Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction: Toward a Better Understanding of AFCC

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Age-Friendly Cities and Communities in International Comparison

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Aging ((Int. Perspect. Aging))

Abstract

This book presents one of the first international discussions of aging through the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Age-Friendly City and Community” (AFCC) model. Even if the WHO’s program is not the only one to support an “aging-friendly” perspective (Lui et al. in Aus J Ageing 28: 116–121, 2009; Scharlach and Lehning in Ageing Soc 33: 110–136, 2013) and even if it is not the first one that has linked aging and environmental perspective and insisted on the need for policy support (Phillipson in Handbook of sociology of aging. Springer, New York, pp 279–293, 2011) refers to UN-Habitat report and to the NORCS—“naturally occurring retirement communities”), it is however the first one that permits researchers to explore the various international translations of the Age-Friendly Environments thinking, AFCC becoming a case study for such objective.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Note from the editors: if we opt for English American according to the rules of the publisher, the international perspective of this book implies a compromise concerning the term aging/aging (and its association in “active aging/aging”) because traditions may differ and also because “active aging” has been particularly discussed in Europe (Walker 2002) as an attempt to go beyond US concept of “productive aging” (Bass et al. 1993).

  2. 2.

    Concerning “active aging” we should also mention the recent Active Aging Index developed by a team led by professor Ashgar Zaïdi as a statistical tool to assess the level of European countries (data’s from and comparison with countries outside Europe are also into progress) in four domains related to the concept (employment; participation in society; independent, healthy and secure living; capacity and enabling environment for active aging). For further details: (Online). Available from http://www1.unece.org/stat/platform/display/AAI/Active+Ageing+Index+Home. Accessed May 13, 2015.

  3. 3.

    It might also be associated with the position of the authors of the chapters. In particular, the French chapter has been written by French sociologists who might be particularly critical about public policies and be more reserved about the role of research facing such policies.

References

  • Barusch, A. S. (2013). Age-friendly cities: A social work perspective. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 56(6), 465–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bass, S. A., Caro, F. G., & Chen, Y.-P. (Eds.). (1993). Achieving a productive aging society. Westport, Conn.: Auburn House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, S., & Haapala, I. (2015). Age friendly environments. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(1), 1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, S., Phillipson, C., Money, A., & Leach, R. (2006). The age-shift: Observations on social policy, ageism and the dynamics of the adult lifecourse. Journal of Social Work Practice, 20(3), 239–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bindels, J., Baur, V., Cox, K., Heijing, S., & Abma, T. (2014). Older people as co-researchers: A collaborative journey. Ageing and Society, 34(06), 951–973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buffel, T., McGarry, P., Phillipson, C., De Donder, L., Dury, S., De Witte, N., et al. (2013). Developing age-friendly cities: case studies from Brussels and Manchester and implications for policy and practice. Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 26(1–2), 52–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buffel, T., Phillipson, C., & Scharf, T. (2012). Ageing in urban environments: Developing “age-friendly” cities. Critical Social Policy, 32(4), 597–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dagenais, C., Ridde, V., Laurendeau, M.-C., & Souffez, K. (2009). Knowledge translation research in population health: Establishing a collaborative research agenda. Health Research Policy and Systems, 7(28) (Online). Available from http://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4505-7-28. Accessed May 30, 2015.

  • Fitzgerald, K. G., & Caro, F. G. (2014). Collaborative partnership in age-friendly cities: Two case studies from Quebec, Canada. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 26(1–2), 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, K. G., & Caro, F. G. (2016). International perspectives on age-friendly cities. N.A.: Routledge (Online). Available from https://www.routledge.com/products/9780415720717. Accessed June 5, 2015.

  • Garon, S., Paris, M., Beaulieu, M., Veil, A., & Laliberté, A. (2014). Collaborative partnership in age-friendly cities: Two case studies from Quebec, Canada. Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 26(1–2), 73–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hills, M., & Mullett, J. (2000). Community-based research: creating evidence-based practice for health and social change. (Online). Available from  http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001388.htm. Accessed May 30, 2015.

