AARP Bulletin: Fort Worth Among Nation's Greatest Places to Live
We’ve known Fort Worth is a great place to live, work and play for a long time. Now it’s getting deserved recognition on a global scale. The AARP Bulletin recently dispatched journalists to five cities that are winning acclaim for their innovative work toward increased livability, and Fort Worth made the list.
There’s a lot going on in Fort Worth, with the city having redeveloped an urban neighborhood to combat suburban flight, created “blue zones” to promote healthier living conditions, and helping older residents become entrepreneurs.
Like Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Fort Worth is among Texas cities that are officially designated “age friendly” and are members in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. Fort Worth joined the network in 2014.
Like the other member communities, Fort Worth is considered inclusive and considerate of the perspectives of all residents, of all ages, and all persuasions. Age-Friendly communities encourage and benefit from diverse citizen engagement by including residents in a process to identify the community’s needs, and develop and implement an action plan to address those needs.
Fort Worth also has created an application for firms to be designated age-friendly. Businesses can qualify by having aisles and spaces that can accommodate a wheelchair or walker, ramps and elevators, products kept within reach of patrons, staff trained to relate to older shoppers in person and on the phone. So far, more than 25 businesses and organizations have qualified.
