O idoso e a cidade: o direito a uma cidade inclusiva

Abstract

Optimizing opportunities for health, participation and safety, improving people's quality of life, is active aging. Due to the aging of the world population and the characterization of a new population model, it is necessary to understand the role that public policies play in promoting a better quality of life for those who are aging. Brazil, today, can be considered a country with an aging population. The present study, carried out in 2023, aims to analyze how urban planning and accessibility in the city of Fortaleza contribute to the active aging of the population. Thus, specific objectives are presented: understanding the mobility of elderly people in the city, considering access to places and the modes of travel used; problematize how urban mobility is an inclusive factor, coming from the perspective of the elderly in Fortaleza; analyze the creation and implementation of public policies that are responsible for ensuring the rights of the aging population. The methodological process for this work was based on a bibliographical analysis, grounded on dissertations, articles and books that focus on the theme, in addition to, of course, research carried out in legislation and on government websites. The case study called "Programa Saúde, Bombeiros e Sociedade (PSBS)," which translates to "Health, Firefighters and Society Program," and focus group analysis were used as analysis methods, through semi-structured interviews. The relevance of such a study is based on the awareness that the elderly have a fundamental role in society, and must be welcomed in a dignified manner in old age, aiming at an active integration in this environment. As a result of this study, there must be an urgent increase in the appreciation of the aging process that occurs in society, because despite there being policies and actions that seek to promote a better quality of life for these people, we realize that society, and the development of public policies are not fully structured to take into consideration this newly developed age structure and its specificities. This highlights the need for the urban formatting of spaces, the creation of reception and coexistence centers, among others, which would be capable of providing the idea of belonging to the place where one lives, and the appropriation of what is defined by the right to the city.