Age-Friendly Communities
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an age-friendly city or community as one that:
“Optimizes opportunities for health, participation, and security to enhance the quality of life as people age, fostering healthy and active aging. Age-friendly practices recognize there is great diversity in the capacity and circumstances of older adults, anticipate and respond to older adults' needs and preferences.”
In 2006, the WHO developed the Global Age-Friendly Cities Project. This project brought together cities from around the world (including four Canadian cities) that were interested in supporting healthy aging by becoming more age-friendly.
What is ‘Age-Friendly’?
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, age-friendly communities adapt, create and put in place policies, services, settings and structures that support and enable people to age actively. Some examples of age-friendly features are:
- pleasant, secure and physically accessible outdoor spaces and public buildings
- well-designed, affordable and secure housing choices
- well-maintained and accessible roads and walkways
Age-Friendly in Canada
To learn more about age-friendly communities in Canada, to find out if there is an age-friendly community near you, and to learn about how to make your community age-friendly, visit the Government of Canada’s Age Friendly Communities webpage.
