Learning Packet from the webinar on 3/16/2022

Japan is 20 to 30 years ahead of the U.S. in terms of demographic change, knowledge, and experiences in addressing an aging society. This webinar will host one of the world-leading gerontologists, professor Hiroko Akiyama, from the University of Tokyo. As more people live to 100 years or more, it is critical to redesign communities which can support people across the life course and improve their quality of life and well-being. Professor Akiyama will present a case study about the Toyoshikidai longevity society in Kashiwa-city, Chiba prefecture in Japan. Their vision is to 1) create a city where you feel safe, grow old, and receive care in the comfort of one's home, and 2) foster vibrant communities where you can stay healthy and continue working. Following professor Akiyama’s presentation, Dr. Margaret Neal and Alan DeLaTorre from Portland will join her to explore ways that Portland can continue to learn from and implement policies and programs from Japan that embrace population aging.

Main Speaker

Professor Hiroko Akiyama, Ph.D.​

Professor Akiyama, a gerontologist, is a professor emerita at the University of Tokyo and the former vice president of the Science Council of Japan. Professor Akiyama has conducted a number of cross-national surveys and is widely recognized as an expert on issues of global aging. She is known for her long-running research on the elderly in Japan—tracking the aging patterns of approximately 6,000 Japanese elderly over 30 years.  She also initiated social experiment projects that pioneered re-design communities to meet the needs of the highly aged society, and more recently Kamakura Living Lab, a platform for open innovation by co-creation among users, industry, government, and academia. She started the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Tokyo in 2006.  Professor Akiyama received Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Illinois.

Panelists

Alan DeLaTorre, Ph.D.
Age-friendly City program manager, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

Dr. Alan  DeLaTorre has been involved in making Portland livable for people of all ages and abilities since he moved to the region in 2002. He completed his doctorate at Portland State University in Urban Studies and is a self-described “urban gerontologist”. Dr. DeLaTorre has been involved in the local age-friendly efforts since 2006 and spent 10 years as faculty in PSU’s Institute on Aging where he taught and conducted research pertaining to age-friendly housing and environments. In December 2019, Alan joined the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to manage Portland’s Age-Friendly City program.

The Age-friendly City program aims to make Portland a great place to grow up and grow old, through collaborations with local government, community-based organizations, and with the community. In 2022, a new Age- and Ability-friendly Neighborhood Centers program will be launched with the goal of creating an action plan for making Portland’s neighborhoods and urban centers good places to grow up and grow old. 

Professor Margaret B. Neal, Ph.D.
Professor and director emerita from Portland State University’s Institute on Aging

Dr. Margaret B. Neal is a professor and director emerita from Portland State University’s Institute on Aging. Dr. Neal is the founder of the age-friendly Portland initiative, serves as Portland’s point of contact for the U.S. and global age-friendly networks, and is an expert in age-friendly program development and family caregiving; she also leads Portland’s Age-Friendly Employment and Economic Development Committee. Dr. Neal co-organized a keynote session at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics in 2017, titled Where We Grow Old: Environmental Perspectives, where she presented alongside Dr. Akiyama.

This event is organized by the Center for Public Service's First Stop Portland program team in collaboration with the Consular office of Japan and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.