ChairsSummary

OECDToyamaCity:InternationalRoundtableforCities
ResilientCitiesinAgeingSocieties

Representatives of OECD member and nonmember countries, international organizations, cities,

privatesector,academiaandcitizens,metattheInternationalRoundtableforCities:ResilientCitiesin
AgeingSocieties,organizedbytheOECDandToyamaCityon17October2014inToyama.Asdiscussed
in the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2014, resilience centres on the ability not only to resist and
recover from adverse shocks, but also to bounce back stronger than before, and to learn from the
experience.Resilienteconomiesandinclusivesocietiesempowerpeopleforjobsandgrowth,aswell
asarealsocapableofaddressinginequities.Inthemidstofdemographicchange,economiesandcities
are requested to be resilient. Having discussed the challenges and opportunities in ageing societies,
policy approaches in cities and the way forward, the participants reached the following major
conclusions.
Theimplicationsofageingsocietiesforsustainableurbandevelopment
Cities are experiencing profound demographic changes of unprecedented speed and magnitude. This
demographic transformation in OECD countries will be most striking during the first half of the 21st
century. Each city follows different demographic trend, and differences of change will prevail within
urbanareas.Ashometomorethan60%oftheelderly,citieswillhavealargeimpactonthesustainable
developmentofageingsocieties.Theelderlypopulationisadiversegroupofpeople,intermsofsocial
and economic circumstances, age and physical health. Strategies have to be adapted to the physical,
economic and social conditions in each city and to the specific challenges that elderly population are
facing.
Respondingtoageingsocietiescanchallengecities:theiremploymentstructures,industrialperformance,
health status, public service provision, infrastructure needs and inclusiveness of local communities. For
example, if not fully considered, a decreasing working age population and an ageing labour force may
hampereconomicdevelopment.Reducedmobilitymayisolateelderlypeople,hindersocialinclusionand
diminish the interaction among residents and neighborhoods. Inequities and poverty are equally
important.
Conversely, Elderly people with rich experiences contribute to the knowledge assets of a community.
Ageing societies may bring opportunities for growth by developing new industries and technologies, as
wellasbyrenovatingtheexistingurbanstructuresandprovisionofpublicservices.Policyapproachesat
the citylevel for ageing societies make a difference to the quality of life and lifestyles of citizens of all
generations,includingyoungpeople.
Citiesneedtoactnowtomeetlongtermchallengesassociatedwithdemographicchangeandtorealise
theopportunitiesitoffers.Delayislikelytoraisethecostofadjustment.
Howapproachestoageingsocietiescancontributetobuildingresilientcities

Cities are able to strengthen resilience in ageing societies through measures that address urban form,
transport,housing,employment,industry,heathandinnovation.Citieswhichtakeintoaccounttheneeds

and preferences of elderly people are better equipped to remain competitive and attractive, and to
ensurethewellbeingofcurrentandfuturecitizens.
Citiesneedtoestablishlongtermvisionstoachievewellbeingforallgenerations,inclusivegrowthand
resilient socioeconomy. Understanding specific growth and geographical patterns of ageing and their
socioeconomicimplicationsiskeys.Forexample,Japan,inparticular,hastounderstandthatitselderly
populationisestimatedtoincreaseby20%withinthenexttwodecades;however,itwilldecreaseafter
that peak. Long term vision, thus, have to include the management of the turning point of long term
demographic change, and to reflect these in planning for future infrastructure development, and
respectivepriorities.
Increasingproductivityisthekeytosustainingeconomicdevelopment.Morebroadly,itisimportantto
mobilizeoldercitizensinvariousactivities,suchasjobs,volunteerworkoranysocialengagement.Urban
structure contributes to this effort. Compact urban form characterized by dense landuse is able to
improveaccesstoservicesandemploymentbyusingpublictransport.Compactcitypoliciescenteringon
the public transport network are one of the most promising approaches, as explored by many cities,
includingToyama.Citiesneedalsotoconsiderdesigningandplanningforuserfriendlyenvironmentsand
servicesareimportantstrategies.
Improving the health of the elderly is also important to ensuring that they remain productive,
independent,andsociallyactiveforaslongaspossible.Supportingolderpopulationstodelayormanage
functional and cognitive decline is an important goal. For example, walking enables mobility, provides
physical exercise as preventive care and maintains health. Ageing healthily is of utmost importance for
peoples autonomy, quality of life and contribution to the economy, as well as the viability of public
expenditureforessentialservices.
Responding to the challenges that ageing societies pose is an opportunity for cities to renovate
themselves in order to provide the socioeconomic fundamentals for future generations. Cities have to
integrate new technologies for urban management such as for urban planning, infrastructure,
information/communication technologies, use in data mining, and within health care in order to make
thebestuseofopportunitiesinageingsocieties.Policiesshouldbeinnovativeandflexible,basedonthe
usersviewpoints,withoutbeingsolelylimitedtotraditionalsupplysideapproaches.
Workingtogetherforfutureactions

