The first step on the journey to becoming an Age-friendly Community, is to involve stakeholders and older people in assessing the age-friendliness of your place. This is key to understanding local needs and preferences, priorities, and opportunities for healthy, active ageing. During this stage, you will also form a steering group or committee to oversee the developments.
Some of the ways to involve a diverse range of people include public meetings and events, having people in later life act as peer researchers, conducting surveys and involving local services, such as libraries and community sector organisations, in ways to help residents give their views.
Resources
AARP, a United States-based interest group created "to empower people to choose how they live as they age", produced the following:
Community Survey Questionnaire
AARP Research and AARP Livable Communities have worked together to develop a questionnaire that can be adapted by communities to help assess available resources and what residents view as important for successfully ageing in place.
Pride of Place: how councillors can improve neighbourhoods for older people
An Age UK guide for local councillors, so they can enable local people to be involved.