The streets of Singapore are designed for folks—not simply vehicles—with loads of sidewalks and coated walkways. Communities are additionally designed in order that important companies like grocery shops and low retailers (sure, espresso is a part of the longevity eating regimen right here!) are inside strolling distance of residence. Any such condensed metropolis design has been proven to enhance the metabolic well being of its residents2.
One other distinctive factor of Singapore’s city design is that it isn’t all that city. An abundance of nature reserves, public gardens, and parks signifies that 90% of the inhabitants lives inside a 10-minute stroll of inexperienced house. Spending time surrounded by greenery is thought to fight loneliness3, dementia4, and heart problems5—three of the principle threats to elders all over the world.
Even one in every of Singapore’s principal hospitals, Khoo Teck Puat, makes use of nature as a supply of therapeutic. When mindbodygreen spoke with one of many mission’s architects, Jerry Ong Chin-Po, again in 2019, he shared how biophilic (nature-inspired) design helps de-institutionalize the house: aromatic native crops cowl the medicinal scent, hen sounds in a central courtyard masks the whir of machines, and a rooftop backyard offers sufferers with contemporary, wholesome meals. These options have made the hospital a spot for group members to assemble, and as much as 15% of holiday makers who come to the hospital achieve this for social and leisure causes, in keeping with one survey.
“Once we first opened in 2010, it got here out within the papers that the hospital was a scorching spot for college students to review for exams,” Chin-Po defined. “It demonstrated that the setting we created was conducive not simply to sufferers and caregivers however the group at giant… You do not really feel like it’s essential go there solely when you’ve got an issue.”
This mission epitomizes Singapore’s strategy to longevity and preventative care: By creating alternatives for motion, social interplay, and brushes with nature, Singapore gives a blueprint for anti-aging metropolis design.
