City Council Agenda - November 26, 2012 - City of Guelph

Attachment 1• Build staff capacity to serve an older adult population• Recognize and value the expertise, wisdom, and contribution that older adults provide to acommunity• Encourage other sectors of the community to collaborate to provide innovative ways to meetchallenges of the aging population‘Older adult’ is anyone who is 55 or more.The World Health Organization (WHO) FrameworkThis report recommends use of the World Health Organization (WHO) framework for age-friendlycities (see Recommendation #1). There are a variety of alternative frameworks available to support acity’s efforts to become more accessible and more inclusive. However, the selection of the WHOframework was made in recognition of its wide applicability to all age groups while still focusing onthe older adult population, and importantly, its wide use around the world as a common andrecognized indicator of an age-friendly city.Cities around the world are facing the challenges of ensuring the health and social inclusion of therapidly growing population of older adults. In 2007, the World Health Organization formalized aframework for analyzing and addressing this challenge, and many cities have since adopted andapplied this framework to help guide their efforts. Various cities in most provinces have achieved theWHO designation, and many more are embarking on a plan to do so. The network of age-friendlycities around the world also provides a source of best practices and experience to build more andbetter structures and processes to support older adults to continue to live and participate in theircommunities.The WHO philosophy is an approach to city-building that is rooted in a number of basic principles(WHO Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide):• We need to recognize the wide range of capacities and resources among older people• We need to respond flexibly to aging-related needs and preferences• We need to respect lifestyle choices• We need to protect the most vulnerable• We need to promote inclusion.The WHO framework uses 8 dimensions against which a city’s age-friendliness is measured:1. Outdoor spaces and buildings• (e.g. streets, design, green spaces, sense of physical safety, signage)2. Transportation• (e.g. accessibility, affordability, routes, waiting areas, security, street signage, lighting,parking)Older Adult Strategy for the City of GuelphPrepared by The Osborne Group, October 201212