Creativity, an Essential Condition for the Development of Smart and Age-friendly Cities and Communities
The creativity of older adults and the ageing population is an essential condition for the development of “smart and age-friendly cities and communities” (SAFCC). First of all, the creativity may be understood as (1) the acceptance and use of new technologies in a creative way or as (2) the ability to produce ideas, solutions, products, and services that are new and appropriate to the context. Creativity helps us adapt to the complexity of social life and to coping with uncertainty. Thus, SAFCC need to be characterized by the creative activity of citizens of all ages, openness to diversity and focus on bridging the digital divide and the robotics divide. The discussion needs to highlight, among others, basic findings from the Active Ageing Index and the Medium-sized Smart Cities Ranking conducted in the European Union. Moreover, selected observations about inequalities related to the creativity at the regional and local levels should be presented. The idea development needs to underline that such differences may have an influence on the current and future distribution and use of technological innovations and social innovations for ageing societies.
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