Enabling age-friendly environments for healthier lives across Europe
Cities and communities are pivotal in creating resilient, healthy, and inclusive societies that support people’s well-being as they age. Age-friendly environments emphasize accessibility, safe infrastructure, and active engagement, supporting connections across ages and capabilities. They not only encourage activity and social bonds but also empower people to contribute to their community's economic, social, and cultural vitality.
Moreover, age-friendly settings employ personalized approaches to connect with at-risk older individuals, addressing social isolation, falls, injuries and violence, while ensuring digital inclusion for their well-being. This involves making public transportation more accessible and conducive to physical activity, fostering social participation and inclusion, and ensuring older people's access to information. These efforts contribute to the well-being economy by creating spaces that enable older persons to thrive while promoting intergenerational solidarity.
This supportive environment in the community is essential for healthy ageing. WHO guides cities and communities in developing strategies to become more age-friendly.
WHO collaborates closely with national, subnational, and local authorities to establish age-friendly environments that cater to the diverse needs of all individuals. As the population of older individuals increases, so do WHO’s insights into how the built environment can enhance health and well-being.
WHO is working with countries at the national and local level to stimulate the development of age-friendly environments. WHO supports the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities and the European Healthy Cities Network by:
- showing what can be done and how, in order to inspire change;
- connecting cities and communities worldwide to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge, and experience; and
- supporting cities and communities to find appropriate innovative and evidence-based solutions.
