Developing age-friendly communities in areas of urban regeneration

This chapter explores how a major challenge for research on urban ageing lies in connecting age-friendly approaches to strategies underpinning urban development. There is little consensus about what makes a supportive, inclusive environment for older people in areas undergoing rapid and dramatic social and material transformation. Drawing on empirical research carried out in Collyhurst (Manchester), the analysis reflects on the specific opportunities and challenges of incorporating an age-friendly ethos into a large-scale regeneration that is set to radically transform the neighbourhood over a 15–20-year period. Recommendations are made for how urban developments can be more inclusive, centring on the central idea of ‘equitable development’, where social goals are made explicit from the outset. In practice, this means that redevelopment should acknowledge the specific histories of local communities, adopt an intergenerational lens to create inclusive spaces, and engage with residents in a meaningful and sustained way that is transparent and specific to the community and challenges in question