An Intergenerational Investigation of Urban Preferences

The present study attempts to evaluate the urban designs of three cohorts, as well as to investigate the ability of these three age groups to design desirable urban settings for the other two cohorts. Children, young adults, and elderly adults (mean ages= 10, 33, and 69 respectively) designed the "ideal" town for theirs and the other two cohorts. Multidimensional scaling analyses allowed for cross generational comparisons of the composite age-specific maps. Elderly adults were better at taking the perspective of the other two groups in anticipating their urban needs, young adults were the poorest predictors, and children could anticipate the needs of elderly adults but not those of young adults. Implications for urban planning are made.