What does Age-Friendly mean?

I had a comment on one of my posts asking what the term "age-friendly" meant in reference to cities, services, etc. Here's the answer I gave:

"It's a concept whereby communities make changes designed to allow for the inclusion of all citizens in an active, healthy lifestyle as they age. That can mean changes in infrastructure, policy, protection of the vulnerable, housing options, accessibility, etc. In 2007, the World Health Organization published a framework encouraging communities world-wide to become more age-friendly. For some light reading, you can read the report here: http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/Global_age_friendly_cities_Guide_English.pdf

June is Seniors Month in Ontario. The Ontario Seniors' Secretariat chose Age-Friendly Communities as their theme for Seniors' Month this year. The Ontario Gerontology Association also chose Age-Friendly Communities as the theme for its annual conference this year. Do you see where I'm going with this? There is momentum a-brewin'.In an ideal world, the end result of an age-friendly community is a community that is accessible and supportive of people of all ages and abilities."

SLOWLY but surely.

I was invited to be part of a local working group partnering with the Ontario Seniors' Secretariat (http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/seniors/) to hold a one day forum in Windsor, Ontario sometime this fall. The focus of this forum will be to encourage this area of the Province to be come AGE-FRIENDLY.

It's not that strategies haven't been attempted in the past, because they have. They've just met with limited or no success. My hope is that these forums will bring the needed pressure on the powers-that-be to make significant strides in this area.

Hamilton, Ontario, for example, is on the brink of claiming Age-Friendly status. They have been working to this end for some time. Toronto is heavily invested in this idea as well. Windsor? Not so much.

It's no longer a case of being ahead of the curve. If Windsor-Essex and all it's 'retirement destination' dreams do not act promptly, they will find themselves, quite solidly, at the back of the pack.