Zaragoza | Friendly city together with seniors

Zaragoza is the fifth most populous city in Spain. In 2019 an estimated 21.2% of the total population was 65 years-old and above. The percentage of older people has consistently been higher than the average in Spain. While the gap seems to be narrowing, it is expected that the share of older people among the total population in Zaragoza will continue to be larger than the average in Spain, at least until 2030.

The cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Gothenburg, Hengelo, Greater Manchester, Nantes, Oslo and Zaragoza belong to a group of cities that are either already facing relatively high percentages of older people in their populations, or expect such high percentages in the near future. During the last years, these cities have undertaken action to improve quality of life for older people. Still, they have a knowledge need related to the following questions:

  • How do older people experience the daily life in the cities?
  • What do older people view as benefits and constraints associated with urban living?
  • How are the eight stakeholder cities responding to population ageing?
  • Which policies have been the most effective in developing age-friendly cities and how have they been implemented and which are the success factors?

ESPON ACPA has responded to these needs and resulted in good practices and policy recommendations based on case study research in the eight stakeholder cities. These insights have been combined in the ACPA synthesis report, main report and policy handbook.

The present report focuses on Zaragoza and portrays the state of affairs in the city in terms of:

  • Demographic trends and developments related to population ageing within the city;
  • The strategy and policies that the urban authorities, professionals and other stakeholders in Zaragoza pursue to cope with population ageing;
  • A selection of inspiring examples of how the ageing policy has been implemented;
  • Challenges and opportunities from the perspective of older people, interest groups and policy makers;
  • Policy recommendations for Zaragoza based on the insights that have emerged from ACPA.

Further information

This Case Study is part of the ESPON Targeted Analysis ACPA.

This Case Study is available below in English and Spanish.

Contact our expert Piera Petruzzi

Documents

ESPON ACPA_city report_Zaragoza.pdf

ESPON ACPA city report Zaragoza_ES.pdf