Photo: The B’s via Flickr
Making cities more age-friendly means getting those in charge on board with the idea. The Milken Institute is asking mayors throughout the United States to pledge to make their cities welcoming environments for older adults to age in place.
So far, some 150 mayors of cities of all sizes have promised to support neighborhoods that promote inclusivity and are sensitive to the physical, social and economic well-being of older adults. Continue reading
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You may be familiar with the term “age friendly city,” but do you know what goes into being one?
It’s a concept we’ll likely be hearing more about as the worldwide older population is poised to surpass those under age 65 by mid-century. As people around the globe age, cities and communities face some major challenges – from providing elder-friendly public transportation to venues that welcome older adults to “walkable” neighborhoods that enable their inclusion in community life. Continue reading
Photo by Royan Lee via Flickr.
Cities are great places to grow old, say aging and health policy experts, but most urban areas are not well-prepared for the surge in aging populations. Urban centers are already home to 54 percent of the general population and 56 percent of the 65-plus population in OECD nations. By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Most of this increase is projected to occur in Asia and Africa. But many of those cities are not yet age-friendly.
Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, New York City’s deputy mayor of health and human services, described efforts to make New York City a more age-friendly metropolis. There are currently 1.4 million New Yorkers over age 60; by 2030, that is expected to increase to about 1.8 million, or one-fifth of the city’s population.
“New York has always been a good place to age, and has become even more so over the past decade” she said. New York signed on to the World Health Organization’s Global Age-Friendly Cities Project in 2007 – a model that creates environments to improve healthy and active aging. Continue reading