Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD: how can we design spaces for an ageing society?

Many older people still live in homes they moved into when they were young. Over time, a high-sided bathtub, poor lighting or objects that are difficult to reach can make everyday activities increasingly challenging. Other important factors include stairs within buildings, access routes and the availability of local services. Accessibility is generally associated with removing physical barriers, but it is equally important to consider whether people can understand their surroundings, recognise their own building and find their way home.

How can we make a home suitable for an elderly person? Photo by Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation

How can we make a home suitable for older people?

Agnieszka Cieśla's work revolves around one central question: how can we design homes and their surroundings to help people maintain independence, safety and social connections as they grow older? She approaches this challenge as an architect and urban planner, combining research with design, education and cooperation with social organisations. The latest outcome of this work is the guide A Home That Supports You for Years to Come (Mieszkanie, które wspiera na lata), authored by Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD. It was developed for the Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation as part of the A Safe Home Is Every Senior's Right (Bezpieczny dom prawem seniora) campaign. The guide encourages readers to look at their homes in the context of their changing needs. It explains how changes in mobility, vision, hearing and memory affect everyday life, and then takes readers through the different rooms of a home. Practical checklists help identify potential difficulties and select appropriate improvements. The publication is intended for older people, their families and caregivers. It can also be a useful resource for social organisations, local government employees and professionals involved in architectural design and renovation. It helps initiate conversations about individual needs and establish priorities for improvements. The guide is available free of charge at bezpiecznydomseniora.pl.

How can we make a home suitable for an elderly person? Photo by Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation

"My aim is to ensure that knowledge about the built environment translates into greater freedom in everyday life. The guide is designed to help people identify difficulties and choose appropriate improvements, ranging from better lighting and clearing passageways to more extensive renovations. The stories of the people featured in the publication are particularly important. By recognising themselves or their loved ones in these stories, readers can more easily understand the benefits of the proposed solutions and become more comfortable with the idea of making changes," says Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD, from the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography at the Warsaw University of Technology.

Independence depends on the entire living environment

Our researcher highlights the important relationship between the home, the neighbourhood and urban planning.

"Bathroom conditions affect a person's ability to wash independently, the layout of a housing estate determines how easily residents can find their way home, and the location of buildings influences whether people can go shopping without a car. All these decisions have an impact on individual independence," explains Cieśla. "It is particularly important to emphasise cognitive accessibility – whether the surroundings are understandable and make it easier to find one's way. Spaces can either support orientation and provide opportunities to rest or overwhelm people with excessive sensory stimuli. The needs of people living with dementia should be taken into account when revitalising residential areas and public spaces."

How can we make a home suitable for an elderly person? Photo by Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation

We also need a wider choice of housing models. Senior cohousing could be one option for people who want to live independently while also being part of a community. Its development requires addressing organisational, financial and spatial challenges. Cohousing combines independent homes with additional shared spaces and genuine resident participation in decision-making. It allows people to retain their privacy and independence while building everyday neighbourhood relationships and benefiting from voluntary mutual support. It is a promising housing model for older people, although in Poland it has yet to be implemented on a wider scale. Cieśla is working to promote cohousing and senior cohousing in Poland through the COHO project, in cooperation with the Na Miejscu Foundation.

The COHO project's outcomes are intended to contribute to the establishment of Poland's first senior cohousing communities. Activities carried out jointly with the Na Miejscu Foundation aim to create housing opportunities that enable older people to maintain their independence and privacy while building neighbourhood relationships and participating in decisions concerning their shared living environment. The solutions developed through the project could be used by local authorities, housing cooperatives, Social Housing Associations (TBS), Social Housing Initiatives (SIM) and other investors interested in developing this type of housing.

From the perspective of an ageing society, preventing urban sprawl is equally important. Dispersed single-family housing estates, located far from services and making residents dependent on cars, can increasingly restrict independence as people grow older. When driving is no longer an option, even basic everyday activities may require assistance from others. This is why spatial development research should consider access to services, opportunities for walking and making better use of existing buildings.

Cieśla's academic work also includes neuro-urbanism and designing spaces for people living with dementia. According to the researcher, their needs remain particularly underrepresented in urban planning. Cieśla developed and implemented an educational project entitled Forgotten in the City: Urban Design for Dementia (Zapomniani w mieście. Projektowanie urbanistyczne dla demencji). Through this initiative, she aims to raise awareness of the importance of cognitive accessibility. The project has produced teaching materials and practical experience that help future urban planners understand cities from the perspective of people who experience difficulties with orientation and interpreting their surroundings. By analysing residential neighbourhoods, she seeks to identify ways of transforming existing spaces so that they better support their inhabitants.

How should space be designed an ageing society?

Research on dementia and neuro-urbanism is relevant to urban planners, architects, housing estate managers and local authorities responsible for public spaces. Students are another important target group, as the knowledge they acquire during their studies may influence their future professional decisions. Research into limiting the development of previously undeveloped land complements this perspective by addressing spatial planning at the municipal and regional levels.

"The greatest challenge is translating a general idea into a solution that works in a particular place. When preparing the guide, it was important to combine reliable knowledge with accessible language and respect for residents. Changes to someone's home affect their habits, privacy and sense of control. Planning them requires discussion, understanding individual needs and agreeing on the next steps. In cohousing, it is necessary to connect property availability and financing with community organisation, residents' rights and the maintenance of shared spaces. A well-designed building alone cannot guarantee the long-term success of such an initiative. It is also important to consider how the community will function when residents or the operator change,” explains Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD. "When designing for people living with dementia, particular attention must be paid to the user's perspective. A space that seems straightforward to a designer may be difficult to understand for someone with cognitive impairments. We must also consider the consequences of spatial transformations: redeveloping part of a housing estate may remove a familiar landmark or make an everyday route more difficult to navigate."

