Age-friendly communities in Manitoba: strengths and gaps

Over the last decade, there has been growing interest on the part of policy makers in making cities and communities more age-friendly. An age-friendly community is one in which the physical and social environment enable older adults to be safe, healthy, and participate in society. A wide range of features make a community age-friendly, such as aspects related to transportation and public spaces. Despite the growth of the age-friendly community movement in Canada and world-wide, we know little about the impacts and sustainability of age-friendly community initiatives. This project is part of a larger study that will examine these issues in Manitoba. The present project will examine how communities fare on age-friendly indicators derived from CLSA data, and whether communities that have been more versus less active in trying to become more age-friendly perform better in relation to age-friendly indicators and residents’ participation, health, and well-being.