College Park Becomes 782nd Age-Friendly Community in US

COLLEGE PARK, Georgia -- The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States & Communities welcomed the City of College Park into the network during an in-person designation ceremony at City Hall on Monday. College Park serves more than 13,000 Georgians and joins almost 800 other communities across the nation that have committed to preparing for an aging population.

Launched in 2012, the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities (NAFSC) is an organizational affiliate of the World Health Organization Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, a program launched in 2006. Through the age-friendly program, AARP helps participating communities to become more livable and age-friendly by creating safer and more walkable streets, needed housing and transportation options, better access to key services, and opportunities for residents to participate in community activities.

“The City of College Park is thrilled to join the esteemed group of Georgia cities in AARP's Age-Friendly Network. As we continue to build the community, we deserve every day, ensuring the best experience for our legacy residents and visitors is an important part of our mission. We are grateful to AARP Georgia for their leadership and advocacy and look forward to working with them to provide even more opportunities to improve the quality of life for our seniors.” Mayor Bianca Motley Broom, City of College Park.

“We are thrilled the city of College Park has joined the network,” said Debra Tyler-Horton, State Director for AARP Georgia. “We commend the city for recognizing the value of being an age-friendly community for people of all ages, and we look forward to continuing our work together to make the city a great place to grow up and grow old.”

The NAFSC provides a structured process that guides change and serves as a catalyst to educate, encourage, promote, and recognize improvements that benefit residents of all ages and life stages. Enrollment in the network provides member communities with the resources to become more age-friendly by tapping into national and global research, planning models and best practices.

Georgia is home to the nation’s first age-friendly community – Macon-Bibb County– which celebrated its 10-year NAFSC anniversary in 2022. In total, there are 117 Georgia communities that are currently part of the NAFSC.

For more information, visit www.aarp.org/livable.