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Promoting Resilience Through Aging-Friendly Community Initiatives: Opportunities and Challenges

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Resilience in Aging

Abstract

In recent decades, a growing number of cities and towns have implemented aging-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs), which aim to create places where older adults are involved, valued, and supported (Alley et al., Journal of Gerontological Social Work 49(1–2):1–18, 2007). Aging-friendly communities promote a better person–environment fit by modifying the physical and social environment to support older adults’ health, well-being, and the ability to age in place. AFCIs reflect a shift among foundations, advocacy groups, and researchers toward reframing (Frameworks Institute, Aging, 2016) or disrupting aging (Jenkins, Disrupt aging: A bold new path to living your best life at every age. Public Affairs, New York, 2016) by focusing attention not only on the challenges but also on the benefits of an aging society for individuals, families, and communities. The ultimate purpose of aging-friendly efforts is to allow community residents to live full and meaningful lives across the life course, even in the face of not only age-related physical and cognitive changes but also psychological and social changes.

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Lehning, A.J. (2018). Promoting Resilience Through Aging-Friendly Community Initiatives: Opportunities and Challenges. In: Resnick, B., Gwyther, L., Roberto, K. (eds) Resilience in Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04555-5_16

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