Our Initiatives

Age-friendly Communities

Supporting age-friendly communities is a key initiative of B.C.’s Active Aging Plan. In an age-friendly community, policies, services, settings and structures support and enable older people to age actively by:

• Recognizing the wide range of capacities and resources among older persons,
• Anticipating and responding flexibly to aging-related needs and preferences,
• Respecting decisions and lifestyle choices,
• Protecting those who are most vulnerable, and
• Promoting inclusion and contribution in all areas of community life.

Age-friendly Communities builds on the findings from two age-friendly initiatives, one by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the other by the Canadian Ministers Responsible for Seniors. Each of these two projects produced eight key features of an age-friendly community:

1. Outdoor spaces and public buildings that are pleasant, clean, secure and physically accessible.
2. Public transportation that is accessible and affordable.
3. Housing that is affordable, appropriately located, well built, well designed and secure.
4. Opportunities for social participation in leisure, social, cultural and spiritual activities with people of all ages and cultures.
5. Older people are treated with respect and are included in civic life.
6. Opportunities for employment and volunteerism that cater to older persons’ interests and abilities.
7. Age-friendly communication and information available.
8. Community support and health tailored to older persons’ needs.

These key features are explained in the following documents whose purpose is to engage communities to become more age-friendly. The checklist is a tool for individuals and groups interested in making their city more age-friendly.

• Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide (PDF 1.49 Mb)
• Age-friendly Remote and Rural Communities: A Guide (PDF 683 Kb)
• Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities  (PDF 223 Kb)
• Saanich Report on the Global Age-friendly Cities Project  (PDF 963 Kb)

The Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport has recruited an Age-friendly Communities Implementation Team to directly assist and enable local governments to identify barriers and implement actions to create age-friendly communities. The Team will provide expert planning advice and support to local governments (including municipalities, regional districts and Aboriginal communities) to develop and implement age-friendly actions using the Age-friendly communities Guides. The goal is to make B.C. the most age-friendly jurisdiction in Canada by 2010.

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) is a key partner in supporting communities to become more age-friendly. For more information, visit UBCM Age-friendly Communities.  Grants [Dialogue (PDF 205 Kb)] are also available through UBCM to support local governments in their work on age-friendly projects.

PDF Format

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