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In 2007 the New York Academy of Medicine, together with the Mayor’s Office and the City Council, launched Age-friendly New York City, an initiative designed to make our city a better place in which to grow old. While focused on the needs of older adults, this initiative stands to increase the quality of life for residents of all ages. Modifications that make a city more age-friendly – such as well-maintained sidewalks – are good for seniors, small children, disabled individuals and parents with strollers.
Guided by a protocol developed by the World Health Organization, the Age-friendly New York City initiative marks an exciting opportunity for New York to join a network of global cities – such as London, Moscow, Mexico City, and New Delhi – working to address issues of aging, urbanization and globalization. The process involves a comprehensive assessment of local structures and services in order to develop strategies that will make New York City more accessible to, and inclusive of, older people with varying needs and capacities. The initiative is particularly focused on the following eight areas of city life:
- outdoor spaces and buildings,
- transportation,
- housing,
- respect and social inclusion,
- social participation,
- communication and information,
- civic participation and employment, and,
- community support and health services.
Now in the assessment phase, the initiative is gathering information about the advantages and barriers to aging in New York City. The Academy will conduct focus groups with seniors, collect secondary research, and engage in data mapping to gain a visual understanding of what is occurring in local communities.
The Academy and the New York City Council will co-sponsor community forums in each borough to solicit the input of residents and co-convene a series of expert roundtables. The Mayor will convene the Commissioners of various City agencies – those representing Parks, Transportation, Small Business, City Planning, and Immigrant Affairs, among others – to be briefed by the Academy on the characteristics of an age-friendly city. These Commissioners will then engage in an “age-friendly” self-assessment of their agencies (informed by the community forums and expert roundtables co-convened by the Academy and the City Council) and share those findings with the Academy.
In June 2008, the Academy – in consultation with the Mayor's Office and the City Council -- will release an action plan for making the city more “age-friendly.” A high-level commission will then be convened to oversee implementation.
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Global
Resources:
World Health Organization protocol: "Global
Age-friendly Cities: A Guide" (2007)
World Health Organization checklist of features
of age-friendly cities (2007)
Age-Friendly New York City Resources:
About
the Initiative (overview,
steering committee)
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