Collaboration among all stakeholders is indispensable to ensure resilience in ageing societies. In

particular, new actors, including local communities, whose role has not always been visible in the
conventional way of delivering public policies, have to be well integrated in the concerted efforts.
Buildingstronglocalcommunities,whicharetheimmediatesurroundingsofpeopleseverydaylives,will
empowerpeopleonthegroundandhelptobuildinclusivesocieties.Localcommunitiesresiliencewould
behighlyinfluential,particularly,inthecaseofnaturaldisastersandeconomiccrisistoenhancemutual
supportamongcitizens.Resiliencewouldbeenhancedthroughcapacitybuildingforcommunityleaders
andgrassrootsactions.
Theprivatesectorisboundtoidentifytheopportunitiesforgrowththattriggereconomicdevelopment,
and lead to innovation in technology and services. Governments should establish and share long term
visionsthatencourageandassuretheactivitiesoftheprivatesectorandlocalcommunities.
New governance structure should be explored to promote crosssectoral approaches and break open
policy silos, including for housing, urban, public transport and health andwelfare. Horizontal
collaborationacrossdifferentsectionswithingovernmentandpolicycoherenceamongdifferentlevelsof
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government are indispensable. Compact city policies could demonstrate good examples of policy
coordinationandcooperationamongdifferentsectors.
Leadership of mayors is critical. Mayors need to establish clear long term visions and enhance
communicationamongothermayorsandgovernments,inordertostrengthenthenetworkamongsub
nationalgovernments.
National governments need to formulate urban policies that establish crosssectoral frameworks for
urban development. National urban policy frameworks are expected to maximize the role of cities in
ageingsocieties.Incomplexmetropolitanareas,wheretherearemanyadjacentmunicipalities,national
governmentscanhelpfitpoliciestoplacesbyhelpinglocalactorsovercomethispoliticalfragmentation
and work on a metrowide scale. This will increase policy effectiveness and reduce both inter
jurisdictionalconflictandwastefulduplicationofeffort.
Thepublicsectoratthenationalandcitylevel,internationalorganizations,theprivatesector,citizensand
academia have to enhance their collaborative network, and to share and assess the best practices of
cities approaches in ageing societies. Data collection on ageing trends, available services, and socio
economic conditions of elderly will provide essential information, which is indispensable for decision
making of policy leaders when design policies and monitor their impacts. Internationally comparable
indicatorsshouldalsobedevelopedforassessingandbenchmarkingpolicyimpacts.Evidenceanddata
basedpolicyapproachwouldcontributetothedecisionmakingprocessofestablishinglongtermvisions.

Conclusion

Participants understood the importance of regional and urban policies in order to build resilient
economies and inclusive societies in the context of ageing. We invite the OECD to continue to provide
vitaldataaswellaspolicyrelevantadviceandimplementationguidance,includingto:

Designnationalurbanpolicyframeworkstomeettheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalneeds
andopportunitiesofageingsocietiesincitiesofallsizes.

Developnewdata,policyandgovernancetoolsthatenablegovernmentstobetterfitpoliciesto
places,therebypromotingpolicyactionattherelevantscale

PromotedialoguebetweenourgovernmentsandtheOECDwithregionalandcityleaders,aswell
astheprivatesector,academiaandcitizens,toachievethesegoals.