AARP Kansas Honors Wichita Mayor for Age-Friendly Work

                                                                                                                      AARP

AARP Kansas Director Maren Turner presented an award to Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer in recognition of his support and work to make Wichita an age-friendly community where  residents of all ages can live and have access to the services they need.

The ceremony took place on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, just prior to the Wichita City Council meeting.

Under the Mayor's direction, the City of Wichita joined AARP's Network of Age-Friendly Cities in March, 2013, and made a commitment to become more accessible, convenient and, ultimately, more user-friendly for older Americans.

 At that time, Mayor Brewer said:

“We are striving to build a sustainable community in Wichita, and that includes creating programs and looking at development and infrastructure that promote a walkable, livable, multimodal, and green lifestyle,” says Mayor Brewer. “The work that we do as an Age-Friendly Community will benefit our older population, as well as a younger generation that is becoming more and more interested in living in an area where they can walk or bike wherever they need to go. We are excited to be working with AARP Kansas in this effort.”

Mayor Brewer also supported the development of the first Grandparents Park in Kansas, located near Estelle and Kellogg Drive in the south-central area of Wichita. Since the park was completed in July 2013, it has received state and national attention, including articles in the LA Times and Huffington Post.   Wichita was also named one of the Milken Institute’s Best Cities for Successful Aging for its work to establish a Grandparents Park.

"We've been very honored and pleased to be able to work with Mayor Brewer in making Wichita an age-friendly city," said Turner.  "There is more work to be done, but the city has made great strides and we look forward to continued work together."