City speeds lift projects to help elderly

The city government is speeding up its campaign to have lifts installed in residential complexes to assist the elderly, it said on Monday. 

It is to significantly reduce red tape and revise the rules governing agreements to such projects.

By June this year, a total of 708 buildings have been put on a list of such projects and 249 lifts have been installed with 136 in use at the moment, while 36 other buildings now have lifts after a total revamp of their interior structure, according to the government.

It said the matters in such projects which require approval from the government will be reduced to 15 from the current 46, and procedures will be able to be completed online.

In solving the problem that currently a high ratio of residents need to consent to such projects, government said it will introduce a revised principle which respects the opinion of residents while balancing needs through consultation.

By the end of last year, the number of residents above 60 years old living in Shanghai stood at 5 million, or 23 percent of city residents, with about 810,000 of them at least 80 years old.

The government said it is making various other efforts to adapt local residential complexes for an aging population.

It is seeking to require all new residential complexes to have facilities for senior residents, while in Changning District, it is sponsoring a property management firm to offer services to elderly residents in need.

The government said some districts, including Putuo, have accessibility facilities in all old residential complexes. In other districts, almost all residential buildings have accessible entrances.

Residential complexes are also getting “smarter” to make all residents, including the elderly, safer.

In Hongkou District, equipment such as infrared detectors, smart mattresses with censors and smoke detectors have been introduced to three subdistricts – Liangcheng, Guangzhong and Ouyang – to enable real-time responses to emergencies experienced by elderly people.

The government is also providing funds for companies developing technological solutions, services and Internet infrastructure for seniors, having invested over 11 million yuan (US$1.6 million) so far in recent years.