Measurements and Assessment of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Development Strategies

Abstract

The world's population is experiencing two unprecedented demographic changes: rapid ageing and urbanization. As a result, the number of elderly people living in urban environments is increasing dramatically. That is why the age-friendly agenda is particularly important to be considered in urban contexts. This paper discusses the World Health Organization's Global Age-Friendly Cities guide, which focuses on creating a supportive environment for healthy aging. The authors addressed the criticism of age-friendly community movements and applied a quantifiable spatial indicator framework for assessing the local environments based on age-friendly cities and communities (AFCs). The suggested frame work can be launched within each AFC field in the areas where the minimum resource requirements of a municipality or a city, including non-applicable spatial analysis, are met, providing practical tools for policy and planning efforts. The analysis embraces long-term visions and strategies to create spaces, conditions, and structures that ensure that older people, who live in the cities, have a better experience of ageing. This approach allows to draw a comprehensive picture of the situation and quality of life of the elderly people and considers how to communicate them effectively. The results obtained suggest that the age appropriate community surveys are reliable and consistently effective. In order to promote the well-being of older people, practitioners, policy makers and researchers should focus on improving their buildings and social environments. The findings can be used to plan, monitor and evaluate community initiatives in the short- and long-term perspectives.