Avoiding ‘bungalow legs’: active ageing and the built environment.

Urban populations across the globe are ageing and much debate has centred on what constitutes an ‘age-friendly’ city. Historic environments, for example, often present physical challenges, such as steps and uneven surfaces – while today these are designed out. Smooth level surfaces, automatic doors and elevators to change level, require little exertion. However, has the fact that in order to keep our bodies healthy into older age, a level of physical exertion in our day to day lives is required, been overlooked? Can activity be designed back into environments without undoing the benefits of accessibility and causing harm to others? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]