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International Journal of
Population Studies Age-friendly cities and lifelong learning

Promotion triggered age-friendly initiatives in both the urban settings necessarily detrimental to liveability, as
Global North and South. The establishment of the Global demonstrated in cities such as Hong Kong where aging-
Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) in-place is not often problematic despite high population
in 2018 was a trigger event to capture global initiatives of density.
communities around the world. The question of what makes a community age-friendly
The upsurge of interest and commitment to the concept is not easy to answer. While the above definitions from the
and implementation of age friendliness is hardly accidental. WHO provide guidance, they are insufficiently directive
Global and societal changes such as rapidly changing age when it comes to planning, implementing, and evaluating
population structures, divergent family living patterns, strategies that can be adopted by cities. The notion of an
increasing life expectancies, and greater technological age-friendly city needs to move beyond a tokenistic stance
advances (Findsen & Formosa, 2011) have exerted more by local and national governments. Lui et al. (2009) have
pressure on national and local level governments, NGOs, reviewed the international literature from 32 articles and
and some elements of industry to better consider the needs reports from different city contexts and suggest that an
and aspirations of older adults. In addition, Phillipson & ideal age-friendly community would give equal weighting
Buffel (2020) argued for the strong inclusion of urbanization to physical and social environments on a continuum and
into big cities as a dominant factor affecting the potential encourage governance on a continuum between top-down
for elders to live a pleasant life. These authors indicated that and bottom-up approaches. They asserted that enhancing a
“the continuing spread of urbanization, with 55 per cent of social environment is just as important as giving attention
the world’s population now living in urban environments” to material conditions in determining well-being in later
(p.139) pressurises cities to respond to everyone’s needs, life.
regardless of age. As van Hoof & Marston (2021) pointed 1.2. Literature review
out, the vast majority of older adults want to age in place.
Accordingly, the built and social environments for seniors Allied concepts to age friendliness are important to
need to be aligned to their real needs. incorporate into a discourse where the health, security, and
participation of older people come to the fore. Since age
The lifelong learning movement, with a longer tradition friendliness is linked to people regardless of the stage of life
than the age-friendly equivalent (Wain, 2009), has tried course they are in, setting the needs of seniors as priorities,
to grapple with similar issues wherein learning, whether as a common refrain, would benefit the rest of the public
as formal (adult) education, non-formal education or (Hamilton City Council, 2021). Certainly, kindred
at an informal, day-to-day basis, has been the conduit concepts of age, such as active aging, aging process, and
for sustaining the well-being of older people (Withnall, old(er) age, are all relevant as underpinning ideas related
2010). While the purposes of lifelong learning are diverse to what age friendliness might mean. This paper does
and occasionally antagonistic (see below), this movement not offer a comprehensive treatment of every conceivably
has also been motivated by maximizing the prospects related concept, but a brief analysis of key linked concepts
of people of all ages to enjoy a good life. Hence, what is – age, “growing old(er),” and active aging – are presented
meant by an age-friendly environment? According to the next. In addition, the precepts of lifelong learning and
WHO, “age-friendly environments (such as in the home, major thematic concerns from learning in later life have
community) foster healthy and active aging by building considerable resonance in a rapidly changing world that is
and maintaining intrinsic capacity across the life course supposedly becoming more conscious of the implications
and enabling greater functional ability in someone with of larger numbers of older persons in its midst.
a given level of capacity” (WHO, n.d. [a]). Further, an
age-friendly city “encourages active aging by optimizing 1.2.1. Age and “growing old(er)”
for health, participation, and security to enhance quality Analysis of age is often treated at a macro level (as in
of life as people age” (WHO, 2007, p.1). These definitions reviewing particular countries changing population
of age friendliness (environment, cities) can be applied structures), meso level (reviewing trends in local
to all people regardless of age. In respect to seniors in communities), and individual level (investigating how
cities, an age-friendly environment can have considerable a person progresses from childhood to early and mid-
benefits including ready access to public facilities such as adulthood to later adulthood in physical, psychological,
medical services, cultural and leisure centers, shopping, emotional, and spiritual domains). In addition, many
and other aspects of living where reasonable access to theories of the social construction of aging (e.g., Phillipson,
general necessities is paramount (Phillipson, 2011). Nor 2013) as well as critical approaches to aging and later life
is the increased density of population from migration into (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1997) emphasize the importance of

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 19 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.380