Marie Curie Fellowship for research to help city’s elderly

03 Jul 2013

Dr Tine Buffel has been awarded an EU-funded Marie Cure Fellowship for a new research project aimed at improving the age-friendliness of Manchester.

Working with the Manchester Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Research on Ageing (MICRA) Co-Director Professor Chris Phillipson, Tine’s two-year research project will explore older people’s experiences of social exclusion and inclusion in their neighbourhoods, building on her previous work at the Free University of Brussels.

Starting on 1 October 2013, the project is built around the participation and involvement of older people, working in a number of neighbourhoods within the city and involving members of Manchester City Council’s Valuing Older People (VOP) team and network. 

An important feature of the work is the active involvement of older people as research participants, but also as experts and actors in all stages of the project. Specific outcomes are to improve understanding of the opportunities for older people for engagement and the desire to be engaged, and to inform age-friendly policies and practices.

Tine joins fellow new recruit Dr Sophie Handler, Research and Planning Officer at Manchester City Council’s Valuing Older People team, a joint appointment with the University from 1 May 2013. Also supervised by Chris Phillipson, Sophie has a PhD in architecture and supports the UK Urban Ageing Consortium and leads on the research and evaluation framework for age-friendly cities. 

Tine and Sophie’s appointments support a growing body of work led by Chris Phillipson around the relationship between population ageing and urbanisation, exploring questions about the impact of cities on older people.