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Professor Tine Buffel called for society to reframe ageing as an opportunity during her plenary at the Age-Friendly Futures Summit held from 25 to 27 March in Manchester. She emphasised the need to rethink ageing, not as a problem but as a shared opportunity to strengthen communities and create healthier, fairer and more sustainable cities through collective action. 

At the Summit, MUARG played a key role in shaping the WHO European Strategy on Healthy Ageing. Led by Yongjie Yon, Head of the Ageing and Health Programme at WHO Europe, MUARG contributed insights and evidence through a series of roundtables, designed to inform the programme's strategic development. 

Professor Tine Buffel, Director of the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group at 糖心Vlog官方, said: 鈥淒eeds, not words. Manchester has never waited for change 鈥� it has led it. As a pioneer in the age-friendly movement, the city and region have brought together research, policy, and communities to drive forward real progress in creating places where people can age well. The Age-Friendly Futures Summit is our moment to build on this legacy, push boundaries, and drive bold action for a fairer, more inclusive, and more connected future where people of all ages can thrive.鈥� 

MUARG, a leading research group comprising experts from the University of Manchester and the Manchester School of Architecture, has been instrumental in highlighting the growing social and spatial inequalities in ageing. In the UK, people living in the most deprived areas can expect to live up to 19 fewer healthy years than those in the most affluent localities. 

Manchester was recognised as a pioneering voice in the global age-friendly movement at the Age-Friendly Futures Summit this week. The Summit, delivered in partnership by the University of Manchester, the Centre for Ageing Better, the World Health Organization, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Manchester Metropolitan University, was a landmark event that brought together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, architects and communities to share cutting-edge research, showcase effective interventions and set a global agenda for a more age-friendly world. 

With the global population of people aged 60 and over predicted to reach 2.1 billion by 2050, the Age-Friendly Futures Summit called for urgent action to create a more equitable and age-friendly future. Population ageing and urbanisation are the defining demographic trends of our time, but urban planning still focuses on youth and families, rather than integrating the needs of all generations. In response, the WHO developed the Age-Friendly Cities initiative in 2007 and launched the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) in 2010, which now covers over 1,700 cities and communities in 60 countries. 

Building on this legacy, Greater Manchester has since become the UK鈥檚 first age-friendly city region. Together, the city and region have worked to create environments where people of all ages can participate in community life and feel respected and included in social, cultural, and civic spaces. 

At the Summit, various initiatives from Greater Manchester were showcased, including the installation of age-friendly benches with backrests and arm supports to make public spaces more accessible. Architecture students collaborated with older residents to co-design public spaces that reflect their needs and aspirations. Cultural institutions hosted events, such as My Generation Club Nights, for people aged 50 and over, challenging ageist stereotypes. Underused spaces have been repurposed as community hubs, offering safe and welcoming spaces for older LGBTQ+ people and ethnically minoritised groups. 

A key message from the Summit was the leading role older people play in shaping the age-friendly agenda, as active co-creators of research, policy, and practice. Initiatives such as MUARG鈥檚 Older People鈥檚 Forum and the Greater Manchester Older People鈥檚 Network (GMOPN) enable older residents to act as co-researchers, shape research priorities, and influence local and regional decision-making. Elaine Unegbu, Chair of GMOPN, noted how older people鈥檚 voices have often been silenced and their contributions overlooked. These platforms challenge that, providing a space for older people to lead change, inform policy, and improve lives. The Summit highlighted such examples to encourage genuine co-production and long-term collaboration with communities and grassroots organisations. 

Professor Stefan White, Professor of Architecture at MSA and member of MUARG, said, 鈥淭he relationship between place, health inequality and ageing is a complex challenge which requires urgent critical attention. This Summit showcases globally significant research in Greater Manchester, helping researchers, developers, housing providers, urban planners and public health departments from around the world to better understand and create age-friendly neighbourhoods and respond to the residential desires of older people.鈥� 

The Summit reinforced that tackling the inequalities that shape how we age, linked to place, gender, class, race, disability and migration, must be central to age-friendly work. MUARG's ongoing work is crucial in driving research and collaboration to improve the experience of ageing and to build fairer, more inclusive and connected cities for all. 

Learn more about the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group鈥檚 work in building an age-friendly future by .