Abstrac:
This presentation explores the intersection of age-friendly cities, that aim to make urban life more inclusive, equitable, and accessible, with smart cities, that improve efficiency and sustainability in urban services and the quality of urban life. The global population is shifting from being young to being increasingly older and the late developing countries of Southeast Asia will get old before they become wealthy. A range of social issues of ageing and inequality across Southeast Asian countries are explored utilising secondary data across several indicators. The nations of Southeast Asia are highly diverse on a range of dimensions of ageing and significant inequalities are apparent both within and between them. The presentation provides a brief socioeconomic overview of Southeast Asia and its changing demography before discussing its ageing society and challenges for good health and wellbeing, stable income, civic participation, and digital engagement. It is concluded that the ageing of the ASEAN nations represents a major challenge in the decades ahead and that each member, from the wealthy to the relatively poor, will be deeply affected, although in different ways. The theoretical contribution applies relational autonomy and chronobiopolitics to explain a refusal of the socially constructed normative scripts of the life course that restrict agency in later life. The practical contribution makes recommendations for policymakers at national and regional levels and for universities to develop a progressive policy and research agenda involving partnered projects, participatory methods, and co-designed solutions for age-friendly smart cities in Southeast Asia and the case of Ho Chi Minh City.
Author
Catherine Earl, PhD, is associate professor in the School of Communication and Design, RMIT Vietnam. Catherine is a social anthropologist, policy analyst and community educator. She is a highly experienced qualitative researcher and she has conducted ethnographic fieldwork and sensory studies in and around Ho Chi Minh City since 2000. Her research focuses on the rise of Vietnam’s middle classes, mobilities, urbanization and public space, changing nature of work and welfare, ageing, gender equity and inclusion in contemporary Vietnam and Australia. She leads action research projects on sustainability and social transformation in Ho Chi Minh City and fostering creativity and higher education in the ASEAN region. Recent publications include Vietnam’s Creativity Agenda (Springer, 2025) and Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life (Edward Elgar, 2024).
https://academics.rmit.edu.au/catherine-earl
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7979-5453
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