Age friendly cities - How does New Zealand rank?

A new World Health Organisation guide to building age-friendly cities should be required reading, says Age Concern New Zealand.

New Zealand cities achieve well in some areas, but there are many others where there's a long way to go.

"Every city councillor and candidate who cares about older people should read the Global Age-friendly Cities Guide," says Age Concern New Zealand national president Jill Williams. "If a city is good for older people, it improves the quality of life for everyone, especially people with disabilities."

"There are some so-called 'third world' cities that can teach New Zealanders lessons about looking after older residents."

The project surveyed 33 cities throughout the world, but the nearest to New Zealand were Melbourne, and Melville in Western Australia.

"What really strikes us is that the problems and aspirations of older people are so consistent throughout the world.

"From Amman Jordan to Udine in Italy, people are asking for the same things as older New Zealanders: to be respected, to be included, and to have suitable and affordable housing.

"Some of the fixes should be easy to achieve - service improvements such as training bus drivers to give people time to sit down. Others, such as eliminating ageist prejudice and helping older people to participate as fully as possible in urban life are goals that whole communities need to work on together.

"It's a very gratifying report - it's good to see international back-up for many of the things Age Concern has been working for," Jill Williams says.

The new project, Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide was launched by the World Health Organisation as part of International Older Persons celebrations marked in New Zealand and throughout the world.

ENDS

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