Salutogenic High Streets and Older People's Well-being

In the design of the public urban realm older people have been usually considered a vulnerable group and their needs frequently narrowed to issues of physical mobility. Yet, due to the population ageing this demographic sector is no longer a minority, and the links between urban space, ageing and well-being cannot be circumscribed to issues of physical accessibility. In UK the variety of urban settings used by older people includes the main commercial streets, the so-called high streets. Despite their perceived decline these places have continued to cater for the everyday needs of a wide sector of the population providing access to shops and services at local level. Informed by studies on the interdependency between people, environment and place, and by Aaron Antonovsky’s salutogenesis theory, the paper articulates a salutogenic framework to discuss the findings of a study carried out in three local high streets in Edinburgh. The research evidences how these locales are important urban assets that afford every day practices. Through a range of social and physical features high streets support four key dimensions of well-being, namely social well-being, sense of place, the aesthetic enjoyment deriving from feeling active and a sense of mastery and autonomy in pursuing activities of daily life. Taking pre-COVID data as baseline, the paper will discuss the findings and recommendations in light of recent and ongoing changes to the streetscape. Triggered by the pandemic, social distancing interventions like the “Space for People” promoted by the local authority are moving away from the previous laissez-faire approach to streets design and increased the space available for pedestrian. A salutogenic approach however would offer a more resilient strategy for the design of the public realm as a long-term health and well-being promotion asset for an ageing population