Assessing progress in United States age-friendly communities: are initiatives making a difference?
Background and Objectives Population aging has led to the growth of Age-Friendly Community Initiatives (AFCIs), which focus on shaping community environments to support healthy aging and aging in place. AARP (formerly named the American Association of Retired Persons) leads the national effort in th...
| Published in: | Gerontologist Vol. 66; no. 7; pp. 1 - 12 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Jul2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195281441&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195281441 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00169013 GET jtl: Gerontologist issn: 00169013 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 66 iid: 7 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 195281441 10.1093/geront/gnag114 ppf: 1 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: Assessing progress in United States age-friendly communities: are initiatives making a difference? aug: au: Zhang, Xue Warner, Mildred E affil: Department of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States Department of City and Regional Planning and Department of Global Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States su: United States American Association of Retired Persons Ecology Income Population density Communities Transportation Housing Active aging Social participation Research funding Data analysis Independent living Descriptive statistics Aging in place Statistics Data analysis software Neighborhood characteristics Regression analysis sug: subj: Ecology Income Population density Communities Transportation Housing Active aging Social participation United States American Association of Retired Persons Other Community Housing Services Other support activities for transportation All Other Support Activities for Transportation Research funding Data analysis Independent living Descriptive statistics Aging in place Statistics Data analysis software Neighborhood characteristics Regression analysis keyword: AARP Age in place Age-friendly network community copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag114 inLanguage:en livability neighborhood publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42179171/ Social engagement transportation AARP Age in place Age-friendly network community copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag114 inLanguage:en livability neighborhood publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42179171/ Social engagement transportation ab: Background and Objectives Population aging has led to the growth of Age-Friendly Community Initiatives (AFCIs), which focus on shaping community environments to support healthy aging and aging in place. AARP (formerly named the American Association of Retired Persons) leads the national effort in the United States. This study is the first to evaluate whether communities joining the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities (NAFSC) are more age-friendly than others, and whether NAFSC members made progress over time. Research Design and Methods This study used the national AARP Livability Index data in 2015 and 2024, and identified 736 NAFSC community members and 12 NAFSC state members as of 2024. Livability includes the total livability score and seven categories: housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement, and opportunity. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models with state-level random effects were estimated, controlling for community racial/ethnic composition, age structure, income, population density, and metropolitan status. Results NAFSC members had significantly higher total livability, neighborhood, transportation, and health scores than non-members in both years. NAFSC communities maintained their levels of engagement and opportunity, despite the national-level decrease in these two domains. Health lagged in communities with a higher share of older adults. Rural communities also lagged behind. Discussion and Implications Supporting an aging population requires institutional action, indicated by joining the NAFSC. Encouraging social and civic engagement is also key to improving community livability and supporting aging in place. Greater attention is needed on health, and on rural communities. The age-friendly movement has the potential to benefit both older adults and people of all ages. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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