City Council Votes to Make Phoenix an AARP Age-Friendly Community

The Phoenix City Council today voted to have the city join the AARP Network of Age-
Friendly Communities. The 7 to 1 City Council vote adds Phoenix to a number of large U.S. cities that have pledged to plan and prepare for worldwide trends of rapid population aging and urbanization. The City Council also approved the creation of a new management assistant II position to oversee this initiative and another on making Phoenix a Fast-Track City to end AIDS as a public health threat.  Communities in more than 20 nations including New York city, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Washington D.C. in the U.S. are members of the network, which is part of the World Health Organization's Global Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program. Mayor Stanton has appointed Councilwoman Thelda Williams and Vice Mayor Kate Gallego as co-chairs of Phoenix's Age-Friendly effort. Cities in the network pledge to work toward becoming more age-friendly; identify and involve stakeholders, including older adults; conduct a baseline assessment of the community's age-friendliness; write an action plan, based on the results from the assessment, aimed at improving the community's livability for people of all ages; identify indicators for assessing and monitoring progress; monitor progress and establish a process for continual improvement."Phoenix is one of the world's great cities because we provide opportunity and vibrant lifestyle options for residents of all ages," said Mayor Stanton. "As we continue to build a sustainable innovation-based economy that works for everyone, modernize our transportation system and revitalize Downtown, it's important that we keep an age-friendly perspective to move Phoenix forward."