World Health Organization’s guide to Global Age-Friendly Cities
Are you looking for an excellent resource to help improve your city for seniors? Look no further than the World Health Organization (WHO). They have created a comprehensive guide that covers aging trends, needs of the elderly and how cities can, and should, adapt to meet those needs. A total of 35 cities from all continents participated in the creation of the guide, including Canada’s own Halifax, Portage La Prairie, Saanich and Sherbrooke.
Topic areas that are covered include transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, community support and health services, and outdoor spaces and buildings.
From the introduction:
“Population ageing and urbanization are two global trends that together comprise major forces shaping the 21st century. At the same time as cities are growing, their share of residents aged 60 years and more is increasing. Older people are a resource for their families, communities and economies in supportive and enabling living environments. WHO regards active ageing as a lifelong process shaped by several factors that, alone and acting together, favour health, participation and security in older adult life. Informed by WHO’s approach to active ageing, the purpose of this Guide is to engage cities to become more age-friendly so as to tap the potential that older people represent for humanity.
“An age-friendly city encourages active ageing by optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. In practical terms, an age-friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capacities.”
To download the guide, please visit http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/Global_age_friendly_cities_Guide_English.pdf





