Tag Archives: age-friendly communities

New Report Highlights Factors that Influence Healthy Aging in Massachusetts

Data and Reports

The 2018 Massachusetts Healthy Aging Data Report has been released!

The comprehensive examination of the health of older people in the Commonwealth offers detailed profiles of every city and town, maps and other tools to understand healthy aging trends and disparities throughout the state. Prepared by a research team at the Gerontology Institute at the John W. McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the report was funded by Tufts Health Plan Foundation. Highlights were shared at a meeting of the Governor’s Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts. Continue reading →

New Investments from Tufts HP Foundation Build on Age-Friendly Momentum in Local Communities

News and Updates, ,

Twenty-seven local organizations each will receive a grant of up to $10,000 from Tufts Health Plan Foundation’s new Momentum Fund. The fund was established to foster new ideas and support cities and towns in their efforts to make their communities better places to grow up and grow old. Continue reading →

WHO, Grantmakers in Aging Announce Innovation@Home Contest Winners

News and Updates,

The desire to live safely and comfortably in our own homes and communities as we grow older is shared around the world, but making it happen is not always easy. To identify successful age-friendly housing innovations and encourage their dissemination, Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) and the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC) launched Innovation@Home — a competition and call for international age-friendly housing practices.

The Innovation@Home winners were announced at the 2018 International Technical Meeting on Ageing at Home, in Québec City, Canada, where representatives from all three groups had the opportunity to make presentations about their programs.

A list of contest winners is available here. Continue reading →

Updated ‘DataCommon’ Tool Offers Community-Specific Info for Age- and Dementia Friendly Efforts

Data and Reports,

Along with the Healthy Aging Data Reports and Community Profiles, communities now have another useful tool to help them conduct assessments as part of Age- and Dementia Friendly efforts.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) has re-released DataCommon, an open data resource that was first launched in 2006 and is returning after an extensive user-focused restructuring and redesign. It includes data on a variety of indicators for every city and town and, while it’s intended for planners, it can help anyone – residents, stakeholders, planners, city and town officials, educators, journalists – explore data and make informed decisions. Continue reading →

UMass-Lowell Researchers Partner with Age-Friendly Lawrence

News and Updates,

In a great example of Age-Friendly Communities partnering with their local colleges and universities, UMass-Lowell, which has already been working with Lawrence and local organizations for years, will now be focused on helping the city’s own Age-Friendly initiative.

In collaboration with Groundwork Lawrence, the Lawrence Council on Aging and the Mayor’s Health Task Force, UMass-Lowell researchers have a goal of reaching 8,000 residents of all ages and from all parts of the city. Continue reading →

AARP Releases Stats from 2018 Home and Community Preferences Survey

Data and Reports, News and Updates, ,

While 76% of Americans age 50 and older say they prefer to remain in their current residence and 77% would like to live in their community as long as possible, just 59% anticipate they will be able to stay in their community, either in their current home (46%) or a different home still within their community (13%).

Those results are among the key findings in the Home and Community Preferences Survey, which provides data and insights that raise awareness of the importance of making our communities “great places for all ages” and serves as a tool for change in our communities.

See the full chartbook of data here.

MGA Endorses the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Initiative, Highlights Link to Communities

News and Updates, ,

The Massachusetts Gerontology Association (MGA) is announcing its endorsement of the Age-Friendly University (AFU) initiative and the 10 AFU principles that reflect a pioneering international effort intended to highlight the role higher education can play in responding to the needs and interests of our aging population. Continue reading →

City of Salem Completes Shuttle Feasibility Study

Data and Reports, News and Updates, Systems and Best Practices,

The Friends of the Salem Council on Aging, the City of Salem and its consultant, TransAction Associates, have completed a feasibility study of an intra-city shuttle. The concept of a shuttle is an important action step in the implementation of the City’s landmark Salem For All Ages Action Plan. The study was funded by a Tufts Health Plan Foundation grant that was awarded to the Friends of the Salem Council on Aging. A working group of over twenty stakeholders helped guide the study. Continue reading →