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UK Network of Age-friendly Communities

Find out what it means to be an Age-friendly Community and the benefits of joining the UK Network.

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Age-friendly Communities

An Age-friendly Community is a place that enables people to age well and live a good later life. Somewhere that people can stay living in their homes, participate in the activities they value, and contribute to their communities, for as long as possible.

The UK Network of Age-friendly Communities is a growing movement, with over 85 places across the country committed to making their community a better place to age in. Over 29 million people are living in an Age-friendly Community, including places like Greater Manchester and Cardiff. The Centre for Ageing Better works with the Network to provide guidance, connect places and offer support to member communities as they work towards making their services and infrastructure more age-friendly.

View our map of Age-friendly Communities here.

The UK Network is part of a global movement led by the World Health Organisation, affiliated to the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities.

The Age-friendly Communities approach

The Age-friendly Communities approach was developed by the World Health Organisation in 2007, in consultation with older people around the world. It is built on the evidence of what supports healthy and active ageing in a place and supports older residents to shape the place that they live.

By following this approach, local groups, leaders, councils, businesses and older residents will all work together to identify and make changes in both the physical and social environments. This includes improving transport, outdoor spaces, volunteering and employment, leisure and community services.

To make these improvements, Age-friendly Communities follow the World Health Organisation framework of the Eight Domains and Four-Step Programme Cycle.

Find out more

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The Age-friendly Communities framework includes eight domains, or areas, that places can address to improve their structures and services to meet older people's needs and all of us as we age.
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Find out more about Age-friendly Communities and access all the key publications, toolkits and more.
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Read Frequently Asked Questions and learn about the steps necessary to becoming an Age-friendly Community and joining the UK Network.

UK Age-friendly communities

Featured content

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Every October, people across the world mark United Nations International Day of Older People (IDOP) to raise awareness of opportunities and challenges faced by ageing populations, and to mobilize the wider community to address difficulties faced by older people.
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Preview Roadworks

Age-friendly case study: Supporting older people to shape their environment through walk audits

Walking audits are a tool many Age-friendly Communities are using in different ways to strengthen the voices of older people in the design of outdoor spaces.
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The spending power of the over 50s population is growing but businesses could miss out unless they embrace an age-friendly approach.

Meet the team

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Charlotte L
Senior Programme Manager - Localities
Charlotte manages the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities.
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Rebecca Lines
Age-friendly Communities Learning Officer
Rebecca supports the UK Network of Age-Friendly Communities to be a network where good ideas spread, fast.
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Ellen Denley
Programme Officer – Localities
Ellen supports the effective delivery of work with local places, including the members of the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities.

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