Smart Lifetime Neighbourhoods: Literature Review and Research Agenda

Municipalities in European Union are ageing fast. Consequently, the development and financing of smart social infrastructure to support the growing number of older adults with declining functional capacities to postpone their moving to nursing homes so that they live longer in the community is a major challenge for European municipalities. In this context, social innovations based on the digital transformation of health care and social care delivery systems can support older adults to live autonomously and independently in their own communities and postpone or even prevent entering nursing homes. The innovations will enable a more efficient combination of existing societal resources in the communities for the provision of health care and social needs of the ageing members of society who are dependent on the help of others due to illness or functional decline. On the supply side, new scientific (optimisation of supply networks), organisational (self-managed communities) and technological innovations such as robotics, domotics and CPS - based on the Internet of Things and cloud computing - offer new utilities and create new businesses for the supply of goods and services to older people while also providing new job opportunities for younger residents. The aim of this paper is to consider the development and financing of community smart social infrastructure with a focus on Slovenia.