What is an Age-Friendly Community?
An age-friendly community is a place where older people are included in every part of community life and appreciated for the role they play no matter their ability, need or capacity.
The idea of an age-friendly community was created by the World Health Organization ("WHO") in response to the amount of people in the world over 60 years of age is going to double by 2050. As people age their needs change and communities need to adapt.
The WHO has published Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide which lists the challenges and opportunities of seniors living in cities around the world.
The WHO has also made a Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities. The checklist can be used by cities to check their age-friendliness across the eight areas of city life listed below.
City of North Bay Age-Friendly Community Action Plan
The Health Unit and the City of North Bay in association with MMM Group Limited have created an age-friendly community action plan.
Age-friendly action plans consider these eight parts of city living, looking for gaps and opportunities for improvement in each one:
- Outdoor spaces and buildings
- Transportation
- Housing
- Social Participation
- Respect and Social Inclusion
- Civic Participation and Employment
- Communication and Information
- Community Support and Health Services
This project is funded by the Government of Ontario.
Every Step Counts.
Help others in your community be active and social! The Every Step Counts toolkit from Stay On Your Feet gives you everything you need to start your own community walking group.