Spatial planning: how does it work in practice?

Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD, is professionally affiliated with the Division of Spatial Management and Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography at the Warsaw University of Technology. Issues related to ageing have been part of her academic work for many years.

"My interest in these topics stems from my research into demographic change and its consequences for cities. In my doctoral thesis at Bauhaus University Weimar, which I defended in 2013, I examined urban shrinkage in Eastern Germany and Poland. Population ageing is an important dimension of the transformations that urban policy and spatial planning must address," says our expert. "Today, my research interests also encompass new housing models, cognitive accessibility and the ways in which people perceive their surroundings. They are all connected by one question: how can the built environment help people maintain their independence in different circumstances throughout their lives?"

She is particularly interested in neuro-urbanism, which examines how urban environments affect our well-being and the way we perceive our surroundings. "This includes how we interpret spaces, respond to noise, light and other stimuli, where we feel safe and what helps us relax. This is an area I explore in both my research and teaching. Designing for people living with dementia is one of the important directions of this work," notes Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD. "I am also interested in housing policy and the mechanisms behind spatial planning decisions. I research ways of limiting the development of previously undeveloped land and opportunities for urban growth through better use of already developed areas. Urban sprawl has environmental, financial and social consequences, including for older people. That is why I connect these topics with questions about accessible housing, services and neighbourhood quality."

Her academic work involves spatial analyses and case studies, comparisons of Polish and international solutions, and research into how these solutions can be applied in practice. She draws on scientific literature, policy documents and field observations. Her findings are translated into recommendations for urban planners, local authorities and housing professionals, and are also incorporated into her teaching. Beyond her work at the University, an important part of her professional activity involves cooperation with the Na Miejscu Foundation on senior cohousing and with the Habitat for Humanity Foundation on projects focused on adapting homes to the needs of older people.

She also draws on knowledge gained through conversations with older people and her experience in co-creating Poland's first Model Senior Apartment, which operated in Warsaw between 2016 and 2020. The apartment provided an opportunity to demonstrate practical solutions and discuss their application. It was a real-life example of how architectural design and home furnishings can support safety, comfort and independence in later life. Being able to see and try out these solutions made it easier to discuss residents' needs and consider improvements that could be introduced in their own homes. These experiences have been complemented by Cieśla's involvement in demonstration renovations of older people's homes organised by Habitat for Humanity Poland.

How can we make a home suitable for an elderly person? Photo by Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation

As part of Forgotten in the City, she developed the concept and curriculum, coordinated cooperation with partners and oversaw the use of the LifeLens VR application. The application helps students understand how people living with dementia may perceive their surroundings and the difficulties they can experience when navigating spaces. This gives future urban planners greater sensitivity to their needs when designing residential areas and public spaces. Cieśla further developed these experiences through an international ATHENS course attended by 25 students from European universities. Technical support for Forgotten in the City was provided by Katarzyna Rędzińska, PhD, from the WUT Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography, who coordinates the Virtual Reality Laboratory. She provided VR equipment and supported the implementation of the LifeLens application. WUT students also participated in the project, combining their knowledge of spatial planning with a deeper understanding of the needs of people living with dementia.

How should space be designed an ageing society?

Addressing such complex issues requires combining different areas of expertise. This is why Cieśla works with a range of institutions and companies when implementing her projects. For example, she collaborated with Habitat for Humanity Poland on the guide, while the publication and demonstration renovations form part of activities supported by the Biedronka Foundation. Within the COHO project, she works with the Na Miejscu Foundation, whose team combines social and research expertise with practical experience in working with communities. The Forgotten in the City project, in turn, was implemented in cooperation with the AWF University of Physical Education in Warsaw and social partners, including the Bielany Senior Support Centre (Senior+). The implementation of LifeLens also required cooperation with an application provider based in Scotland. Our researcher is also involved in the international research group Land Take in Europe – In Pursuit of Net Zero, operating within the German Academy for Spatial Research and Planning (ARL), part of the Leibniz Association. The group compares approaches to limiting land take across European countries and examines how these approaches can be incorporated into spatial planning policies. Dr Cieśla also has experience working on international projects such as Hands-on SHAFE and BIGgame, as well as the COST Action NET4Age-Friendly.

How can we design spaces for an ageing society? Dr Cieśla addresses one of the most important social challenges

Future plans and upcoming projects

Dr Cieśla would like to further develop her research into cognitive accessibility and the application of neuro-urbanism in spatial planning. She is particularly interested in existing residential neighbourhoods: how to make them easier to navigate, preserve features that are important to residents' memories and reduce excessive sensory stimulation. She also aims to develop methods for studying spatial perception and incorporating them into the education of future urban planners. A second key research direction is the development of senior cohousing in Poland. Her goal is to help implement this housing model and establish communities where thoughtfully designed architecture supports genuine neighbourly relationships and lasting residential communities. She also plans to continue researching ways of limiting the development of previously undeveloped land. She is interested in how existing buildings and already urbanised areas can be used more effectively to improve access to housing and services while maintaining the quality of the surrounding environment, including green spaces, meeting places and convenient pedestrian connections.

"I am currently working on a research proposal for the POLNORIS call organised by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), in cooperation with the WUT Faculty of Civil Engineering and Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation. We want to investigate how apartments, buildings and residential estates featuring prefabricated construction can be adapted to meet residents' current and future needs. We are considering both older people who already live in these estates and the next generation who will inherit these apartments and want to renovate and adapt them to their own needs. We are also interested in how these residential areas will evolve over time and how residents, housing cooperatives and homeowners' associations can be supported in planning and managing these transformations," concludes Agnieszka Cieśla, PhD.