Developing a Resource-Constrained Age-Friendly City Framework: A Mixed-Methods Study of Urban Aging in Bangkok, Thailand

The rapid demographic transition in middle-income countries creates unprecedented challenges for age-friendly urban development, as cities experience compressed aging within severe resource constraints—a phenomenon termed “getting old before getting rich.” This study develops a preliminary Resource-Constrained Age-Friendly City (RC-AFC) framework through empirical analysis of Bangkok’s urban aging challenges, addressing the need for context-specific approaches in resource-constrained environments. Using convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research analyzed data from 1000 older adults and 195 multi-sectoral stakeholders to examine age-friendly service gaps and collaboration potential within Bangkok’s rapidly aging context. Importance-Performance Analysis revealed significant service disparities (average gap: 1.34) with Communication and Information (2.03), Housing (1.93), and Outdoor Spaces (1.78) identified as priority areas in Bangkok’s setting. The study proposes three initial RC-AFC principles based on Bangkok findings: Priority Hierarchy Adaptation suggesting systematic resource allocation approaches; Multi-Sectoral Resource Optimization indicating collaboration as structural necessity; and Leapfrog Innovation Potential demonstrating potential for constraint-driven solutions. This proof-of-concept study provides initial conceptual foundation specifically developed from Bangkok’s context, though systematic validation across different urban environments remains essential before any broader consideration. The research offers a Bangkok-derived starting point for understanding resource-constrained age-friendly development that requires substantial further testing and adaptation for application in other contexts.