Improved quality in technological and medical services have resulted inan increase in the number of elderly people within the average population.Concordantly , the demands and desires of the elderly population havegained significance. Standards that consider elderly people s needs in theirliving environments have become one of the primary topics of discussion. Today, behind the global-scale transformation of the concept of oldage and perception towards elderly people lies modernism (includingindustrialization), economic growth and rapid urbanisation. Consequently,the shift in values of judgement, social norms and behavioural modelsare pushing the elderly to a life of solitude within urban environments.Therefore, it is very important to ensure that the urban elderly individualliving alone, particularly in metropolitan cities due to the rapidlyincreasing global elderly population and changing lifestyles, can participatein urban life.Changing physical and social needs of elderly people in cities have forcedreconsideration of urban design and organization of cities from a strategicplanning approach. Consequently, to achieve sustainability of suchreorganizations, issues such as accurate and effective design of public openspaces and accessibility are very important. Based on the fact that, the life-sustaining conditions permitting, everyonewill eventually become elderly, this study focuses on the effect urbanoutdoor design standards have on urban elderly populations participationin urban space in two cities with different spatial standards: Istanbuland Vienna. Locations with similar features were chosen in both citiesto analyse demographic variation, physical adequacy and means oftransportation / accessibility. 60 elderly people living in the locality werechosen to conduct interviews aiming at comparing the physiologicalcondition, reason and frequency for going outside, difficulties encountered outdoors and the extent of satisfaction regarding home / outdooraccessibility. Based on spatial analysis and questionnaire survey the studycompares outdoor standards and user satisfaction of both cities to infer onboth ageing and design. Taking a closer look at current legislation concerning accessibility of publicopen space in Europe and Turkey it is evident that Turkey is considerablylate regarding the issue. Baordnung , the mandatory structural regulationin effect in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is especially effective.Whereas initiatives in Turkey have not gone much further than definingstandards and making certain minor modifications. Let alone accessibilityfor the elderly, studies focusing on universal design standards are equallyas rare. In this context this study could be considered as an investigationinto raising awareness about the elderly in Turkey that provides guidancein future urban design initiatives. Considering findings from the study, Turkey has to take steps towardsrestructuring the social security system, taking necessary economicmeasures, improving level of education and undertaking work to increasethe functionality of facilities like old people s homes and nursing homes ona national level in order to prevent suffering of the elderly whose numberswill rise inevitably in the future. It is also very important to design multi-functional public spaces allowingmixed use, develop pedestrian oriented urban design projects and considerall age groups in the transportation plans on a city scale. On the otherhand, taking a closer look at elderly policies and related urban designsolutions in other countries will contribute to developing effective solutionsto problems of the elderly in Turkey through a different perspective. Thereis a particular need to reconsider ways of increasing the quality of publicopen space, transportation planning, reviewing function and site selectionto ultimately develop a form of urban design that can successfully integratethese factors.