Scientific project leader:
Prof Dr Kathrin Boerner
Dr Milena von Kutzleben

Operational project leader (please contact if you have any questions about the project):
Adele Grenz, M.Sc.

Voluntary academic year:

Casper Espelage (2024/25)

Project partners City of Oldenburg:
Susanne Jungkunz, Strategic Social Planning / Demography - Inclusion - Social Affairs, Office for Participation and Social Affairs
Carina Fugel, Coordination Centre for Elderly Care, Office for Participation and Social Affairs

Project period:
2025 - 2026

Project funding:
Own funds

Project description:
Society is ageing - worldwide, but also in Germany, the proportion of older people is continuously increasing. At the same time, old age is a long phase of life: while many people remain active and independent for a long time, the need for support and care often increases with age. These demographic changes pose challenges for cities and municipalities - particularly in the areas of prevention, care and social participation.

A central task of municipal health and care planning is to design urban spaces in such a way that they promote active and good ageing by optimising health, supporting social participation and enabling well-being in old age.

Although age-friendliness measures are already being implemented in many places, older people are often still addressed as a homogeneous group. In reality, however, their needs differ greatly - depending on their stage of life, state of health, housing situation or social resources. This is where our project comes in.

Using a combination of document analyses of demographic strategies and the participatory photovoice method, the study examines how older people in Oldenburg experience their everyday lives, what barriers they perceive and what resources are available to them. The perspectives gained are analysed in depth in interviews and then discussed in a focus group together with people from administration, planning and civil society. The aim is to develop evidence-based impulses for differentiated, life-phase-orientated and preventative urban development.

The project builds on the "Age-friendly Oldenburg" project, which surveyed over 900 people over the age of 65 about their views on the city in 2024. Both projects are part of the strategic cooperation between the City of Oldenburg and the Department of Prevention and Rehabilitation Research at the University of Oldenburg.