An Evolution Story: from Age-Friendly to Age-Ready

Back in 2015, as I observed the development of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Age-Friendly Cities Guide (2007) and, at the same time, engaged in conversation with a number of individuals who were working on Age-Friendly strategies in Canada; I came to the conclusion that the narrative in the messaging, though well-intentioned, was in most cases turning into more of a Seniors-exclusive monologue, making it potentially less resonant to people of all ages.

Not to take anything away from its significance, first it must be said that the WHO initiative has made great strides by becoming a Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities & Communities. According to the website today, membership (which you need to apply for) includes over 1300 cities & communities in 47 countries around the world. Network affiliates include the International Federation on Ageing, of which I am an associate member.

However after witnessing stories of some Age-Friendly cities and towns for some years I have been calling for a reboot in the language and vision of Age-Friendly before we entered its second decade – for in future, if input beyond current older populations is to be encouraged, a more appropriate reframing will be advantageous. After all the evolution of community in a longevity society is every generation’s project.

So after listening to the presentation of the World Bank’s launch of  their new Silver Hues report and now reading it for the first time, I was much enthused to see the evolution from Age-Friendly toward Age-Ready. And evolution this is,as the authors in the report acknowledge, “Our use of the term “age-ready” complements WHO’s formulation of “age-friendly cities.”  

Why Age-Ready? Starting with the report’s introduction, the case is made that not all cities around the world share the same demographic makeup. While some cities in largely developed countries have an already greater percentage of an older population, there are those that do not; and to quote: “Cities are diverse entities, and the trajectories of their aging are equally diverse, ranging from the paths of currently young countries to those whose populations are shrinking.”

If so-called younger countries over the next two decades are going to eventually expect or achieve a more significant older population, then does if not makes sense to enact social policies and initiatives to prepare for that eventuality, a proactive age-friendly society plan – or as someone that might be me might even dare say, a recoded longevity society.

What this excellent well laid out, easy to understand report does is set out a high level narrative of an aging world today, weaving together a number of the social elements that the WHO defined in 2007, along with reference to the United Nations – UN Sustainable Development Goals established in 2015.

Setting the stage for understanding the concept of age-readiness, the report first looks at the impact of lessons learned in this COVID era, followed by a look at other global trends and data on aging and urbanization. One of the basic matters addressed is, who is an older person? Needless to say, over the years I’ve seen age benchmarks that label this arbitrarily anywhere north of 50. In this report, though clearly stating a truth that older persons are not a homogeneous group and are highly diverse, the charts pick age 65 as the number. Well, whatever. Where the valuable dialogue in this World Bank report rests for me is in Chapter 3 – Building Age-Ready Cities, where the blueprint is clearly outlined in six core areas that actually interconnect.

Much to digest as you are asked to consider universal design, housing options, multi-generational living spaces (think more broadly here), technology and urban spatial forms. Newer language is here and as you read though each of these sections of the chapter, you should relate back to the original Age-Friendly Cities Guide from fifteen years ago and agree that this evolution to Age-Ready now can guide and reboot the conversation at the local level where it all happens.

Postscript.  

After a second and third read of this report, I will write more in the next month coming and where possible, tie some of the themes into other work in motion from other sources around the world.

This report is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

Das, Maitreyi Bordia, Yuko Arai, Terri B. Chapman, Vibhu Jain. “Silver Hues: Building Age-Ready Cities.” World Bank, Washington, DC.