Feb. 5 – “This result shows once again that even a university like ours is able to conduct credible and valuable applied research projects. This is why the University of Macerata is for us a natural evolution of the Humanities,” commented the Dean of the University of Macerata Luigi Lacchè upon reaching a new prestigious milestone: the European Commission has formally launched the project “Grage – Grey and green in Europe: elderly living in urban areas,” led by the University of Macerata. The EC’s contribution, granted within its research funding program Horizon 2020, totals €828.000, of which €198.000 were assigned directly to the University of Macerata. The highly interdisciplinary project lasts four years, focusing on two of the major challenges that Europe has to face: the aging of its population and environmental sustainability. “The project – continued the Dean – is coordinated by Professor Francesca Spigarelli, and represents a challenging opportunity in terms of research and the University’s and its researchers’ growing international profile. It may even lead to considerable business opportunities. Many companies can use the research and results to implement viable solutions.” The strength of the project is in its multidisciplinarity: economists, lawyers, geographers, ICT experts, sociologists, psychologists, engineers are working together to analyze possible solutions for an aging society in urban areas. The main focus of the research ranges from the study of current policies adopted in different States to engineering, legal, and economic behavior analysis of several innovative aspects related to the active aging, including green urbanization, food sustainability, and the behavioral analysis of the elderly in urban spaces. (Gil)
