Between 2015 and 2020 we participated in a joint research project to explore technological interventions fostering participation of older adults in urban spaces. UrbanLife+ involved multi-year qualitative and quantitative empirical work on obstacles faced by people aged 65 and up living in cities. This brief retrospective does not recap the previously published results of the project, but summarizes methodological and organizational insights as well as pragmatic experiences gathered during its runtime that have not yet been discussed publicly. We focus on aspects relevant for future urban technology projects aiming for accessibility and inclusivity. These include issues navigating interdisciplinary design teams, conducting questionnaire studies with older adults, maintaining participatory design principles with geographically distributed teams, and conducting empirical evaluations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
«Between 2015 and 2020 we participated in a joint research project to explore technological interventions fostering participation of older adults in urban spaces. UrbanLife+ involved multi-year qualitative and quantitative empirical work on obstacles faced by people aged 65 and up living in cities. This brief retrospective does not recap the previously published results of the project, but summarizes methodological and organizational insights as well as pragmatic experiences gathered during its r...
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