2017 Age-Friendly Cities Summit: Resources Now Available!
Working Together Toward an Age-Friendly San Mateo County
In the coming years, the number of older adults in our community will significantly increase. By the year 2030, San Mateo County can expect to see a 72% increase in population ages 65 and up. As a thought leader and catalyst of change, Peninsula Family Service is rising to the challenge of bringing the community together to brainstorm and exchange ideas on how to provide a better environment for community members of all ages.
The World Health Organization launched a global movement to designate cities as “age-friendly” if they meet certain criteria. An “age-friendly” city is friendly to everyone and there are wide-ranging benefits such as streets that enhance the mobility and independence of both younger people and older people with disabilities, as well as vibrant local economies.
Santa Clara County is on track to become the first county in the United States to get all cities certified. Several cities in the Bay Area including San Francisco, Berkeley and Mill Valley also have received the distinction.
With this summit, Peninsula Family Service brought together civic leaders, health leaders, residents and community members to learn about what it takes to become an “Age-Friendly City” and brainstorm on how this can become a reality in each of the 20 cities and towns across San Mateo County.
The Age-Friendly Cities Summit took place on November 9th, 2017 at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in Redwood Shores. The event’s keynote speaker was Anabel Pelham, Ph.D., a noted gerontologist who led an effort in Santa Clara County for all its cities to become certified as age-friendly by the World Health Organization (WHO). Anabel is Founding Director of the Center for Age-Friendly Excellence (CAFE). You can find her presentation here. Attendees broke out in discussion groups to provide feedback and ideas on how to address gaps in making their city age-friendly. Learn more about the findings of these discussions in this summary.
The Age-Friendly Cities Summit brought together civic leaders, health leaders, residents and community members. You can find more information about our speakers below:
David J. Canepa
County of San Mateo Board of Supervisors, District 5
Supervisor Canepa served on the Daly City Council from 2008 through 2016 and served as Mayor in 2014. He also serves on boards such as the First 5 Commission, Health Plan of San Mateo, San Mateo County Medical Center, the San Mateo County Event Center, the Commission on Aging, Community Corrections Partnership and the Association of Bay Area Governments.
Anabel Pelham, Ph. D.
Founding Director, CAFE
Anabel is president of the National Association of Professional Gerontologists (NAPG) and Emeriti Professor and Founding Director of the Graduate Gerontology Program at San Francisco State University. Dr. Pelham is Founding Director of the Center for Age-Friendly Excellence (CAFE). She is also a member of the Los Altos Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. CAFE provided the successful technical assistance to the Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley) Age-Friendly Cities initiative.
Al Royse
Hillsborough City Council
Al is a retired senior partner with the global accounting and consulting firm of Deloitte LLP, and is currently a member of the Hillsborough City Council. He is also Chair-Elect for Peninsula Family Service’s Board. Mr. Royse serves as national Chairman of the Board for the American Heart Association and as the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee of Voices for Healthy Kids. For past 6 years, he has been an Executive in Residence and Guest Lecturer on Business Topics at University of Shanghai.
Jan Yanehiro
Founding Director, School of Communications and Media Technologies, Academy of Art University
Jan co-hosted Evening Magazine, a nightly program in San Francisco that ran for 15 years on KPIX TV-CBS 5. She has won multiple awards including an Emmy, the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award and the Girl Scout’s Woman of Distinction. In addition to her role at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, she is also Vice Chair of Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation and a board member of the SF-Osaka Sister City Association. Yanehiro graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in Journalism: News-Editorial. She is the author of three books.
The Age-Friendly Cities Summit was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors:
Below, you will find a list of resources to learn more about the World Health Organization’s Age-friendly initiative, age-friendly environments and resources for older adults in our community.
Age-Friendly Cities Summit Keynote Presentation
Click here to download the presentation on Age-Friendly Cities conducted by Anabel Pelham during the Summit.
Break-Out Groups: Domain Discussion Summary
Click here to download the summary on the eight domains discussion.
Survey Results
Click here to access the survey results.
Additional Resources
Here you can find links to access external resources that will help you learn more about the age-friendly initiative and continue the discussion with your elected officials and the general public.
World Health Organization | Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide
Click here for a comprehensive guide to stimulate action in your own city.
World Health Organization | Measuring the Age-Friendliness of Cities
Click here for an in-depth document on how the age-friendliness of cities is measured.
Other Resources
World Health Organization | Toward an Age-Friendly World
To learn more about what an Age-friendly world means and examples of local efforts that are currently being implemented, click here: Age-friendly world.
World Health Organization | Age-Friendly Environments
For more information about what it means to create Age-friendly environments, click here: Age-friendly environments.
World Health Organization | Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide
This is an in-depth resource that the World Health Organization makes available for cities and the general public to explore the rapid trends of growth of the population 60 years and older, urbanization and summarizes the research process that led to identify the features of an age-friendly city. To download this guide, click here: A guide to Age-Friendly Cities.
70 Strong
To learn more about 70 Strong, a free concierge service to resources and activities for older adults, click here: 70 Strong. This program is a collaboration between Peninsula Family Service and the Sequoia Healthcare District.