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Aging-friendly environments have been encouraged to develop at the city level, district level and community level in China. In the process of rapid urbanization, the state of aging-friendly communities in old and new neighborhoods is disparate. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate aging-friendly communities and identify the disparities in old and new neighborhoods.

A total of 1,172 elderly respondents completed the survey. Of these, 576 seniors lived in an old community developed before 2000, and 596 lived in a new community developed after 2000. In total, 17 physical environment factors and 10 social environment factors were identified.

The results indicated that public spaces, facilities and transportation in old neighborhoods were inferior to those in new neighborhoods. Most social environment factors in new neighborhoods achieved higher satisfaction levels than those in old neighborhoods. The satisfaction levels of aging-friendly community factors in both old and new neighborhoods were below the expectation levels of elders.

In order to improve physical aging-friendly environments in old neighborhoods, it is suggested that full use is made of school facilities and the renovation of old buildings. The locations of public transportation stations in new neighborhoods are recommended to be revised within 5-min walking distances of senior residents. Both old and new neighborhoods are encouraged to improve social aging-friendly environments by increasing the coverage of medical services and creating multiple approaches to recreation activities.

These findings have empirical significance for urban planners and policy makers, in regard to identifying disparities between old and new neighborhoods, and understanding the equitable allocation and distribution of urban resources.

The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers that hinder the implementation of age-friendly initiatives in smart cities.

A systematic review of the literature was conducted using Scopus search engine. Relevant keywords were used to discover 81 publications in academic journals. The titles, abstracts, keywords and full texts of the publications were examined to select 39 publications that were relevant for identifying the barriers that hinder the implementation of age-friendly initiatives in smart cities. The contents of the 39 relevant publications were analysed to ascertain the key barriers. A system thinking approach was adopted to understand the interaction among the barriers.

The study identified five key groups of barriers – namely physical barriers and environmental characteristics, technological barriers, social barriers, financial barriers and political barriers – that smart cities encountered or are likely to encounter in implementing age-friendly initiatives. Moreover, practical examples of good age-friendly implementation practices were highlighted.

A limitation of this study is in the number of publications reviewed. Despite the comprehensive review, the number of publications reviewed may not be exhaustive. This is justified by the inapplicability of considering all possible keywords in one review study.

The systemic perspective of the barriers that hinder the implementation of age-friendly initiatives in smart cities would support policymakers in formulating policy recommendations to improve age-friendliness in cities.

This study underscores the variable and dynamic nature of developing age-friendly smart cities and forms novel basis for gaining insights into the multiple factors that can promote the integration of age-friendly initiatives within smart cities.

This study aims to indicate the reasons and provide practical suggestions to financial viability of the age-friendly housing as a sustainable construction.

The paper reviews the primary and secondary literary sources, logical approach and comparisons of real estate and socio-economic regional statistics and conducts analysis of case studies.

The study contains the results from empirical analysis on the topicality of an age-friendly built environment in the scientific literature. Key principles are identified for a current early stage of the development of a concept of the age-friendly housing. A research on the current socio-economic aspects of the creation of an age-friendly built environment is made. The practical cases of the age-friendly housing are inspected. Timely developed age-friendly housings may expect growing demands, but thorough calculation on future income is required.

The research is carried on a scale of two countries – the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Latvia.

The paper provides new developments in construction sector of Latvia and the Netherlands in terms of intention to further scientific and practical activities. The research has to identify the socio-economic aspects and the impact and importance of those in determining the revenues of age-friendly construction.

Age-friendly construction is going to become the standard of the sustainable property development, whereby the developers and investors will not make additional investments as they are compensated up front, and society as a total gets the revenues on the long term. Once this “wheel is turning”, the benefits will be permanent.

Latvia is being analysed in comparison with the Netherlands. The authors challenged to find opportunities to both countries from the economic viability’s point of view for the age-friendly housing developments.

The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed account of the work and contribution of the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities, a platform established to support the development of age-friendly communities across the UK.

This paper draws on a review of both external and internal working documents, communications with network representatives, and an in-depth interview conducted with the current manager of the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities.

Since its formation, the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities has provided cities with an important platform for knowledge exchange and peer support, and helped build commitment to the age-friendly agenda at the local, national and international level. Through the presentation of various examples, the article illustrates that network members have not only helped drive this agenda forward by developing a collective voice, but also by developing a wide range of initiatives at the local level.

Despite an increased interest in documenting age-friendly experiences around the world, the experience of national programmes remains under-explored in the age-friendly literature to date. To the knowledge, this paper is one of the first to describe the work and contribution of the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities.

The purpose of this paper is to review factors influencing the development of age-friendly communities, pressures arising from context of economic austerity, and issues which need to be considered for further work.

A synthesis of academic literature covering both age-friendly research and other relevant studies.

Pressures on the age-friendly movement include: cuts to the budgets of local authorities; impact of urban regeneration; and high levels of deprivation in inner city communities. Responses need to consider: closer links with other urban programmes (e.g. healthy cities); prioritising the challenge of social inequality; exerting great control over urban development and regeneration; and devising new approaches to delivering age-friendly interventions at a neighbourhood level.

Although the age-friendly movement has many achievements to its name, economic pressures are raising question marks about its future progress. The paper identifies several options for future development. Central to these must be linking age-friendly debates to the inequalities and injustices which affect city life.

