Age-friendly communities essential to urban elders' well-being

The future of communities around the world will in large part be determined by the efforts to achieve a high quality of life for their older citizens, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR), titled "Making a Home in the City: The Age-Friendly Community Movement." A total of seven articles argue that developing cities that meet the interests of all generations should be an important goal for economic and social policy.

16 may 2015--"The concomitant growth of cities and of an older population within those cities has come to generate a disjuncture between physical infrastructure and resident needs," states PP&AR Editor Robert B. Hudson, PhD. "Modern economic growth results largely from private sector investments and incentives which pay little heed to the concerns of vulnerable populations."

Age-friendly communities are designed to promote aging-in-place, which is the ability to live in one's own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably regardless of age, income, or ability level.

This PP&AR brings together analysts and activists who have struggled with how to promote ideas and initiatives to enhance the well-being of urban elders. The authors address the evolution of the age-friendly community movement, a present a review of four major age-friendly community initiatives, and conclude with a challenge to move beyond locally-based initiatives and to engage policymakers at the state and federal levels to galvanize the movement. Together these conceptual and empirical pieces provide a thorough review of what forms age-friendly communities may take, how they work on the ground, and what next steps should be considered.

Provided by The Gerontological Society of America