Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Malaysia is one of the developing countries which is currently experiencing a slow progressive trend of aging and will become an ageing nation by the year 2040 based on current forecasts. A major shift in various parts of development are needed to encounter the future issues of an ageing nation. Malaysia is currently experiencing major issues concerning good healthcare facilities among its population. Future policies and directions to guide Malaysia into an age-friendly built environment are much needed from higher authorities and policymakers. At current, Malaysia’s policy on aging only deals with providing better accessible healthcare and facilities for society, overlooking other major aspects that can partly facilitate and guide an aging nation in the future. The built environment aspects, such as the neighbourhood that we live in, play a vital role in maintaining a healthy and active society. Past research has proven that walkable neighbourhoods which have good accessibility lead to a healthy lifestyle, by which this area of knowledge has been understudied in Malaysia. Hence, this paper makes a case study on a fast-developing city in Malaysia, Johor Bahru. The case study covers the basic needs and barriers of the current environment among the elderly population and proposes an age-friendly neighbourhood design which can further initiate the policy-making process for Johor Bahru and tackle policy making at the national level for Malaysia in the future.