Age-Friendly NYC Website

Overview

New York City was the first city designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the first Age-Friendly City. Pursuing 51 initiatives based on research conducted from 2007-2009, this website is the collaborative effort of The Office of the Mayor, the New York City Council and The New York Academy of Medicine. The goal is to help make New York City a “better place to grow old by promoting an ‘age-in-everything’ lens across all aspects of city life.” The initiative asks the city’s public agencies, businesses, cultural, educational and religious institutions, community groups, and individuals to consider how changes to policy and practice can create a city more inclusive of older adults and more sensitive to their needs.

Key Points

New York is considered a leading state in aging services. Thankfully, they have also posted their initiatives online. Current initiatives include: aging improvement districts, age-friendly business, age-friendly schools, colleges and universities, age-friendly technology, age-friendly professions, and city government’s 59 initiatives. One page summaries of each of these initiatives are provided along with related initiative-specific links.

Other website highlights include:

• News and Events highlight recent local news articles on aging initiatives. The Tools and Resources page is one of the best for local efforts. Aside from the abundance of pdf articles available for download, scroll down to the Maps link and click. Planners will find a good example of what planning looks like in offering resources from a city website.
  
• The Multimedia page offers several YouTube videos highlighting local initiatives. Bear in mind, the website is designed to be informational and inspirational. This is one way it accomplishes both.
  

How to Use

Many in the age planning business focus on the “problems of aging.” This effort, and website, are about tapping into the “promise of aging.” Planners and local governments should use this site as a model for developing their own age-friendly local portal for providing information and inspiration.