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Proceedings 2020, 65, 12; doi:10.3390/proceedings2020065012 www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings
Proceedings
Sustainable Housing Supporting Health and
Well-Being †
Régis Decorme 1, Silvia Urra 2, Olatz Nicolas 2, Carina Dantas 3, Annelore Hermann 4,
Gustavo Hernández Peñaloza 4, Federico Álvarez García 4, Aline Ollevier 5,
M. Charalampos Vassiliou 6 and Willeke van Staalduinen 7,*
1 R2M Solution SAS, Les Galeries de Beaumon, 06330 Roquefort-les-Pins, France;
regis.decorme@r2msolution.com
2 TECNALIA Research & Innovation, E-48160 Derio, Spain; silvia.urra@tecnalia.com (S.U.);
olatz.nicolas@tecnalia.com (O.N.)
3 Caritas Diocesana De Coimbra|SHAFE, Rua D. Francisco D’Almeida, 14-3030-163 Coimbra, Portugal;
carinadantas@caritascoimbra.pt
4 Grupo de Aplicación de Telecomunicaciones Visuales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid,
Avenida Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain; ath@gatv.ssr.upm.es (A.H.); ghp@gatv.ssr.upm.es (G.H.P.);
fag@gtav.ssr.upm.es (F.Á.G.)
5 Campus Bruges, VIVES University of Applied Sciences, Xaverianenstraat 10, 8200 Bruges, Belgium;
aline.ollevier@vives.be
6 BYTE COMPUTER S.A., 98 Kallirrois & Trivoli Str., GR 117 41 Athens, Greece; cvassiliou@byte.gr
7 AFEdemy, Academy on Age-Friendly Environments in Europe BV, Buurtje 2,
2802 BE Gouda, The Netherlands
* Correspondence: willeke@afedemy.eu; Tel.: +33-6-81-47-55-40
† Presented at the Sustainable Places 2020, Online, 28–30 October 2020.
Published: 31 December 2020
Abstract: Despite its proven potential for systemic change, large-scale investment (both public and
private) in sustainable homes still faces barriers, often caused by insecurity about personal, societal
and financial returns on investment and a lack of clarity about concrete elements of sustainable age-
friendly living environments and the choice of building, retrofitting and adaptation measures to be
implemented. The projects that contributed to this workshop are developing solutions to tackle
these barriers and propose a holistic and integrated approach to progress on implementation.
Keywords: housing; ageing; health; well-being; smart building; certification
1. Introduction
The building stock in Europe today is still not fit to support a shift from institutional care to the
home-based independent living model for the ageing population. There is a recognised need to
facilitate the development of community-based services and to stimulate the emergence of age-
friendly home conversions. These homes should enable independent living and remote health
monitoring to the growing ageing population. In addition to physical/spatial alterations, making
homes age-friendly should include upgrading existing ICT infrastructure to support digital services
for independent living and connected and integrated care including telehealth and telecare, as well
as solutions supporting health status and healthy lifestyle, while enhancing energy efficiency and
eco-sustainability.
This workshop (recording available—see Video S1) brought together a selection of EU-
supported initiatives that are developing innovative solutions for supporting the development of
investment in sustainable housing and environments that support the health and well-being of its
Proceedings 2020, 65, 12 2 of 6
occupants. Projects presented their research and discussed and benchmarked potential challenges
that they face together.
Despite its proven potential for systemic change, large-scale investment (both public and private)
in sustainable homes still faces barriers, often caused by insecurity about personal, societal and financial
returns on investment and a lack of clarity about concrete elements of sustainable age-friendly living
environments and the choice of building, retrofitting and adaptation measures to be implemented. The
projects that contributed to this workshop are developing solutions to tackle these barriers.
2. Homes4Life
Our homes should be places that support our independence and autonomy, allow us to remain
active and healthy and promote our social inclusion and engagement within our communities whilst
respecting our lifestyle choices and evolving needs as the years go by. Age-friendly housing is
therefore relevant for all citizens and has a tremendous potential to impact on our health and
wellbeing, our social interactions and our capacity to participate in community life [1].