The study aimed to develop a reliable and valid instrument that could be used to assess the age-friendly Public Health Center Satisfaction (APHCS) among older people.

A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the psychometric properties of the scale. The study was conducted in Manado City, Indonesia, from August to November of 2019 using stratified random sampling. A review of the literature and content analysis identified subscales and items to be included in the instrument. The 268 participants aged = 60 years were completed for psychometric evaluation with a response rate of 83.8%. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Cronbach's Alpha, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Person/Spearmen correlations.

The final scale consists of a three-factor structure with 16 items, which were accounted for 68.99% of the total variation in response. The Cronbach's alpha of the total APHCS was 0.88, which indicated the high reliability and acceptance of the instrument. Also, the concurrent validity was demonstrated by the significant differences in mean and associations among the APHCS scale, the age-friendly Public Health Center (PHCC) utilization, and individual variables, with r ranging from −0.13 to 0.30 (p < 0.05).

Older people are more likely to use PHCCs than others, and they have higher expectations about health services. This study has highlighted the need for action on the quality of healthcare by providers and national authorities. High-quality primary healthcare that sees clients as partners, considering the needs and capacities of elderly clients should be provided as standard. The APHCS scale can enhance our understanding of elderly satisfaction toward the age-friendly PHCC program. Also, the instrument can be used for monitoring and measuring institutions, which is a basis for policymakers to improve and develop the age-friendly PHCC program.

The APHCS scale is a valid and reliable instrument for getting information about the satisfaction of the elderly toward the age-friendly PHCC program.

Population ageing is expected to have an increasing impact on the economy and society. In particular, it creates a myriad of challenges for stakeholders in the construction and property sectors. The design of the built environment would now need to consider the requirements of the older population in the community. This paper aims to provide a study on the readiness of mainstream sustainability reporting tools (SRTs) in helping to create an age-friendly built environment.

First, a list of criteria representing the needs of the older community in the built environment is developed based on a rigorous literature survey and is validated with five focus groups. Then, using this list, SRTs are assessed for their age-friendly readiness.

The findings from this study show that not only are there variations across different SRTs but also a majority do not emphasize enough on age-friendly criteria.

It is suggested that mainstream SRTs should consider allocating mandatory credits for age-friendly criteria. This would definitely encourage property developers and town planners to consider and plan for the needs of the older population.

This paper is original as none of the prior studies have considered assessing the readiness of SRTs in creating an age-friendly built environment.

The life expectancy for persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) has increased significantly, resulting in an increasing number of aging persons with ID. To promote healthy and active aging of persons with ID, discussions on new initiatives to design age-friendly communities have begun at local and international levels. The purpose of this paper, a qualitative research study, is to identify features of an age-friendly community, and facilitators and barriers from the perspectives of older adults with mild ID and their caregivers who live in the city of Winnipeg in Canada.

Seven older persons with mild ID were interviewed, and 15 caregivers participated in focus group discussions. All participants were asked questions about features of community living and their experiences in eight broad topic areas (i.e. transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, opportunities for community involvement, communication and information, community support and healthcare services, and outdoor spaces and buildings).

The results indicated that many of the current features of the city of Winnipeg do not adequately address the needs of aging persons with ID; specifically, participants revealed that issues related to accessibility, social participation, social disrespect and inclusion, and lack of resources were important barriers to independence.

The findings will increase awareness of the needs of aging persons with ID and inform programme planning, service delivery, coordination of community-based services and policies to support healthy and active aging for this vulnerable population.

The purpose of this paper is to present alternative ways of addressing inequality in age-friendly work by drawing attention to the limitations of place-based approaches in meeting the needs of dispersed communities.

A case study of the age-friendly programme Ambition for Ageing (AfA) is used to explore three examples of working with minority communities.

Place-based age-friendly development risks further marginalising older people belonging to dispersed communities of identity or experience; therefore, we need to adopt adopt an intersectional approach to inequality in later life.

Three ways that age-friendly programmes may become more inclusive of minority groups who are geographically dispersed are identified: bringing community members together; co-production; and supporting visibility in mainstream settings.

This paper brings together insights from the AfA programme, critically assessing place-based approaches in relation to working with dispersed communities of identity. It offers some ways to mitigate limitations through adopting tailored equality approaches.

Developing what has been termed “age-friendly” cities has become a significant issue for public policy. To date, however, there is limited knowledge about how older people can be involved in the co-production of age-friendly initiatives. The Translating Research into Action project worked with a group of older co-researchers who examined the age-friendliness of their neighbourhood, with the aim of translating the findings into practice and policy recommendations that can help improve the quality of life of older people in urban neighbourhoods. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper synthetises the data collected through focus groups, interviews conducted by co-researchers and a public dissemination event. The analysis focussed on identifying the suggestions for action and change that could improve the social and physical environment for older people in urban neighbourhoods.

Physical and social issues were found to be contingent on each other and mutually reinforcing, and should therefore not be considered in isolation. However, the findings highlighted physical environmental issues as a major concern; transport was a dominant overarching theme.

Three key areas in need of improvement when developing local level age-friendly policies and practices are discussed: improving and diversifying communication and information; promoting accessibility; and, ensuring a range of meeting opportunities for different groups.

The paper illustrates how co-produced research can be translated into age-friendly interventions, and will be of interest to a wide range of local and (inter)national organisations wishing to research and provide advocacy to older people.