Key characteristics of age-friendly cities and communities: A review

Highlights

• The rapid growth of ageing populations makes ageing a global priority.

• Age-friendly initiatives mainly occur in the developed world.

• Multi-stakeholder collaborations should be encouraged to optimise ageing strategies.

• Age related issues and policies should recognise the importance of older people.

• The incorporation of outcome measures is suggested as part of an evaluation process.

Abstract

The creation of age-friendly environments worldwide has been promoted by the World Health Organization as a strategy to address the challenges posed by the converging trends of urbanisation and population. This has resulted in an increased discussed of strategies and initiatives which ensure policies, services and products meet the needs of older persons. This article aims to examine the current evidence of approaches and interventions used to create age-friendly cities and communities identified in recent research and practice. This review identified clear characteristics that contribute towards an age-friendly city. Multi-stakeholder collaborations, government commitment, inclusion of older persons and policies that tackled both the physical and social environments were key factors that contributed towards approaches and interventions used to create age-friendly cities and communities. The characteristics of age-friendly initiatives identified provide a promising basis for the development of ageing policy and planning globally to make cities more supportive of older people.

Introduction

The world is currently experiencing two demographic transitions: population ageing and urbanisation. By 2050, the global population of people over the age of 60 years is expected to reach almost two billion (UNDESA, 2013). However, ageing populations are not just restricted to the developed world: it is estimated that in five decades, over 80% of the global older population will be living in developing countries compared with 60% in 2005 (UNDESA, 2009). At the same time, there has been a shift towards urbanisation: as of 2007, more than half of the world’s population now live in cities (WHO & FUND, 2008). Current trends suggest that the number and proportion of urban dwellers will continue to rise over the coming decades, with growth occurring more rapidly in developing countries (Montgomery & Ezeh, 2005).

As issues involving ageing society in each country are unique, growing older requires a flexible and evolving environment to compensate for physical and social changes associated with ageing (Beard & Petitot, 2010). Therefore, it is important to consider the impact of the urban and rural environments on older people. This is especially relevant in the current economic climate, where service providers face a difficult challenge in trying to provide for the needs of older people in a time of austerity and budget reductions.

As they age, older people’s requirements for more specialised and resource intensive services increase. In recent years, there have been a variety of strategies and policies that meet the specific needs of older people. The terms ‘age-friendly’ and ‘active ageing’ have been used to describe some these initiatives. These terms arise from an ecological perspective of ageing that suggests a link between an individual and their physical and social environment. In this review, the term ‘age-friendly’ encompasses this perspective and is defined as ageing initiatives which are based on the idea that places should enable older persons to be able to participate in their community.

The focus on ageing populations in cities is because in recent years, the urban environment presents a complex setting in which to promote the wellbeing and contributions of older people (WHO, 2007a). As urban living becomes the predominant social context for most of the world’s population, it has the potential to both directly and indirectly shape a variety of factors within populations (Galea & Vlahov, 2005). This article will focus on the urban environment and will summarise the current evidence of approaches and interventions used to make our cities more supportive of older persons.

The structure of this paper is as follows. First an overview of the literature review methodology is presented. Next, a summary of age-friendly models and frameworks will be outlined. Then, the key findings of the ageing literature are discussed with reference to specific ageing initiatives and interventions within the urban environment. Finally, the concluding critique provides recommendations for potential future research on older persons within the urban environment.