The Homes4Life [2] project aims to provide European citizens with better choices for
independent living at home and in the community, supported by the full range of digital
opportunities, and leverage investments to update Europe’s built environment so that it is ready to
meet the challenges of home-based independent living models.
Homes4Life addresses the existing barriers to boost investments in a smarter age-friendly
building stock by developing and implementing a certification scheme in close collaboration with
end-users and relevant European R&I initiatives. This scheme is ready for wide-spread adoption by
a dedicated community of lead users and will provide guidance for public and private investors. One
of its goals is to clarify what the dimensions of smarter age-friendly environments are, not just those
related to the physical domains, like accessibility or outdoor access, but also the ones that have to do
with the personal, social and economic domains of our homes. The Homes4Life consortium adopts a
common vision that does stigmatising older age when it is discussed how housing should look like
in the future.
3. TeNDER
AffecTive basEd iNtegrateD carE for betteR Quality of Life (TeNDER [3]) is a European research
project developing an integrated care model to improve the quality of life of persons suffering from
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and cardiovascular diseases.
The focus is here not only on the patients but also on those who surround them.
TeNDER will conduct five large-scale pilots in different real-life scenarios (such as hospital,
home, day-care and rehabilitation centres). The used tools allow among other things, capturing
movement, innovative affective recognition, and the record of basic vitals. TeNDER combines
technologies that are easy to use and well-known to the citizens, such as smartphones, health bands,
motion sensors, cameras, microphones and other similar devices.
This project’s approach to integrated care seeks to: (1) help extend patients’ independence safely
and ease the burden of care and (2) facilitate communication across patients’ care provision systems.
The project complies with rigorous ethical guidelines to ensure complete data protection and safety.
TeNDER aims to include all participants (patients, families, caregivers and professionals) in all
stages of development of this new ICT-supported integrated care solution and therefore to maximize
the potential of digital devices. To involve participants from all levels of care builds trust among them
and empowers the users. TeNDER’s vision is, after all and above all, person-centred.
4. SHAFE
A new concept was created in 2017 based on the desire to implement Smart Healthy Age-
Friendly Environments (SHAFE) across Europe, fostering happier and healthier people in all
communities. This idea took shape and became a solid movement. This is how SHAFE was born and
further launched in 2018, as a Thematic Network, approved by the European Commission, with the
Proceedings 2020, 65, 12 3 of 6
ambition to draw policymakers’, organisations’ and citizens’ attention to the need for better
alignment between health, social care, built environments and ICT, both in policy and funding. The
conclusions of this extensive work, gathering over 160 organisations as partners, was delivered to the
European Commission and Member States in a Joint Statement and a Framing Paper in December 2018.
After this, SHAFE evolved a European Stakeholders Network, which is currently working to
achieve better ‘Cooperation’ and ‘Implementation’, as the major challenges for the next period. This
is the main aim of the Position Paper [4] released in October 2020, presenting recommendations that
aim to promote healthier environments for all citizens and to make environments accessible,
sustainable and reachable for all, with the support of ICT.
The pandemic has uncovered the major opportunities and benefits of turning digital. However,
single digital solutions are not the panacea to all the societal challenges.
Citizens across different age groups also need personal human contact: they need to meet, to
talk to each other, to hug and to love. Digitalization cannot replace this human need but can be a
powerful vehicle to support people. The scenario during 2020 is an opportunity for the digital
revolution to be well-thought-out and implemented if all the adequate challenges are considered and
tackled well.
The Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments Network will thus focus on the narrative,
debate, disclosure and knowledge translation of smart digital solutions and of solutions to optimize
the physical and social environments of individuals in a concerted manner, bringing together also
the domains of health and social care. The position paper will also provide indicators to measure
progress and success on the realization of SHAFE.
5. Hands-on-SHAFE
The Erasmus+ Hands-on SHAFE [5] project (2019-2022) aims to deliver training packages for
informal learning experiences and hands-on tools to improve the skills of people of all ages and
especially seeks to enable people with lower skills or qualifications to choose and implement smart,
healthy, age-friendly environments in their own homes or neighbourhoods. In this way, the project
fosters and promotes social inclusion for people of all ages and genders, including people with
cognitive or physical impairments or disabilities. It also aims to enable people to become innovators
and trailblazers in their own neighbourhoods or to become entrepreneurs in the field of smart,
healthy, age-friendly environments services and products. The (online) training packages will focus
on SMART solutions at home or on the way, HEALTHY living, lifestyle, therapies and dealing with
diseases or impairments and BUILT indoor and outdoor new and existing environments. For people
who want to start their own business in the field of SHAFE a BUSINESS module will become available.
