Theories of Community Collaboration to Advance Age-Friendly Community Change

• Published in: The Gerontologist Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 36 - 45
• Main Authors: Greenfield, Emily A, Black, Kathy, Oh, Patricia, Pestine-Stevens, Althea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 14-01-2022
• Subjects: Aging; Citizen participation; Collaboration; Community change; Community development; Group identity; Humans; Initiatives; Older people; Sustainable development; Theory formation; Evaluation; Age in place; Community development; Public policy; Healthy aging
• ISSN: 0016-9013; 1758-5341
• DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnab136

Abstract
The age-friendly communities movement has grown rapidly in global prominence over the past 2 decades. However, theories to guide multisectoral action toward age-friendly community change have been slower to develop. We demonstrate the value of drawing on theories of community collaboration to inform age-friendly community efforts across engagement, planning, implementation, and measurement. We introduce 3 theories—Asset-Based Community Development, Strategic Doing, and Collective Impact—each with principles and strategies for guiding multisectoral group processes toward long-term and systematic community change. While distinct from each other, these theories collectively suggest the importance of incorporating a more explicit community-building approach within the age-friendly communities movement. We describe the implications of this integrative theory development for bolstering sustainable and comprehensive practices and policies to improve environments for aging across diverse communities.