Creating age friendly communities

An age friendly community is a place where you can stay connected, healthy, active and respected – whatever your age.

Age friendly communities

The World Health Organization started the global Age-Friendly Cities Project in 2006. 

An age friendly community:

  • respects the rights of older people
  • celebrates older people
  • responds to the growing diversity of older people, for example disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and religion or beliefs
  • values older people and makes it easier for everyone to participate in community life
  • connects people across all ages.

This helps older people to:

  • stay connected
  • stay active and healthy
  • live with dignity and enjoyment
  • feel that they are treated with respect.

Age-friendly world – World Health Organization

Age friendly Aotearoa New Zealand

By 2034, more than one in five New Zealanders will be over 65 – approximately 1.2 million people.

In 2018 the New Zealand government was accepted as an affiliate member of the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities. Hamilton, New Plymouth, Auckland, Nelson, Gore, Napier and Wairarapa are all members of the global network.

To learn more about age friendly in New Zealand, local age friendly groups are invited to join the Age friendly Aotearoa New Zealand Network which has grown from 15 cities and districts in 2022 to 35 in January 2025. Find out who the members are and read more about joining our Age friendly Network.

Creating an age friendly community

Based on the WHO Age friendly framework, areas that communities can focus on to become more age friendly include:

  • outdoor spaces and buildings
  • transportation
  • housing
  • social participation
  • respect and social inclusion
  • civic participation and employment
  • communication and information
  • community support and health services.

How we can help

The Office for Seniors provides advice, resources and a small grants programme, to help support age friendly communities in New Zealand.

The Age friendly toolkit  guides you through the steps to developing an age friendly plan for your community.

The annual Age friendly Fund grants programme helps provide funding for developing an age friendly plan, doing a needs assessment or setting up a new project to enable ideas to be tested or piloted.

Age friendly resources

 

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