6. NET4AGE-FRIENDLY
The main aim of NET4AGE-FRIENDLY (International Interdisciplinary Network on Health and
Wellbeing in an Age-friendly Digital World) is to develop an international ecosystem based in an
interdisciplinary network of researchers and stakeholders from all sectors that enables the practice
and deployment of Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE). This COST Action is
formed by different members of working groups in age-friendly environments to foster awareness
and to support the creation and implementation of smart, healthy indoor and outdoor environments
for present and future generations.
The NET4AGE-FRIENDLY themes will be focusing on:
• User-centred and inclusive design in age-friendly environments and communities (WG1)
• Integrated health and wellbeing pathways (WG2)
• Digital solutions and large-scale sustainable implementation (WG3)
• SHAFE impact and sustainability (WG4)
• Reference framework (WG5).
The main approach of NET4AGE-FRIENDLY is the establishment of new local or regional
ecosystems or the expansion of existing ones in each involved European country to work on health
Proceedings 2020, 65, 12 4 of 6
and wellbeing in an age-friendly digital world through the exchange of practices, networking and
the creation of open access inclusive and innovative contents and dissemination activities.
7. AGE’IN
The AGE’IN [6] project aims to keep the ageing population independent in their own homes for
longer by combining home adaptation and local ecosystem for ageing, improving their quality of life,
the quality of their environment (services, public space, etc.) and promoting actions to develop social
bonding. The focus is on technological tools, with their accessible possibilities to integrate at home,
the non-stigmatizing use of this technology and awareness in this target group.
To achieve this, we got an insight into how age-friendly today’s houses are. We screened 110
houses in West Flanders, Belgium, and are still screening them in the Netherlands with the Housing
Enabler assessment. In order to gain full insight into the barriers and opportunities that the residents of
these houses identify for ageing, we organized focus groups where remarkable aspects came to light.
In addition, we conducted a systematic review to identify which technology was proven to be
effective in promoting independent living at home with conclusive evidence. Together with the
results of our systematic review, we explored the market and identified an impressive list of easily
accessible technologies to support the ageing population. These technologies are currently being
tested within our team of professionals, students and soon the ageing population itself. A set of
videos of technologies supporting ageing in place will help us to inform, motivate and support the
ageing population.
Meanwhile, we are developing a highly innovative cooking platform to increase the ability to
prepare a meal of one’s choice at home for as long as possible. Light guide and audio instructions
will assist in preparing a healthy meal.
8. PHArA-ON
In Europe’s rapidly ageing society, there is a growing need for tools that will improve the quality
of life, independence and overall health of older adults. Advanced ICT solutions that combine
technologies from multiple disciplines can address this problem, but the market is fragmented and
many solutions have limited scope.
The overall objective of the Pharaon [7] project—Pilots for Active and Healthy Ageing—is to
provide support for Europe’s ageing population by integrating digital services, devices and tools into
open platforms that can be readily deployed while maintaining the dignity of older adults and
enhancing their independence, safety, and capabilities. The project will utilise a range of digital tools,
including connected (IoT) devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud and edge computing, smart
wearables, big data and intelligent analytics that will be integrated to provide personalised and
optimised health care delivery.
Pharaon’s integrated platforms will be validated in two stages: pre-validation and large-scale
pilots (LSPs), in six different pilot sites: Murcia and Andalusia (Spain), Portugal, The Netherlands,
Slovenia and Italy. A set of development tools will be created and made publicly available to simplify
the customisation and integration. Pharaon will ensure user-friendly human–computer interaction,
addressing various capacity limitations and providing rapid access to useable information through a
user-centric approach.
9. SmartWork
The design and realization of age-friendly living and working environments is a huge challenge
that we hav e just only starte d to add ress as the number of older citizens who are and wa nt to continue
being active members of society and live independently is constantly increasing.
