The UK is undergoing a rapid age shift. In the last 40 years, the number of people aged 50 and over has increased by 47% and nearly one in five of us are now aged 65 or over. Over the next 20 years that will become one in four. Meanwhile, the number of people aged 80 and over – the fastest growing segment of the population – is set to more than double to over 6 million.
However, there are reasons to see this as an opportunity as well as a challenge. The World Health Organisation’s framework for Age-friendly Communities has been adopted by over 100 councils in the UK, supported by the Centre for Ageing Better.
The framework identifies the key features of local services, spaces, and communications that can be adopted to make places better to age, improving resident health and wellbeing. The age-friendly approach is also highly relevant to current agendas around prevention, community-based health provision, and community empowerment.
Join this virtual event to learn what local areas in England are doing to respond to demographic change, and the results they are seeing.
