The streets of Singapore are designed for folks—not simply vehicles—with loads of sidewalks and lined walkways. Communities are additionally designed in order that important providers like grocery shops and low outlets (sure, espresso is a part of the longevity food regimen right here!) are inside strolling distance of dwelling. This kind of 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 is not all that city. An abundance of nature reserves, public gardens, and parks implies that 90% of the inhabitants lives inside a 10-minute stroll of inexperienced house. Spending time surrounded by greenery is understood to fight loneliness3, dementia4, and heart problems5—three of the principle threats to elders world wide.
Even one in every of Singapore’s most important hospitals, Khoo Teck Puat, makes use of nature as a supply of therapeutic. When mindbodygreen spoke with one of many undertaking’s architects, Jerry Ong Chin-Po, again in 2019, he shared how biophilic (nature-inspired) design helps deinstitutionalize the house: aromatic native crops cowl the medicinal scent, chicken 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.
“After we first opened in 2010, it got here out within the papers that the hospital was a sizzling spot for college kids to review for exams,” Chin-Po defined. “It demonstrated that the surroundings we created was conducive not simply to sufferers and caregivers however the group at giant… You do not really feel like that you must go there solely when you’ve got an issue.”
This undertaking epitomizes Singapore’s method to longevity and preventive care: By creating alternatives for motion, social interplay, and brushes with nature, Singapore affords a blueprint for anti-aging metropolis design.
