Action Plan for an Age-Friendly Portland

In 2006, the Institute on Aging at Portland State University began collaborating with the World Health Organization in their Global Age-Friendly Cities project. The research led to the publication of a Final Report and Summary of Findings (2007) that detailed Portland’s age-friendly features, barriers, and suggestions for making the city a better place for people of all ages and abilities. In 2010, the City of Portland partnered with the Portland State Institute on Aging to apply for membership to the WHO’s Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities,, which was created to provide cities around the world with opportunities to collaborate to advance their cities’ age friendliness. In June, 2010, Portland was one of the original nine cities accepted for membership in the Global Network. One year later the City Council officially accepted the WHO’s certificate of membership into the Global Network. This report documents the process.