Livable and Age-Friendly Communities

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Abstract

The increase in the aging population will necessitate that communities take steps to support people as they age, and terms such as livability and age-friendly are used to describe how communities are meeting the needs of its residents. Are these ideas based on a similar perspective? A five-step scoping review process was used to identify components of conceptual frameworks for livability and age-friendliness and explore the extent to which similarities and differences exist within them. Twenty-one frameworks were reviewed and commonly included elements were: health, safety, housing, and social participation. Each framework included between two and thirteen components, but the number of aspects measured within each component varied widely, as did the system by which the components were weighted in the total score. The findings from this review provide future directions on how to create livable and age-friendly communities by identifying frameworks that can guide their development.