Guest article: Age-friendly Wales

As Wales’ population ages, Ian Thomas, Chief Executive of Age Cymru, previews the latest edition of its journal EnvisAGE.

Wales should aspire to be an age friendly country in which all older people have the same respect, rights, opportunities and access to services as the rest of the population.  This is vital at a time when the number of older people is growing and we are, on average, expected to live longer.

Becoming age friendly is a social and cultural change programme that will need to permeate all aspects of our society.

In 2015, Age Cymru launched our ‘Creating an age -friendly Wales’ report which sets out eight areas of life in which change needs to be brought about to deliver an age-friendly Wales.

These include work, social inclusion, health and social care, financial inclusion, housing, communities and transport – all of which currently present a range of barriers that can inhibit and challenge older people in their daily lives.

The features that make a place desirable to live in can change as people get older.

It is essential that the built environment around us is designed and adapted to be age friendly, so that it is sustainable and suitable for people of all ages.

An age-friendly community is one that has the capacity to support older people to enjoy the best possible quality of life.

It includes facilities, services and amenities that are accessible and that accommodate the needs of older people to help them enjoy health and wellbeing and to fully participate in society.

For our latest edition of EnvisAGE, we invited experts from across the UK to contribute articles about different elements that help create an age friendly community – transport, housing and the built environment.

Dr Alan Hatton-Yeo, of Volunteering Matters Cymru, gives an overview of the age friendly movement and the development of age friendly work in Europe, the UK and Wales. His article features the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities, and the Ageing Well in Wales programme.

Prof Judith Phillips, Deputy Principal and Professor of Gerontology at Stirling University’s article illustrates the features of the environment that have acted as barriers to older people’s mobility and participation in the urban environment.

For his piece, Dr Charles Musselwhite, of the Centre for Innovative Ageing at Swansea University, emphasises how any development of age friendly communities must have age friendly transport at its heart.

Catherine Boswell and Janet Beauchamp of Cardiff Metropolitan University explore various housing options for older people. Their piece highlights potential issues around loneliness and isolation among older people, and features Intentional Communities (ICs) – a small yet growing model of housing that is still, in the UK, regarded as a niche and somewhat alternative choice.

The final article is by Paul McGarry. It turns the spotlight on the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub, which is taking a significant step forward in its approach to population ageing. Manchester was the first UK city to become a member of the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities.

For more information about EnvisAGE, please contact Age Cymru’s Policy Advisor Ceri Cryer on 029 2043 1555 or email [email protected] or visit http://www.ageuk.org.uk/cymru/policy/age-cymru-policy-publications-1/envisage-1/