Initiative Information

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Across the globe, people are living longer and our populations are growing older. Miami-Dade has the largest population of older adults in the State of Florida with over half a million older adults age 60 and over in the County; and that population is expected to continue to grow to over 800,000 by 2040, representing 25% of the total population of Miami-Dade County (Source: Florida Population Studies: Population Projections by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin for Florida and Its Counties 2015-2040 with Estimates for 2013, University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research). But, most communities were not built for this shift in demographics. Our economies, policies, and communities were not built to accommodate an aging population or aging in place. How well Miami-Dade responds to the aging phenomenon and meets the needs of older adults will depend on how well we prepare our communities to do so, and how we can work collectively toward sustainable change to ensure our community is a place where people of all ages can live with the quality of life that they need and deserve.

MISSION
The Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative is a collaborative effort focused on sustainable changes and efforts in order to create a community where older adults of all ages can stay active, engaged, and healthy with dignity and enjoyment.

LEADERSHIP
The first three years of the initiative were made possible by Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) Community Agenda: Improving America for All Ages, with funds from the Pfizer Foundation collaborated with local partners to create the Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative. Today, the initiative continues and is led by a Leadership Committee and coordinating agencies that include:

• AARP Florida
• Alliance for Aging
• Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County
• Health Foundation of South Florida
• Miami-Dade County
• Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization
• United Way of Miami-Dade
• Urban Health Partnerships

The initiative is also comprised of a Advisory Committee made up of traditional and non-traditional stakeholders across multiple sectors who recognize the value and need for an age-friendly Miami-Dade.

Accomplishments

Focused on building momentum, implementing strategies, and building awareness around the needs of our aging population, some of the Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative accomplishments include:

AGE-FRIENDLY LEADERSHIP

• An Advisory Committee was developed and sustained throughout the Initiative.
• The Miami-Dade County Mayor Office has continued to pledge its support for the Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative.
• Six agencies were identified as an initial set of lead agencies for the Initiative, all signed on to continue the relationship through a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding.
• A pledge was developed for local leaders to sign-on that was promoted by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez (Mayor’s Challenge).

AGE-FRIENDLY ACTION PLAN & SURVEY

• A multi-sectorial work group was developed and included, interested individuals from all lead agencies as well as other representatives from the Advisory Committee. Invited key individuals to also participate in discussions related to their field of interest. The workgroup provided specifics incorporated into the Action Plan strategies for creating an age-friendly Miami-Dade.
• An Action Plan for an Age-Friendly Miami-Dade was developed and launched.
• Three initial priority areas for the Initiative were identified including: built environment portions of the Age-Friendly Domains of Outdoor Spaces & Buildings, Transportation, and Housing.
• Maps and infographics were created related to the Action Plan and priority areas in order to complement the plan‚ help to illustrate the issues, and aid in current and future conversations about the issues facing older adults.
• Two surveys of age-friendliness in the county were conducted with over 2000 older adults in 2017 to help inform future efforts.

AGE-FRIENDLY PARKS

• A County-wide age-friendly park designation process was developed.
• Specific age-friendly capital improvement projects have been identified and added to a list for future funding by Miami-Dade County Parks.
• A marketing campaign was designed and implemented to attract larger numbers of older adults to County parks; increased older adult programming in parks has been offered.
• An Age-Friendly Parks Toolkit was developed‚ to help other communities implement similar age-friendly parks standards, policies, and programming.

AGE-FRIENDLY‚POLICY

• Miami-Dade County Planning staff reviewed and accepted recommended age-friendly changes to the County Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) in the Transportation, Community Health and Design and Land Use elements.
• Recommended age-friendly changes to CDMP, were unanimously approved by the County and State, and were adopted by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners in 2015.
• The County Long Range Transportation Plan (Plan 2040) was modified to include specific objectives, measures and transportation analysis with an increased focus on older adults. The LRTP was approved in October 2014 with inclusion of these modifications.
• The Miami-Dade Transit 10Ahead Transportation Development Plan Steering Committee was provided with a series of recommendations for older adults and the Plan goals, objectives and outreach tactics and the process has benefited from an increase in input from older adult residents.
• A toolkit designed to assist state and local governments solicit input from older adults on large-scale public sector transportation projects was developed.
• The Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization Board passed a resolution in February 2016‚ to promote age–friendly projects and design where feasible and to partner with the Miami-Dade Age–Friendly Initiative.
• The Miami-Dade Complete Streets Design Guidelines, adopted in 2017, incorporated older adult considerations and collaboration with the Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative.

