Age-friendly Cities Performance Index: a management tool

Abstract

Populations ageing together with urban growth represent the main changing factors in the 21st century world scenario. United Nation Organization (UNO) forecasts show that by the year 2050 the world population for people over 60 years old will reach 2 billions of elderly. Furthermore 68% of the world population will inhabit cities (urban precincts). Cities are political, social and cultural activities centers, and in order to be sustainable, must provide services and infrastructures that account for the well-being and productivity of the inhabitants. Considering the older residents, there is the need to enable the surrounding environment to offer support and qualification, as to compensate the social, psychological and physical changes related to ageing. Aware of the population ageing phenomenon, the UNO, held in the year 2002, in Madrid the Second World Assembly on Ageing, defining the guidelines that support the public policies concerning the elderly population in the 21st century. The proposals emerging for this event were based upon a new idea of old age, sustained in the concept of Active Ageing. Active Ageing is "the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age". It applies to both individuals and population groups. Within this new paradigm, strategic planning of public policies for the elderly, shifts from a need based focus (assuming the elderly as passive targets) to a rights based focus, allowing the recognition of the elderly rights to equal opportunities and treatment in all aspects of life. Under this scope, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a worldwide survey, comprising 35 cities, from different parts of the world, aiming to develop a mobilization tool encouraging cities to become age-friendly cities. From this initiative resulted a Guide for "Global Age-friendly Cities and Communities" and the launch of the "Global Network of Age-friendly Cities" as an incentive to continuous improvement of aged-friendly policies and programs. The WHO considers an "age friendly city as a city that encourages active ageing by optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age". In practical terms, an age friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capabilities. Considering the premise that the ageing process is a phenomenon with multiple implications in the various aspects of social life, promoting a better elderly quality of life requires an integrated and complementary action from the different public actors and the civil society. Such a scenario emphasizes the need for elderly caring public policies, comprising among others concerns, diagnosis procedures and decision support tools for investors and public managers dealing with the issue, enabling the strengthening of the elderly caring network and the promotion of quality of life of this population. The present paper aims to present a brief reflection on the potential of the Age-Friendly Cities Performance Index as a management tool helping decision makers in the "Active Ageing" opportunities optimization of the population, at local level. Research methodology for the present review was mainly descriptive, presenting the modeling of indicators system as a decision making support tool. From the obtained results, it is clear the importance of the proposed indicator, the "Age-Friendly Cities Performance Index" as a management tool helping publ