Newcastle caters for ageing population in city planning

City of Newcastle has partnered with Hunter Ageing Alliance to better integrate age-friendly actions such as accessibility improvements and community connections into forward planning.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said exploring ways for Newcastle to adapt to an ageing population is an important focus for City of Newcastle as it plans for the next decade given one quarter of locals will soon be over 65 years of age.

"An age-friendly city and community enables people at all stages of life to actively participate in community activities and treats everyone with respect,” Cr Nelmes said.

“By working with Hunter Ageing Alliance, we can develop ways to increase community participation for our older residents as well as exploring ways to increase affordable age-friendly housing, employment, training and education opportunities.

“As Newcastle’s population ages, it’s vital we make planning decisions to increase accessibility in our city and to create a place where it is easy for our elderly members to stay connected to others."

Cr Nelmes said that the work with Hunter Ageing Alliance coincided with community consultation on a new 'Social Strategy' which would identify and propose actions to address barriers to social inclusion and make Newcastle a more liveable and connected city.

"Beyond health, welfare and economic issues, we are prioritising social engagement, life-long learning, connectedness and community development for our ageing citizens.

“By collaborating with industry partners, other government departments, not-for-profit organisations and our community, we share in a common goal to prioritise and plan inclusive responses affecting our community and provide a platform for further policy advocacy."