Grand Rapids Reporter

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The City of Grand Rapids is once again an AARP Age-Friendly Community. This month, AARP informed the City that it renewed the City’s status as a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities through January 2027.

Grand Rapids first explored the possibility of becoming an age-friendly community in 2015. In May 2018, the City Commission gave the City’s Planning Department the green light to move forward on plans to form an Age-Friendly Advisory Council that would develop a community action plan aimed at making Grand Rapids a great place for older adults. The City earned its first AARP Age-Friendly status in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss welcomed the news of renewal saying, “Helping residents feel welcomed in Grand Rapids has been one of my many priorities over the years serving as a commissioner and mayor. News of this designation – in addition to many studies showing Grand Rapids is a great place to live in retirement – is a tribute to this community-led initiative to create programs and services to help residents age in place.”

The AARP Age-Friendly Community is given to cities, towns and counties that prepare for the rapid aging of their populations by paying increased attention to the environmental, economic and social factors that influence the health and well-being of older adults. The result of the five-year designation process, which includes community engagement, support by City leadership and the development and implementation of an action plan, are communities that are better equipped to be great places and even lifelong homes for people of all ages.

Jennifer Feuerstein, associate state director for AARP Michigan, said, "AARP is thrilled to renew the City of Grand Rapids' membership in the Network of Age Friendly Communities. City leaders continue to move Grand Rapids in the right direction to make the neighborhoods across the city more livable for people of all ages. Everyone who's been involved in this effort has been forward-thinking and committed to making Grand Rapids a great place to live, work and play."

The City’s adopted Age-Friendly Community Action Plan, in combination with several neighborhood planning efforts across the city, identifies improvements to four focus areas – outdoor spaces and buildings, housing, transportation, and communication and information.

City Planning Director Kristin Turkelson said that the action plan will play a pivotal role in guiding the citywide process. “As we work to complete our Community Master Plan, it is important to remember that the purpose of city master planning is to inform the work of City staff based on public input and priorities set by the community,” she said.

Original source can be found here.