Towards an age-friendly city: participation of senior-serving organizations in planning processes

Abstract

North American populations are aging, yet the issues and challenges faced by older adults remain largely unaccounted for in planning processes. This research examines this invisibility in the specific case of Winnipeg, MB and through University of Manitoba’s Centre on Aging Age-Friendly Communities Community University Research Alliance (CURA) that builds on the World Health Organization (WHO 2006) notion of age-friendly cities. The research will first document the relationship between aging issues, age-friendly cities and planning through a review of planning and aging-related literature. The second aspect of the research is focus groups interviews with community partners in the Age-Friendly Communities CURA, and semi-structured interviews with municipal planners. Recommendations developed outline how organizations working towards a more age-friendly city can more effectively engage with planning processes, particularly during the review of Winnipeg’s official plan.