this is some of the city’s economy:

Professional, scientific, technical services 6.55%

Educational services 9.21%

Health care and social assistance 13.35%

Arts, entertainment, recreation 2.96%

Accommodation, food services 8.04%

Other services 5.18%

For transportation, to reduce the number of cars, buses and trains will be used. This city is also working on making a train. In this train, wagons can detach dynamically while you are moving and become express, driverless buses that move on a secondary road network. For pollution and energy, pollutive coal factories are being replaced with renewable energy. (Solar, wind, water)

Everybody must be educated. For healthcare, smart healthcare solutions are used for our smart city. Smart healthcare solutions are the use of digital and mobile technology, which is creating smart healthcare solutions for people residing in urban centers. The IOT revolution which has spread itself in energy, transport, security, and infrastructure segment will have sweeping results in health care. A unified healthcare system, collecting and sharing of data, analysis and research practices will usher a new era in tackling modern-day health problems. For elderly people, we are building houses that work with technology, so it helps them remember things if they forgot and do everyday work for them. It is also protected, so they would feel safe.

In the city, the average age is 35 years old. The lifespan is 70 years old, and a senior citizen is an elderly person that must be respected. The city is mostly clean, buildings are high, and the streets are wide. It is a green life. There are also public parks, playgrounds, fun activities with all the people, fewer cars, less pollution, museums, gardens, zoos, restaurants, walking paths, cafes, concert halls, beautiful sights, a history that you can see in every street and every museum, schools, hospitals, and theatres. There is a real sense of community.

Define the Problem

Senior citizens face a lot of problems because this is the nature of getting old. As we get older, we hope that our lives will become easier. We anticipate retirement as the time in our lives when we can finally relax. While the golden years can be some of the best years of our life, there are always concerns. Senior citizens have challenges to overcome that are universal to all ages as well as some issues that are specific to their age group. Some of the problems they face are health care costs, diseases, physical aging, physical assistance, financial security, loneliness, financial predators, abuse or neglect, transportation, and the changing social climate. The Rose city decided to focus on the lack of social cohesion. Social cohesion is a means that enables citizens to live in societies where they enjoy a sense of belonging and trust. The inference is that the absence of social cohesion may result in instability.

The neighborhood social environment has been identified as an important aspect of older people’s well-being. Poor neighborhood conditions can pose difficulties in obtaining support, especially for older people who live alone. Although social environments have been found to be related to well-being among older people, the longitudinal relationship between the social environment and well-being remains poorly understood.

This city decided to focus on it because not many cities focus on the lack of cohesion. It is also related to the city’s central question, which was how a city can truly be sustainable and resilient in a changing and increasingly globalized world. It is important to make the senior citizens feel they belong and trust their community. We should care about elderly people as much as children. For the analysis, social cohesion is built around three key values: social inclusion, social capital, and social mobility. Social inclusion refers to the degree to which all citizens can participate on equal footing in the economic, social and political life, including whether people are protected in times of need. Social capital refers to trust between people and in institutions and the sense of belonging to a society. Social mobility refers to equality of opportunity to get ahead.

Describe the Solutions

When people think about social cohesion they tend to focus on people getting along (liking and agreeing with each other). In fact, it’s important to think about socially cohesive communities as societies where people respect each other even if they disagree, and where they can disagree without feeling unsafe and disrespect. Safe disagreement is especially important when it comes to marginalized groups because there’s always a degree of positive social conflict that’s needed to make sure that disadvantaged groups can voice their grievances and allow change to occur. We should focus on communities not on individuals or one group. We shouldn’t only focus on children, everything is for everyone.

Respecting an elderly person would make him feel safe and feel that he belongs. Respecting others creates an age-friendly city. We should make them feel that they are still young and they are part of the community. We should make for the activities and take care of them. The Rose City thought about the lack of social cohesion, and the first solution was to build a smart city. A smart city is a leverage technology to serve people. Smart cities are built around users. They start with an information network designed to optimize resources, and thereby promote sound, sustainable developments. A smart city is also making cities more livable and alive. Connected streets are the core of smart cities. For example, if each streetlight can send and gather information. Then these smart, connected streetlights open many possibilities. If someone is going to work at 7 am, standby lighting switches on when he walks by. There are also other sensors, such as weather sensors, air pollution sensors, and noise sensors.

However, for senior citizens, engineers will build smart houses that are full of sensors to help them. For example, a “smart” pill bottle that can sense when it hasn’t been opened and send a reminder to a senior citizen to take his medication. This makes them trust the place they are in and become independent. The second solution is making more activities for elderly people, so they become more active. Also, children give energy to senior citizens, and when they are together, they help each other to become more independent. They teach each other new things, and children would make senior citizens have a young heart. Seniors will also teach children how to listen to others, help them and respect them. Moreover, some of the activities in this solution use technology to make things easier for senior citizens. Therefore, it requires engineering.

It may be a while before this insightful concept of gaming grandparents catches on, but in the meantime, technology can be implemented along with other fun and challenging activities that include the surrounding community. The activities seniors like the best are the ones that promote connectivity with other residents and their surrounding community. Any activities that aim to help a senior feel less isolated is the best to have. However, the first solution might cost a lot of money, and the second might not work with all senior citizens. We might have to use other ways, so while the city is becoming a smart city, engineers will build a center for senior citizens that teaches them how to use technology for free. This center will also make them meet other senior citizens, so they would have a sense of belonging and feel befriended.

Moreover, The Rose City made these choices because they solve more than one problem, and not only for elderly people. It also makes them more independent and active.

The Impact of The Age-Friendly City

Overall, a cohesive society is one where people are protected against life risks, trust their neighbors and the institutions of the state and can work towards a better future for themselves and their families. Fostering social cohesion is about striving for greater inclusiveness, more civic participation and creating opportunities for upward mobility. It is the glue that holds society together.