Age- Friendly Communities Improve Livability for Everyone

As our population ages and people stay healthy and active longer, communities need to adapt.

The AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities helps participating communities become great places by adopting such features as walkable streets, better housing and transportation options, access to key services, and opportunities for residents to participate in community activities.

Well-designed, livable communities help sustain economic growth and make for happier, healthier residents of all ages. To that end, one of the primary objectives of JCCI’s Re-Think Aging Implementation Task Force is to encourage municipalities throughout the North Florida region to enroll in AARP’s Age-Friendly Communities Network and work through its three-phase designation process.

The Age-Friendly Communities network targets improvements in eight domains that influence health and quality of life of older adults. The livability domains include: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community support and health services.

Over the course of the two-year implementation project, JCCI and its corps of volunteers will be working with elected leaders and stakeholders throughout the region to increase the number of communities that support healthy aging, which will thereby improve the well-being, satisfaction and quality of life – not just for older adults but for everyone.