The SmartWork [8] project builds a Worker-Centric AI System for work ability sustainability,
which integrates unobtrusive sensing and modelling of the worker state with a suite of novel services
for context- and worker-aware adaptive work support. The unobtrusive and pervasive monitoring
of health, behaviour, cognitive and emotional status of the worker enables the functional and
Proceedings 2020, 65, 12 5 of 6
cognitive decline risk assessment. The holistic approach for work ability modelling captures the
attitudes and abilities of the ageing worker and enables decision support for personalized
interventions for maintenance/improvement of the work ability. The adaptive work environment
supports the older worker with optimized services for on-the-fly work flexibility coordination,
seamless transfer of the work environment between different devices and different environments,
and on-demand personalized training. The SmartWork services and modules for on-the-fly work
flexibility also empower the employer with AI decision-support tools for efficient task completion
and work team optimization through flexible work practices. Optimization of team formation, driven
by the semantic modelling of the work tasks, along with training needs prioritization at team level to
identify unmet needs, allows employers to optimize tasks, shifting focus to increased job satisfaction
for increased productivity. Formal/informal carers are enabled to continuously monitor the overall
health status, behavioural attitudes and risks for the people they care for and adapt interventions to
the evolving workers status, thus providing full support to the older office workers for sustainable,
active and healthy ageing.
10. Key Findings and Conclusions
The projects that contributed to this workshop cover all the dimensions to be taken into
consideration when talking about sustainable living environments. They address the challenge from
different perspectives, focusing on the health perspective in TENDER, homes for all life course in
Homes4Life, digitalisation for independent living in Pharaon and working environments as we grow
older in SmartWork, and provide guidelines for the development of friendly environments and
identifying business models in Hands-on-SHAFE and policy development in AGE’IN, NET4AGE
and SHAFE.
All projects bring a holistic perspective to the issue, even if they focus on one of the dimensions,
as it is a cross-cutting issue that requires the involvement of all actors and all perspectives. Although
this holistic vision is necessary when addressing the issue of age-friendly living environments, there
is still a fragmented approach from public policies and research-support programmes.
The situation that we are currently experiencing with the COVID pandemic has made it even
more evident that the environments in which we live have a tremendous impact on our health and
well-being and that beyond being places where we sleep, work or walk, they are also places where
we develop our life projects in all their domains. These are difficult times, but they also present an
opportunity to rethink the approach taken by policies and by extension to all other areas.
Our aim is to be a sustainable society, and social sustainability occurs when the formal and
informal processes, systems, structures and relationships actively support the capacity of current and
future generations to create healthy and livable communities [9].
Supplementary Materials: The recording of the workshop is available online at https://www.sustainableplaces.eu/
home/sp20-workshops-events/sustainable-housing-supporting-health-and-well-being-2-2/; Video S1:
Sustainable Housing Supporting Health and Well-Being workshop at SP20 recording.
Author Contributions: Introduction: S.U.; presentation of AGE’IN: A.O.; presentation of TeNDER: A.H., G.H.P
and F.Á.G.; presentation of SmartWork: M.C.V.; presentation of Pharaon: M.F.C.; presentation of Homes4Life:
S.U. and O.N.; presentation of SHAFE, Hands-in-SHAFE, NET4AGE-FRIENDLY: C.D. and W.v.S.; conclusions:
S.U.; assembly, structure, format and editing of the paper: R.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: The projects Homes4Life, TeNDER, SMARTWORK and PHArA-ON received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements numbers 826295,
875325, 826343, and 857188 respectively.
Acknowledgments: Authors of this paper acknowledge the funding provided by the Interreg 2 Seas Mers Zeeën
AGE’IN project (2S05-014) to support the work in the research described in this publication. They equally
acknowledge the funding provided by the Erasmus+ Programme, Key Action 204 Adult Education programme
to Hands-on-SHAFE (project No. 2019-1-NL01-KA204-060243) and the funding from the COST Programme
Proceedings 2020, 65, 12 6 of 6
(European Cooperation in Science and Technology) to the project NET4AGE-FRIENDLY-International
Interdisciplinary Network on Smart Healthy Age-friendly Environments (CA19136).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the
study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to
publish the results.
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