Aging is recognised as a critical dimension of sustainable urbanism, yet its integration into planning and regulatory systems remains uneven across governance scales. Dominant narratives continue to frame aging as a late-life decline rather than a continuous, adaptive, and relational process, reinforcing structural ageism and limiting how planning systems support older adults as active participants in urban environments. This study examines how aging in urban contexts is framed across regulatory landscapes, and how these framings are conceptualised, operationalised, and institutionalised across global and national governance levels. Through a mapping review, 977 records were screened, and 53 regulatory instruments were analysed, including frameworks, policies, toolkits, and strategic guidance from the United Nations, UN-Habitat, WHO, Singapore, and India. The analysis assessed implementation mechanisms, governance pathways, stakeholder roles, and behavioural factors shaping age-inclusive urban development. Findings reveal growing alignment around age-inclusive urbanism; however, significant translation gaps persist. Global frameworks articulate cohesive visions but rely largely on voluntary commitments. Singapore demonstrates a top-down approach, whereas India’s federal plurality supports innovation and locally negotiated outcomes. In both contexts, older adults are considered vulnerable or beneficiaries. Drawing on these insights, the study introduces a multi-level conceptual framework that positions governance translation and alignment, rather than merely as a service provision, as the mechanism shaping successful implementation. The framework identifies where translation succeeds, where it falters, and where involvement of older adults remains absent. By reframing aging as central to equitable urban governance, the study offers a pathway for advancing resilient, age-inclusive, and socially just urban futures.

Authors:
Sravanti Peri, National University of Singapore, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Sravanti Peri is currently a PhD student in Industrial Design at NUS. She studies aging and sustainable urbanism, and her current project explores how aging behaviour can be supported by sustainable urbanism.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sravanti-peri-a2a66823

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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