In Italy, most people over the age of 65 live in medium-sized cities that unless hospitalized due to issues of non-self-sufficiency, continue to age at home (Aging in Place). Housing conditions therefore significantly influence individuals’ daily lives even with the advancing of age, shaping health trajectories for longevity.

The CASA project, “Aging in Medium-Sized Cities: How Housing Conditions and Urban Spaces Can Reduce or Increase Opportunities for Healthy Longevity”—coordinated by the CHL (Centre for Healthy Longevity) at UniBG and funded under the cascading call of Spoke 1 of AGE-IT - Ageing Well in an Ageing Society, extended partnership PE00000015 - CUP B83C22004800006 PNRR—aims to analyze the conditions of housing and urban spaces, including social opportunities and the availability of services, with a focus on the small geographical areas and their neighborhoods that characterize medium-sized cities. The study will be conducted in the city of Bergamo, which is representative of medium-sized Italian cities, besides having a notable percentage of residents over 65 (approximately 30%).

During the AGE-IT Spoke 1 Conference—dedicated to the demography of aging and led by the University of Florence—held in Rome on October 3-4, professor Francesca Morganti, scientific lead of the CHL, presented the objectives of the CASA project. The initiative involves three departments of the university: the Department of Human and Social Sciences, the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Department of Economics.

The 13-month project, which started on October 1, aims to enhance understanding of the different dimensions of housing and urban vulnerability in medium-sized Italian cities and to analyze the relationship between the main characteristics of these cities and the aging trajectories of their older adults’ citizens or those approaching an old age. The research will take the city of Bergamo as a case study, as it represents a well-defined spatial, social, and institutional reality and serves as an example of a “medium-sized city” for developing an analytical-interpretive model that can be applied to other urban contexts.

The funding provides a unique opportunity for UniBG to join a nationally significant network for longevity studies and reaffirms the university’s commitment to aging-related research. This commitment has already been demonstrated through its membership in the Cities of Longevity network, promoted by the international center NICA (National Innovation Centre Ageing) in Newcastle, and through the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the launch of CHL by numerous stakeholders from the Lombardy and Bergamo region: Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Province of Bergamo, FERB, ATS Bergamo, Confindustria Bergamo, and the Municipality of Bergamo.