Dancers gather in Shenzhen, China's Futon Cheng square. Dancing in public spaces is a popular pastime in China, particularly among seniors, but it has sparked recent controversies and highlighted the country's challenge of designing socially inclusive cities. Photo by dcmaster/Flickr.

China's Guangchangwu – loosely translated as "square dancing" – gathers large groups of people for dancing in public squares, on street corners, and in parks. Although a popular pastime among retired and senior members of society, Guangchangwu is not typically embraced among younger generations. Although a recent series of confrontations over Guangchangwu likely indicates a cultural clash between older and younger generations, the most pressing issue it raises is the ever-prominent problem confronting urban planners in China: how to design socially inclusive cities that meet the diverse accessibility needs of different social groups, including seniors. And beyond that, how can Chinese urban planners promote social integration while mitigating possible negative externalities, like noise from Guangchangwu?

Guangchangwu sparks controversy in China

Guangchangwu embodies an active lifestyle and promotes social interaction and physical exercise, but its noisiness, dominance of public spaces, and connotation with the old-fashioned have recently stimulated great controversies and heated online discussions.

In suburban Beijing, a man went so far as firing gunshots and releasing Tibetan mastiffs to disperse a crowd of Guangchangwu dancers. In Taizhou, Shandong Province, Guangchangwu "dancing queens" stirred up disputes over parking spaces they illegally commandeered as their dance floor, outlined with duct tape. These disputes stem from urban planning practices that don't adequately address the needs of groups like seniors, who seek to build community by participating in Guangchangwu or other activities in public spaces.

China ushers in an era of aging

Although aging population structures are not common in the developing world, China has experienced a remarkable demographic shift throughout the past few decades, due in part to the country's "One-child Policy" and universal healthcare system. According to the 2010 Sixth National Census, individuals aged 65 and over constitute 9% of the entire population, a figure that's nearly doubled in 30 years. The population aged 60 and older now totals 190 million, which surpasses any other country in the world – and it's still growing by 3% each year. At this rate, it is estimated that one out of every five people will be in the elderly bracket by 2030.

Why urban planners need to pay attention to seniors

Seniors generally exhibit different lifestyles, preferences, and physical mobility than younger populations. A 2007 study revealed that older Chinese individuals are more likely to spend longer amounts of time during non-peak hours on recreational and discretionary activities than younger individuals. Furthermore, most outdoor activities that seniors engage in take place within a one-kilometer (0.62 miles) radius of their homes, which underscores the importance of improving urban and community design to ensure higher quality of life – seniors aren't willing or able to travel longer distances to tap into social networks.

Socially inclusive design requires fresh thinking for Chinese cities

China's rapidly aging society is putting the country's pensions, healthcare, and caregiving systems – as well as its urban planning – to the test. The invasion of Guangchangwu "dancing queens" to parking spaces, street corners, and other public spaces is merely one facet of how existing urban planning fails to address the needs of seniors. Another example is that many special care facilities for seniors are located on the periphery of cities, where essential public amenities like hospitals and mass transport are extremely lacking. Finally, in cities throughout the country senior-friendly resources like signage, outdoor chairs, and walkable spaces are often ignored, even when they're originally planned.

In order for China's cities to be truly accessible for all of their residents, urban planners should consider the following questions:

• At the citywide scale, what does the large senior population mean for the economy and society? What vision and policies can we employ to address the needs of a changing population?
• At the community level, how can we design communities that enable seniors to maintain independence and a high quality of life as they age? Is there sustainable funding available to implement plans to make communities more livable and socially inclusive?
• In regards to transport planning, how do we shift away from the over-emphasis on meeting commuters' needs to addressing the mobility needs of all members of society? How can we design complete streets that enable safe and efficient access for all users?

As the composition of Chinese cities change, seniors are just one vulnerable social group that is often overlooked by the country's top-down planning system. Rural-urban migrants, low-income individuals, individuals with disabilities, and other minority groups are often similarly excluded. With Chinese cities making progress towards sustainable development, it's time for urban planners to begin planning cities where all people feel valued, differences are respected, basic needs are met, and everyone can live in dignity.