Madison Joins AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.

^{Downtown Madison, Inc.}

The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities serves as a catalyst to educate local leaders (both elected officials and engaged residents) and encourage them to implement the types of changes that make communities more livable for people of all ages, especially older adults. The network provides cities, towns, counties and states with the resources to become more age-friendly by tapping into national and global research, planning models and best practices. Membership in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities means that a community’s elected leadership has made a commitment to actively work with residents and local advocates to make their town, city, county or state an age-friendly place to live.

On January 30^th, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced that Madison had become the 421^st community to join AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.

What makes a community age-friendly? The most livable communities are those that enable residents to thrive at every age and every life stage — in other words, they are age-friendly. However, the availability and quality of certain community features — commonly referred to as the “8 Domains of Livability” — do have a particular impact on the well-being of older adults. The domains framework can be used to organize and prioritize a community’s work to become more livable for older residents as well as people of all ages.

Doing so benefits community members of all ages.

For information about the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities, or to help your community become an Age Friendly Designated Community, visit the website www.aarp.org/livable. In Wisconsin you can contact Darrin Wasniewski, associate state director for community outreach, at dwasniewski@aarp.org.