Smart and Age-Friendly Communities in Poland. An Analysis of Institutional and Individual Conditions for a New Concept of Smart Development of Ageing Communities

Abstract

In the face of the dynamic ageing of local communities, smart cities and smart villages programs should seek to ensure meeting the needs of the elderly and promoting solutions tailored to their computer literacy, digital skills, and perception capabilities. In this context we propose to approach local smart and age-friendly communities initiatives in a way that would provide responses to two contemporary megatrends: digitalization and demographic transition. We assumed that the deployment of such initiatives in local planning and governance depends on at least two conditions: demand for smart everyday products and services represented by older adults and the perspective of the local decision-makers. The paper aims to examine whether the smart city/smart village idea focused on meeting the needs of the elderly and seeking to shape age-friendly local communities and the environment could be implemented in the municipalities in Poland. The analysis of the elderly Poles’ capabilities to absorb the ICT solutions demonstrated that the smart and age-friendly community approach may face implementation difficulties, especially in the oldest groups of the Polish rural population. Results of the quantitative study conducted in 1236 municipalities revealed that local authorities perceive local policy goals, such as pursuing smart and age-friendly development as low priority ones. A citizen-centered approach of village heads and mayors to the local policy is critical for integrating these two priorities of being smart and age-friendly.