Age-Friendly Cities
An age-friendly city is one that adapts its structures, services and social environment so that people of all ages, and older people in particular, can stay healthy, active, included and safe.
Definition
The idea comes from the World Health Organization's Global Age-friendly Cities programme. It looks at the whole urban environment rather than health services alone.
Standards and frameworks
The WHO framework groups age-friendliness into eight domains: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community support and health services.
- [Guidance] WHO guidance on national programmes for age-friendly cities and communities.
How it is measured
WHO has published a guide to core indicators for measuring age-friendliness. SeniorHub's assessment framework turns these domains into dimensions, KPIs and metrics that a city can score and evidence.
- [Guidance] WHO guidance on core indicators for measuring the age-friendliness of cities.
Indian context
Indian cities face distinct conditions such as dense mixed traffic, joint and multigenerational households and rapid urbanisation. SeniorHub treats WHO guidance as a global foundation and asks for Indian and local evidence before drawing local conclusions.
- [SeniorHub interpretation] Adapting global guidance to Indian conditions is SeniorHub's interpretation pending Indian evidence.
Sources
- Measuring the age-friendliness of cities: a guide to using core indicators — WHO (2015)
- National programmes for age-friendly cities and communities: a guide — WHO (2023)
Related
Jurisdiction: GLOBAL · Version 1 · Last reviewed 2026-09-24. SeniorHub is not affiliated with or endorsed by WHO or the UN.