Age-Friendly Communities: Research on Promising and Innovative Practices

Age-friendly community (AFC) leaders engage with community residents, groups, and organizations to enhance social, service, and built environments for aging. Despite the growing number of AFCs, academic research remains in its nascence. During this symposium, U.S. scholars will present research on AFC implementation. The first two papers address promising practices among AFC leaders. The first paper presents results from a content analysis of American AFC progress reports. Results indicate strong evidence of progress achieved and opportunities for improving the evaluation, documentation, and dissemination of accomplishments. The second paper presents findings from a qualitative descriptive study on community events by AFC initiatives in northern New Jersey. Results indicate how age-friendly leaders use community events to enhance older adults’ social participation and inclusion, and as a tactic toward longer-term, multi-domain community change. The third and fourth papers describe the development and testing of innovative technologies to guide AFC implementation. The third paper provides an overview of Safe Routes to Age in Place, a community-engaged mixed methods study using the app MyAmble to examine the needs and utilization of alternative transportation in Franklin County, Ohio. The fourth paper provides a case overview of a university-community partnership to develop a geographical information system (GIS) analytical mapping tool to evaluate the age-friendliness of public amenities in San Antonio, Texas. The symposium will conclude with remarks from AARP Livable Communities leadership about how these studies contribute to building knowledge about AFC implementation and avenues for academic and private partnerships to translate these findings to practice.