Prof Suzanne Garon - Plenary Panel Day 2: Age-friendly Cities and Communities – ‘Creating Enabling Environments’

Professor Garon has a Ph.D. in Sociology is a full professor at the School of Social Work of the University of Sherbrooke.

Later this month at the 13th IFA Conference, leading experts will be the first to explore the implications for older people in natural and human-induced disasters and health emergencies.

Did you know that developing environments responsive to the aspirations and needs of older people has become a major concern for social and public policy?

Professor Garon will be joined by other world-renowned experts to provide a critical perspective on what has been termed ‘age-friendly cities and communities’ by shifting the focus from questions such as ‘What is an ideal city/community for older people?’ to the question of ‘How age-friendly are cities and communities?’

This approach, it is argued, might be more suited to deal with the complexities of cities and communities as sites of interlocking and conflicting commercial, social, and political interests. The panel will explore:

• the main factors driving the age-friendly debate;

• constraints and opportunities for older people living in urban environments;

• options for a critical social policy;

• the challenges and opportunities of a disaster prone world;

• and examples of involving older people in the development of age-friendly and disaster prepared environments.

This topic of great concern in every modern country today. Professor Garon is available to discuss this topic and any other aged related matters.

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