Making cities more age-friendly
Travelling is something most of us all like to do but given the times in which we live I guess many will feel a bit cautious about going overseas.
So maybe this is a good time to think about travelling within our own country.
Over the last month I have done just that — travelling to Stewart Island as well as much of our South Island. It is quite some time since I had been to the South Island and I had forgotten the grandeur of the Southern Alps and the wide spaciousness of the Canterbury plains. Living in a small country with such a wide variety in the scenery is a big advantage. I must admit that I also felt very lucky to be travelling when there were fewer people about.
To something different. In 2018, New Zealand became an affiliate of the World Health Organisations Global AgeFriendly Cities and
Communities. This is a significant project as there are now over 1000 communities in 41 countries worldwide. The Office for Seniors (part of MSD) is offering funding for supporting communities to become age friendly — Ka¯ piti Coast District Council has been a recipient in this project.
People who wish to learn more about the “Checklist of Essential Features of AgeFriendly Cities and Communities” can look it up online. To quote “The checklist is intended to be used by individuals and groups interested in making their city more age-friendly. For the checklist to be effective, older people must be involved as full partners. In assessing a city’s strengths and deficiencies, older people will describe how the checklist matches their own experience of the city’s positive characteristics and barriers. They should play a role in suggesting changes and in implementing and monitoring improvements.”
This gives clear direction as to how the document can be used. From my point of view it all makes good sense. There is always the underlying principle of “do it once — do it right” and that will save us money in the long run. Another point worth mentioning — the New Zealand demographic is such that we have a relatively high proportion of older people — the baby boom started earlier here and went on for longer too. The checklist promotes accessibility — very important as it enables older persons to get out and about with as much ease as possible.