00:04This four-decade-old type of apartment may look a bit worn at first glance,
00:09but look closer, it has an external elevator stuck to its side.
00:13It's slowly becoming a familiar sight in the country's capital,
00:17with many streets covered by row after row of low-rise apartment buildings without elevators.
00:2768-year-old Jessica Chen and her husband live on the third floor.
00:32Five years since the elevator was installed,
00:34they say it has become an integral part of their lives, and they took good care of it.
00:40It's not just for convenience, but for their health too.
01:10Standing for long hours in her decades of working at a hospital has given her chronic pain,
01:15and the prolonged battle against it led to depression.
01:19Even a simple chore like carrying groceries could render her immobile for days.
01:24Chen says she's lucky to have her husband's help, but what happens when both of them are older?
01:30Like our other house, it's very hard.
01:33The whole house has a lot of old people in the floor.
01:36The old people in the floor are almost unable to come.
01:39And I also hope they have the opportunity to close the stairs or the door is the best.
01:45But not everyone is able to benefit from installing an elevator at home.
01:52Architect Ray Wang, who designed the elevator at Chen's building and checks up on it once in a while,
01:58says these projects can cost residents somewhere between $150,000 and $300,000.
02:04Besides money, limited space and disputes between residents are often the biggest obstacles.
02:12Showing us another of her projects, Wang says it took the residents here 18 years to finalize a deal,
02:19including a five-year lawsuit with the first four neighbors.
02:47Taipei Mayor Jiang Wanan has announced a plan for clearing shared spaces in apartment buildings.
02:52For residents seeking an elevator.
02:55It's a policy that's becoming more important than ever.
02:58As these walk-up apartments and their residents both grow old.
03:03Taiwan早期, 30 years ago, is when the economy started to fly.
03:06Especially in Taipei City or New York City,
03:08there were a lot of 4-5-層 buildings that were created.
03:13The result of the city-based community,
03:14is that people are集ed,
03:15but the law doesn't have to be strong enough to build a car.
03:28In Taipei alone, 73% of residential buildings were built at least 30 years ago,
03:34and 71% of people in the city live without elevators.
03:39While official data shows that over half a million elderly people in the country live in walk-up apartments,
03:45it's unclear how many of them live in Taipei and how old their apartments are.
03:50Our average of 6-year-old city is probably the highest city of 6-year-old city.
03:54And with the age of age, the age of age, the age of age, and the age of age,
03:58we need to improve the quality of the city to keep living in the city.
04:01The quality of the quality of the city is also one of the new cities.
04:07Since the early 2000s,
04:09the Taipei City government has rolled out urban renewal subsidies for exterior repairs and elevator construction.
04:15Over the years, the application process has been streamlined.
04:35Now, the central government is introducing a one-year subsidy to help tackle the double-aging phenomenon,
04:42where old apartments trap elderly residents.
04:45It also checks whether the building needs a complete retrofit or just simple touch-ups before projects can start.
04:52Because usually, one-year-old city has to achieve more than one-year-old city in the city,
04:58everyone has a plan, a plan, a plan, a plan, a plan, a plan, a plan, and a plan.
05:04It will be over the last few years.
05:05However, living in the city in the city, it may have a need for the parking lot.
05:09We can, through this short-term plan,
05:12it can be done in a very fast-paced time, two years, it will be completed.
05:15This time can allow us to talk about the city in the city,
05:22For people like Chen, it's a huge investment, but with lasting returns.
05:27Not only will their property values go up,
05:30elderly residents get to keep their type of apartments
05:33that they worked all their lives for.
05:52As Taiwan ages, more and more people are acting on plans
05:56to make their retirement easier.
05:58So far, officials have received fewer than 200 applications for elevators,
06:02but say there's been a surge in recent years
06:04as more people get to learn about the subsidies.
06:06As word gets around, Taipei residents can see
06:09more and more of these retrofitted elevators going up.
06:12Luffy Lee in our ring-lin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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