Civic Participation and Employment

An age-friendly city and community provide opportunities for older people to do voluntary or paid employment. Work keeps older people engaged in the political process, encourages civic participation and the continuation of training / entrepreneurial opportunities.

The importance of including older people

Both the World Health Organization's active ageing principle and the age-friendly city approach are participative and empowering. They combine 'top-down' policy action to enable and motivate activity, with 'bottom-up' engagement of older people in developing their forms of activity [108]. This process not only engages older people, but it also seeks alliances across government and with key stakeholders across all sectors of society [4].

Actively engaging older people in the planning process

Given that the physical environment is of such importance in determining older people's physical activity and wellbeing, local governments have an important role to play in supporting the participation of older people. Additionally, older people should be encouraged to actively engage in improving the environment in which they live and shaping the conditions that favour the ageing process and improve their wellbeing [35]. The participation of older adults plays an integral part in the planning, implementation and evaluation process of age-friendly initiatives [25] [117]. Participatory planning is critical for designing physical and social environments that support the physical activity of older people.

Employment options for older people

An ageing population will have significant impacts on labour supply and economic output, and on the delivery of appropriate, affordable and accessible infrastructure and services [85]. Town planners and urban designers should consider options to support the employment and volunteer participation of older people, through providing an enabling environment. Simply making places of work accessible removes barriers to higher levels of participation. Ensuring places of employment are connected to a safe, convenient and reliable public transport system, are universally accessible and are welcoming places will provide the foundation for a Healthy Active Ageing population. Enhanced levels of volunteering and paid employment for older people can be supported by government initiatives that focus on reducing social barriers.