  • Honneth, A. (1995). The struggle for recognition. The moral grammar of social conflicts. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, R. B. (2015). Making a Home in the City: The age-friendly community movement. Public Policy & Aging Report, 25(1), 1–3 (Online). Available from http://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/pru057. Accessed June 5, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keating, N., Eales, J., & Phillips, J. E. (2013). Age-friendly rural communities: Conceptualizing “best-fit”. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement, 32(4), 319–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassen, A. J. (2014). Keeping disease at arm’s length—how older Danish people distance disease through active ageing. Ageing and Society, 1–20 (Online). Available from http://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X14000245. Accessed May 30, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lassen, A. J., & Moreira, T. (2014). Unmaking old age: Political and cognitive formats of active ageing. Journal of Aging Studies, 30, 33–46 (Online). Available from http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2014.03.004. Accessed May 30, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre, H. (1968). Le droit à la ville. Paris: Anthropos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lui, C., Everingham, J., Warburton, J., Cuthill, M., & Bartlett, H. (2009). What makes a community age-friendly: A review of international literature. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 28(3), 116–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marhankova, J. H. (2011). Leisure in old age: Disciplinary practices surrounding the discourse of active ageing. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 6(1), 5–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menec, V. H., Means, R., Keating, N., Parkhurst, G., & Eales, J. (2011). Conceptualizing age-friendly communities. Canadian Journal on Aging, 30(3), 479–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert, T. (2012a). Gouverner les fins de carrière à distance. Outplacement et vieillissement actif en emploi. Bruxelles: Peter Lang.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert, T. (2012b). Pourquoi les francophones préfèrent-ils la sociologie du vieillissement à la gérontologie critique ? Gérontologie et Société, 142(3), 81–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert, T., & Biggs, S. (2013). International and European policy on work and retirement: Reinventing critical perspectives on active ageing and mature subjectivity. Human Relations, 66(1), 23–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert, T., & Garon, S. (2015). Researchers behind policy development: Comparing “age-friendly cities” models in Quebec and Wallonia. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert, T., & Paris, M. (2013). Social policy on ageing: The case of “active ageing” as a theatrical metaphor. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 1(2), 113–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert, T., & Viriot Durandal, J.-P. (2013) (Eds.). Production et rapport aux normes contemporaines du vieillissement. L’injonction au «bien vieillir» en question. Recherches Sociologiques et Anthropologiques, 44(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Paris, M., Garon, S., & Beaulieu, M. (2013). La lutte pour la reconnaissance de la vieillesse: Un regard critique sur l’estime sociale des aînés. McGill Sociological Review, 3, 5–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillipson, C. (2010). Ageing and urban society: growing old in the “century of the city”. In C. Phillipson & D. Dannefer (Eds.), The sage handbook of social gerontology (pp. 597–606). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Phillipson, C. (2011). Developing age-friendly communities: New approaches to growing old in urban environments. In S. Settersten & J. Angel (Eds.), Handbook of sociology of aging (pp. 279–293). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scharlach, A. (2009). Creating aging-friendly communities. Generations, 33(2), 5–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharlach, A. E., & Lehning, A. J. (2013). Ageing-friendly communities and social inclusion in the United States of America. Ageing and Society, 33(1), 110–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN. (2002). Madrid international plan of action on ageing. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Evaluation Group. (2015). Evaluation changes lives: Realizing evaluation potential to inform the global sustainable development goals. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, A. (2002). A strategy for active ageing. International Social Security Review, 55(1), 121–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, A. (2007). Why involve older people in research? Age and Ageing, 36(5), 481–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2007). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. Geneva: WHO.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. REIACTIS, Dijon, France

    Thibauld Moulaert

  2. School of Public Health, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Thibauld Moulaert

  3. Human and Social Sciences Institute, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Thibauld Moulaert

  4. School of Social Work, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Thibauld Moulaert & Suzanne Garon

  5. Research Centre on Aging, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Suzanne Garon

Authors
  1. Thibauld Moulaert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Suzanne Garon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thibauld Moulaert .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Université Catholique de Louvain, School of Public Health, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Thibauld Moulaert

  2. and Research Centre on Aging, School of Social Work and Research Centre on Aging, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada

    Suzanne Garon

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Moulaert, T., Garon, S. (2016). Introduction: Toward a Better Understanding of AFCC. In: Moulaert, T., Garon, S. (eds) Age-Friendly Cities and Communities in International Comparison. International Perspectives on Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24031-2_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24031-2_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24029-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24031-2

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation