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5 <br /> I. Aging-Friendly communities Initiative <br /> <br /> A. Introduction to New MAP Initiative <br /> <br /> In the early planning stages, the Steering Committee, in conjunction with the subcommittees, <br /> realized that the Master Aging Plan should be more than implementing needed services by a <br /> group of agencies whose common mission is to serve older persons. The Master Aging Plan <br /> should also promote and build aging-friendly communities that involve everyone, starting first <br /> with all county departments and advisory boards of Orange County government and expanding <br /> outward to towns and community groups. Thus, the Steering Committee approved and <br /> recommended to the County Commissioners the MAP's New Initiative: "Building Aging- <br /> Friendly Communities in Orange." <br /> In 2003 the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services adopted a new initiative called <br /> "Livable and Senior-Friendly Communities." Rather than follow the state's lead and focus solely <br /> on the older population segment as implied in its initiative title, MAP chose the term "Aging- <br /> Friendly Community," since aging is a process beginning at birth and ending with death. Thus, <br /> Aging-Friendly Communities' designs should be livable for all ages. To promote healthy aging <br /> for all, a preventive approach must be used. The central feature of aging-friendly communities <br /> is the incorporation of active living features such as sidewalks, parks, and street lights, which <br /> are close to essential services. (www.activelivingbydesion.orq). The new initiative provides an <br /> over arching vision of where we want to be in the future that transcends the MAP's strategic <br /> five-year plan. <br /> B. Call to Action <br /> Based on the county's demographic shift to a much older community and the rapid growth in <br /> older persons living longer lives, the Master Aging Plan issued the following <br /> Call to Action: Engage all departments of Orange County Government and towns, as <br /> well as the broader public and private community, in the process of improving the <br /> infrastructure and services to meet the needs of older adults who desire to age in place, <br /> especially those with functional disabilities and impairments. <br /> C. An Aging-Friendly Community Assessment Tool <br /> While the new initiative was adopted by the County Commissioners on May 15, 2007 and <br /> endorsed by towns as a principle, no formal workgroup structure has been formed to develop a <br /> community assessment tool covering the major components of an aging-friendly community <br /> that impact quality of life. Those components, identified by the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult <br /> 2 <br />