What Does an Age-Friendly City Look Like?

Every week I see articles about places of all sizes boasting that they are targeting creative people, gays, families or visitors. But an article in The Independent really caught my eye when it outlined the credentials that an age-friendly city should have.

Rachel Lee from Living Streets describes an age-friendly community as, “one that enables older people to remain active and engaged within their communities. Our streets should be welcoming places that are accessible for everyone. For older people that means well maintained pavements to avoid trip hazards, cleanliness, seating, clear signage, provision of public toilets, local access to a range of local services (health, shopping, banks) and more.”

Reading the article I saw that many of the requirements for older people in an age-friendly city are simply the basic community-focused elements on which all cities should be based. Maybe after decades of austerity and cost cutting in local government it’s time to reconsider the basics that will underpin the needs of residents and visitors whether they are creative, gay, families or aged.