More than 500 older adults from every part of the City participated in Thought Leader meetings, Listening Tour events, bilingual surveys (online and in-person), Advisory, Subcommittee and Task Force meetings to identify the needs, gaps and opportunities that are included in the Action Plan. While age-friendly initiatives around the world may focus on WHO’s eight Domains of Livability, Grand Rapids is currently advancing work in the four domains that are most important to older adult Grand Rapids residents: Communication, Housing, Outdoor Spaces and Transportation. This compelling data calls on Grand Rapids and the state of Michigan to become a leader in age-friendly planning and practices. By 2025, Michigan will be the first state where residents age 65 and older will outnumber those that are 18 and younger – a decade ahead of the national aging projection. According to AARP the number of Michiganders 60 years and older is growing by 50,000 each year. Michigan is one of the most rapidly aging states in the country. In October 2019, Michigan became the fifth state in the country and the first state in the Midwest to partner with AARP/WHO to become an age-friendly state. Grand Rapids is the second largest City in Michigan and, to date, one of eight communities in Michigan that has committed to creating a place to live that is inclusive and responsive to the needs of residents of all ages and from all walks of life. Annual reports will be submitted to AARP/WHO to sustain the Age-Friendly designation. Implementation of some of the Action Plan recommendations has already begun and work will continue in perpetuity. The engagement efforts have continued in 2019, culminating in this Age-Friendly Grand Rapids Action Plan. In 2018, after two years of community engagement, the City applied for and was accepted as a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities. In 2016, AARP and the City of Grand Rapids began seeking input from diverse stakeholders and taking the steps to seek formal designation for the City. Since 2012 AARP, an institutional affiliate of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, has led the effort to educate and support cities and communities that are interested in becoming designated as age-friendly communities in the U.S. In 2006, the Age-Friendly Communities international effort was launched by the World Health Organization to help cities prepare for the parallel trends of a rapidly aging world population and increasing urbanization. Subscribe to Receive Updates for City Jobs.
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