AGE-FRIENDLY AWARENESS

• A Study on Community Leader Attitudes Towards Issues Affecting Older Adults was commissioned and completed by Bendixen & Amandi International.
• Miami-Dade’s first Age-Friendly Summit was planned and help in May 2015 for over 150 attendees including elected official, civic leaders, and business leaders to bring attention to the need for a focus on needs of older adults.
• Met with the Editorial Board of the Miami-Herald to discuss issues related to aging in Miami-Dade County and the need for attention toward age-friendly changes in the community.
• Hosted three discussion groups in different communities in Miami-Dade to understand older adults’ experiences aging in Miami Dade County, with particular attention to three priority areas: Housing, Transportation, and Parks/Outdoor Spaces and to develop three stories or testimonials from older adults in Miami-Dade County that can be used in future discussions of issues with community leaders in Miami-Dade County.
• Hosted workshops related to priority domain areas including Transportation, Housing, and Outdoor Spaces to bring strategies and solutions to stakeholders throughout Miami-Dade.

AGE-FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOODS

• The Safe Routes to Age in Place (SRTAP) Initiative was launched to help empower older adults and Little Havana residents to recognize needs and help identify changes to improve safety within their neighborhood.
• The Little Havana Safe Routes to Age in Place Virtual Advisory Committee was developed to provide ongoing input to the Florida State Department of Transportation Little Havana Pedestrian Safety Study.
• The Safe Routes to Age in Place (SRTAP) Initiative was invited to submit the Safe Routes to Age in Place project to the WHO Global Database of Age-friendly practices, and was accepted for inclusion in the database.
• The paper “An Audit of a Diverse Community for Safe Routes to Age in Place: Environmental Policy Implication, which was based on Phase 1 of our initiative’s work, was accepted for publication in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing for the Public Policy Section and appeared in the March 2015 issue.

AGE-FRIENDLY BUSINESS

• The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, South Florida Workforce, and other local employers have been engaged related to how we as a County can increase employment opportunities for older adults; two older adult employment promotional videos have been created and posted on the Web.
• An Age-Friendly Business District (AFBD) was developed in Little Havana where more than 25 businesses within a quarter-mile of the target location have provided purchasing incentives for older adults to walk every Tuesday to their stores.
• The AFBD was promoted through sites in Little Havana to recruit more patrons s well as evaluate use and response.
• An Age-Friendly Business District (AFBD) Toolkit was developed to help other communities implement similar business districts and age-friendly businesses.
• Age-friendly issues and priorities were successfully injected into the goal-setting discussions of key Committees for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce by leveraged relationships with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce at goal-setting workshops of three key committees.

AGE-FRIENDLY DESIGNATION

• Miami-Dade County applied and was accepted into the World Health Organization and AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities.
• To date, 14 municipalities have also joined the Network of Age-Friendly Communities, including Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Miami Lakes, Palmetto Bay, and Pinecrest amongst others.
• City of Miami also passed a resolution to join the Age-Friendly Network in 2017.

Join Our Advisory Committee

The Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Older Adults Initiative Advisory Committee helps advise, support, and advocate for the efforts of the Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative. Members of the committee are individuals in related fields or representing organizations that share in the initiative’s mission to create a metropolitan area that fosters a physical and social environment for older adults of all ages to stay active and healthy with dignity and enjoyment.

To express interest in joining the committee, please click here.

To view upcoming meetings, please visit our events page.

Join Our Stakeholder Advisory Committee 

The Stakeholder Advisory Committee meetings bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, such as government, community organizations, healthcare providers, and older adult advocates, to collaborate on efforts to improve the health and quality of life for our aging population.

To express interest in joining the committee, please click here.

To view upcoming meetings, please visit our events page.